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First, my post-trip feelings:
I had a great trip. I really got to meet some lovely people again, some of whom I got to know when I was a baby and have only seen one short time since. London is fantastic (I think all my readers got that already) and it was also very nice to experience life in another English city. I feel satisfied, not at all disappointed about something I didn't manage to do or something that just didn't work out as I thuoght. The search for ancestors was almost more than worth it (after all, I was afraid I'd come back with nothing but a British flag to add to my ancestral corner behind the computer).
Now, however, it is time to look forward to the days ahead: first, the Easter weekend, and then some hectic days with exams, lots of harp playing (practising for the exam 7.4. and for the musical Kauniiden lasten saari, which will premiere 9.4.) and catching up with all the school-work.
I'm not really up to writing a full-fledged account of what I was doing every minute, so I decided to sum it up with some lists instead. I think this will be even more interesting to my readers and it gives me the chance to remember what was just great on the trip, and what wasn't! So here goes.
TOP 10 HIGHLIGHTS (in no particular order)
1. Visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum of decorative arts
Now this was really an experience - so much to see of practically everything man can make with his hands! I actually went twice.
2. Seeing the original record of baptism of Cecil Robert Everett, my great-grandfather, in the church where the ceremony was performed. Obviously, the whole race for the ancestors was an adventure which would make Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code resemble Aesop's fables, but this was something which felt wonderful, because I really went through trouble to get to the place, contact the church warden etc... and getting away wasn't such a piece of cake, either!
3. Experiencing Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden. I got a ticket to the first night for only 7 pounds (I only sat through half of the opera when a seat got free). The singers were great, the production deliciously dramatic and the setting ever so classy. Puccini at its best!!
4. Jugend Musiziert Landeswettbewerb 2005 It was the first time I didn't actually participate in the competition, but teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown along with the students of DSH was just as fun as ever. The jury wasn't particularly generous this year, but everyone had a great time and that's what counts.
5. Having a sandwich at the base of Nelson's column at Trafalgar Square - the sun was setting, Big Ben was in the background and you could feel spring was on its way.
6. Visiting harp retailer Holywell Music Company, practising on two of their harps and being treated like a professional who was seriously considering purchasing one of the instruments. (I only bought a book of etudes).
7. Meeting Sonja again, with whom I played when I was two years old in Jyväskylä. Sonja lives in Norwich with five roommates, so I also cought a glimpse of student life. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to make observations, since all they did was party because spring had come :D
8. Pretending I was a real Londoner, which involved mastering the underground system, changing the way I talk English and always being prepared for rain. The only thing missing was the Tesco card. (Equivalent of S-etukortti).
9. English breakfast on Prince of Wales street, Norwich. Sure, the toast was over-buttered, the baked beans nothing special and the bacon a bit too greasy, but after having eaten nothing all day, this megapackage of calories at 12.30 in the morning was just what I needed. I couldn't quite swallow the second sausage, though.
10. Experiencing spiritual upheaval at Westminster Abbey. I originally visited the abbey because I knew the boys' choir was going to sing at the service, but just attending the service was a nice escape from the traffic chaos on Parliament square.

Expect to find a top 10 LOWLIGHTS list in my next entry. Please enjoy the Easter holidays - they only come once a year!!