Walk, if Possible

What’s the best way to explore a new city?

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I’d like to explore new cities by making my way to the centre and walking mostly if possible. For example, in London, I might begin near Tower Bridge and the Tower of London and walk around the historic city. And it isn’t all that far to the West End. I sometimes used to walk along Thames bank every day in my younger years.

It’s a while since I’ve been to London. Back around 2009, I used to enjoy Robert Wright’s podcasts on London walks. He stopped them, but I still have them downloaded, and I sometimes relisten to them. But lately I’ve discovered Joolz on YouTube.

I do remember taking bus tours too and going on hop-on hop-off buses. But I find walking quite magical. And even at a virtual level, I like exploring as if I were walking – using Google Street View.

I always like to end with a couple of hymns. Maybe, I should link to hymns about the Holy City – the New Jerusalem that’ll descend from heaven one day:

Revelation 21:2 and 10
² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

I remember hearing “The Holy City” hymn on the radio as a very young child. Maybe I was about three. And I started attempting to sing it myself on my own in my living room – just the chorus, and I’m sure I knew no words apart from “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” 😀. Funny how I remember making up words – I remember the phrase “Jerusalem…ika da falla” – it was like speaking in tongues 😀. As time went on, I remember doing that sort of thing until I reached the stage where I actually knew the lyrics to songs.

I learned the English Jerusalem hymn (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times) when I saw Chariots of Fire back in 1982. It’s a peculiar song – not the sort of thing evangelical Christians would sing. But I like the overall spirit of it – the notion of building God’s kingdom in England or in whatever country that you happen to be living in. It’s not about gaining political power. It’s more a matter of implementing key Christian principles, such as loving God with our hearts, souls, and minds and loving our neighbour as ourselves.

Here are my favourite lyrics from it. Much of the rest of the lyrics are highly poetic – wondering if Jesus walked in England in ancient times – whatever William Blake meant by that 😀. AI tells me that he was referring to an ancient legend.According to this folklore, a young Jesus traveled to Britain—specifically places like Glastonbury—accompanying his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, who was traditionally believed to be a tin merchant trading with Cornwall. Maybe William Blake was saying that instead of thinking in terms of legends, why not bring Jesus to England by allowing the Holy Spirit to use us to build His kingdom here. And England has been astonishingly influential in Christian terms – though most of the growth nowadays is in far away nations.