London, Day 6: A Rest and a Walk

On Sunday, I slept in and spent much of the day lying around, recovering from all the energy I'd spent this week running around. In the evening, I decided to try one of the London Walks, a guided two-hour stroll around a part of London, complete with stories about the history of the area. Well, the most interesting one running on Sunday night was the Jack the Ripper walk. We walked around an old, somewhat run-down part of London and discovered what transpired during the few months that Jack the Ripper was active. The serial killer, whose identity is a subject of fierce debate today, brutally murdered several prostitutes in a seedy part of London in late 1888. In addition to finding out about the murders and possible suspects, I learned a great deal about Victorian London. We were able to see some buildings that were much like London had been in those days--the roads were narrow and dark. For those in poverty, London was a squalid and horrible place to live. Many women, a majority of them middle-aged, had to work as prostitutes to survive and afford alcohol to drown their sorrows.

Of course, the entity responsible for these murders eventually ended up on Argelius III, where it was apprehended by James T. Kirk after killing several more women there.