Tuesday, 27 October 2015

London (2)

Going to Greenwich by boat is fun! Thanks for this marvellous idea, Larissa.....


On our way there the weather was typically British, cool and rainy, but once we got there the sun came out and we could enjoy this nice little town, which actually still is a part of London, situated in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Getting off the boat the first thing you will see is the CUTTY SARK. Impressive, impressive, I loved it! Built in 1869 she was one of the last and fastest tea clippers ever built, transferred to permanent dry dock only in 1954! "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by...." (John Masefield)


Greenwich Park is a lovely green area which hosts the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and on the side you have a really nice view from up the hill.


Hasi on prime meridian - between the worlds. As the UK grew into an advanced maritime nation, British mariners kept at least one chronometer on GMT to calculate their longitude from the Greenwich meridian, which was by convention considered to have a longitude of zero degrees. I was especially surprised to learn that between 1600 and 1700 hundreds almost each English family had a member in the Royal Navy.

























The entrance fee is quite dear, but we were amazed to learn that it includes earphones and a guided tour. If you have the chance and time I would highly recommend it. You learn a lot about clocks, times, time zones, meridianes....

In the evening it was time to meet Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch in "Hamlet" at the Barbican. I was lucky enough to exit the theatre almost right at the moment when Mr. C exited too to meet his fans, and I have a couple of great pics, but I don´t dare to put them on my blog because I don´t want to get mail from Mr. Cumberbatch´s lawyers. But fact is, we had a great evening! (Even though I still do not understand what is the big fuss about Hamlet acutally....)


The British Museum is something I also can recommend when you have the chance to travel to London.


The building is fascinating. And the collections are great too. We spent most of the time in the Egyptian/Mesopotamian collection, and we could have stayed even longer.

This human-headed winged lion is the twin of somebody I knew from the NY Metropolitan museum where I used to disappear on weekends.  I thought, "Don´t I know you?" And Iamassu nodded and thought, "You met my twin brother across the ocean"...


We really loved the place. I am not much into architecture, but it was fab!



And then I got a celtic cross from the Original´s collection. I always wanted one, but never wanted to order it on the internet but get it when visiting a special place. I have been wearing it since.


And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet my favorite sweet I have been addicted to since my last time in London: Red Velvet Cake. You can also get it as cupcakes, and I have tried to bake them at home, and they are like heaven....


London was brilliant as always. I just feel extremely sorry that I did not have a proper curry at Curry Lane and no Bangers&Mash and no Bubbles&Squeak. Need to go there soon again.

Oh, and before I forget: This is our hotel in Kensington. I love Kensington! It is a quiet area usually with good connection to the tube. Try to find a hotel there if you are around! And now have fun. And happy Halloween!



Friday, 9 October 2015

London (1)

Always when the plane touches down at London Heathrow I feel this wave of relief and "Gods, I am home!" washing over me. Suddenly everything is the way it should be, the accent, the attitude, the understatement - even the sun and the colours are not as bright and sometimes annoying as you can find them in Central Europe.... To put it all short: I love England, and I certainly LOVE London.

It is so good to be back!


I don´t know if you have been, but I know I won´t ever be - namely up there. But the Shard definately is programmed for Hasi and David next time. I prefer to stay on the ground having a good chat and a drink, since I am not sick of living.. Not a cat´s chance in hell you can get me up there!


After a trip down Memory Lane like seeing the Tower Bridge and the Tower it definately was time for a visit at the local pub.



Our Sunday visit at Buckingham was a bit boring. Seen it too many times, and HRH was not there anyway. Should we have told the hundreds of tourists waiting? There was this tiny little sign in front of the palace that there would not be any change of guards on Sunday...


I have a new favorite quarter which is Shoreditch! It is the former East End, now a place full of little shops and little markets, singers in the streets and plenty of good food. Next time I will be definately saving some appetite to try the Brick Lane Bakery there. And of course there is Curry Lane... I so would love a nice Curry now....


Hasi and David went up the eye (after a brisk and long march through the city from Shoreditch to the Thames). Larissa and I had a good chat at the river banks, while the guys probably had a good time up there too. I am sure it was a great ride, but I am also happy I did not have to do it myself and simply can enjoy the pics.


Yeah, we are all back together, and we all survived! And now off to some good food...


Great evening at Wagamama´s! We all love Asian food, and the food there is lovely and tasty. Oh, and because mine came 5 mins late I got mine for free, how cool is that.


Afterwards we walked for a while to get back to Towerhill Station. The air was mild, and there was just the best sing-a-song-writer playing his guitar beneath the Eye. What a perfect evening it was!