… a city trip in four days…

March 25^th, 00.30 am: It is time for me to get up. Today we start our trip to London. Our flight departs 7.15 am from Berlin and we have to arrive at the airport around 5.30 am. It is a 3 hour drive and I am our driver, since I have no problem driving at night.

A few hours later we arrive in London Gatwick and take the train to Victoria Station from where we head to our hostel. We are starting to feel a little tired and suffer a great jetlag since we got up so early. But this doesn’t bother us. After we stored our luggage in the luggage room in our hostel we are on the road again, heading into the city. Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are our destinations.

Westminster Abbey is magnificent. Just standing there, looking at the cathedral is great. The architecture is fascinating and imagining how it was build without modern technology is even more amazing. The inside is great but sadly photographing is not allowed. So we wander off through the archways, marveling at the graves of Kings and Queens or famous poets like Shakespeare, Jane Austen or Charles Dickens in the Poet Corner. It is like walking through a part of history.

We leave the cathedral and continue our walk to the Houses of Parliament and famous Big Ben. Again the architecture is great. We are taking pictures of everything we see, whether we know it or not.

We are getting more and more tired; feeling like it is late in the evening though it is just noon. We wander down the shore of the River Thames and take a quick break, just watching the city. After that the weather is changing for the bad as it starts to rain, typical English weather…

But a little rain doesn’t stop us from taking more pictures. After a while our feet start to hurt, we are getting wet and we are terribly tired. After a short stop at a supermarket we go back to the hostel, take a shower and rest a bit.

The evening is spent in a pub where we enjoy some great food (no, English food is not bad) and talk. The weather is even worse by now, it is raining cats and dogs. It took us a while to leave the cozy warm pub but we have to eventually go back. At the hostel we crawl in our beds and fall asleep immediately.

March 26^th, 6.30 am: I open my eyes for the first time this morning and see that the sun is shining. Great! We got up at 7.30 am and went down to have some breakfast. Our plan for today is to take the Underground to Tower Hill and visit the Tower and the Tower Bridge. Using the Underground is surely an adventure. It is so easy to get lost.

The Tower looks great and even greater because the sun is actually shining. We take a little walk and shot a few glances at the Tower Bridge before buying our tickets and entering the Tower. A crowd has already formed around one of the Yeoman Warders, waiting for the tour to start. For us the place is too crowded and the Yeoman Warder too difficult to hear over the chatting of the people so we walk off on our own. The Tower’s biggest attractions are the Crown Jewels but there is so much more to see. Different exhibitions show weapons and armor of knights. You can try on the heavy helmets, try to see something through the viziers or take a virtual shot at an attacking ship.

We spent 4 hours in the Tower and when we leave the first thought is getting something to eat. So we grab some sandwiches and eat them sitting in the sunlight. Our next stop is the Tower Bridge. We cross the bridge, take pictures of it and the city and walk through the streets, now and then stopping for souvenirs. Two of us finally decide to take a rid in the London Eye while me and two others head back to Victoria Station for some more shopping.

The evening is spent doing a lot of fun stuff in the hostel and ordering pizza.

March 27^th: Another eventful trip with the Underground brings us to Madame Tussaud’s, one of the must-do’s in London. Our personal meet and greet with the figures of George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson ot the Queen. The wax figures are great and though we don’t know all of the personalities we take pictures of them. Sometimes you even don’t know if the person in front of you is real or not and so you end up poking them to see if they move. But there aren’t just wax figures in Madame Tussaud’s. There an exhibition about the live of Madame Tussaud or the history of London, starting by Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare. The horror cabinet is also very much fun.

After leaving Madame Tussaud’s we walk towards Harrods, probably the most expensive department store in the UK. And we actually get inside after a few tries. (It is a lot easier if your outfit doesn’t scream “tourist” at the security men and when you go alone – groups are not allowed) The inside is incredible. It is hard to imagine some people actually do their everyday shopping in there. You can get everything in Harrods. From jewelry over clothes down to frosted peas. (really, who buys frosted peas in Harrods???)

Well, since the prizes in Harrods are out of our league or next stop is Covent Garden where we can walk through the colorful markets, watch the artists or simply sit in one of the little cafés.

March 28^th: Our last day has arrived. Time was really flying by. We started by packing our bags and storing them in the luggage room before going into the city for the last time. This time to see Buckingham Palace and a changing of the guard. Buckingham Palace is great and we are lucky to see a changing of the horse guards. The real changing of the guards is not so great since it is only a little ceremony. I’m sure if you’re lucky enough to see a bigger changing of the guards it is great but the little every day ceremony is not this good.

We have lunch in a little pub and afterwards visit the Royal Mews about which especially my best friend Laura and me are very excited since we ride horseback ourselves and seeing the horses of the guards, the royal carriages and the stables is simply amazing. But even the others enjoy themselves, marveling at the golden state carriage.

When we leave the Royal Mews our trip is almost over and I am a little sad about that. We get our luggage and take the train back to the airport.

After the check-in and after the security check we spent our last pounds in the shops before boarding the plane back to Berlin. The four days were over much too fast but we saw so much. Still, I’m sad I have to go back home. I’ve fallen in love with London the first time I visited it and I love it even more now.

This definitely wasn’t my last trip to this beautiful city. I totally agree to with Don Johnson and his opinion of London.

“London is one of the most enchanting places I’ve ever been on this planet.” – Don Johnson

You are planning on going to London yourself and need a hostel? Check out the Astor Victoria – we had a great time there.

Want to see more pics of London? Check out my facebook albumhere!