Jolly Old London

This past Monday was another public holiday (Pfingsmontag/ Whit Monday) so we took advantage of the long weekend and flew out to London. Will has been to England a few times already and has some family there, but it was my first time. I loved the city, even though it was probably (subconsciously) in part because we could speak English.

We left Cologne early on Friday morning and arrived at our hotel via train, plane, and train a few hours later. After checking in, we rode into the city and explored for the rest of the afternoon. We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the Tower Bridge.

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

"Hello!"

London Eye

Tower Bridge

On Saturday morning, we got up early to go to Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station. For those of who did not follow the Harry Potter series, students going to Hogwarts School had to cross into the magical world by running head-on into the wall between platforms 9 and 10. You can now have your picture taken at the real train station, complete with magic wand and Hogwarts scarf. I had to wait for about twenty minutes (with a crowd of children), but it was worth it-my childhood has been validated.

Off to Hogwarts!

After getting in touch with our wizarding sides, we headed to the Greenwich neighborhood. We hiked through a park to the point where the Prime Meridian (0 degree longitude) runs through London. On our way back to the subway station, we ran into one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants called Jamie’s Italian. Jamie Oliver is a chef who has worked in the UK and USA to promote healthy eating, especially in schools. Our lunch was delicious AND healthy! More information can be found here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/ and I can’t wait to try making this at home: Focaccia . On Saturday night we went to the movies to see Maleficent, which I really enjoyed.

Half in the Western/Eastern Hemispheres

Lunch at Jamie's Italian

We finished up our sightseeing on Sunday visiting the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. All of the churches were closed for Sunday services, so we were only able to see them from the outside. Since we had an early flight the next morning, we headed back to our hotel early and had a traditional Sunday roast dinner at a local pub.

Guard at Tower of London

Westminster Abbey

Several of the main sites

Sunday roast

When we got back to Germany on Monday, it was in the 90s and we are sweating to death. I think we’re settled in for the next couple weeks though. Cheers!