I should know best when I say it is always a good idea to go to London, because I have been there several times already. The very first time I saw the city was in 2011 together with my parents and my brother. Since I think that everybody is familiar with the typical tourist attractions, there is no need of going into detail when it comes to the Oxford street, the Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben and the parliament, the London Eye, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London or Westminster Abbey.
In this year, however, we have been to the top of the St. Pauls Cathedral, from where you have a nice view of the city. Of course we also visited Madame Tussauds, whose origin lies in London, and the London Dungeon. I think I had a trauma of the thrilling attraction because in 2017- my second time in London- I told my best friend about it and she, the adrenaline-seeking-fearless girl, more or less forced me to go inside again, but this time to the one near the London Eye. My hands were shaking at first, but once inside, it was not as scary as in the years before…. Anyway, during this trip, we also rent a bike and explored Hyde Park and all its secret spots, like the statue of Peter Pan, Lady Di’s Memorial Fountain and Kensington Palace, with it. As in 2011, I did the tour in one of the gondolas of the London Eye, which I would suggest doing at least once when you are in London. What I have not done during my first visit, which I regretted day after day, year after year, I did in 2017: visiting the Globe Theatre. As a huge Shakespeare-fan I guess you can imagine what a satisfying experience that was for me, although this is not the same Globe Theater as in Shakespeare’s time. You can explore a museum full of theatre and poetry history, especially of this time, and of course the amazing works of art of William Shakespeare. Every 30 minutes there is a guided tour through the actual Theatre, where even today plays are taking place. But you have to be careful because as I found out some days ago, on my fifth visit to London, every now and then they will close parts of the exhibition. If that happens, you still have to pay the full price to enter which is a pitty because you do not get to see everything.
The reason for my third visit in January 2018, was a friend of mine who studied in London for 9 months. I did not need to book a hotel since she offered me to sleep at her place, which was a little bit further outside of the city center but that was not a problem at all since the underground and the bus system is pretty organised in London. During this time, I saw the London Science Museum (free entry) and the beautiful quarter Greenwich, which is pronounced “Granitch” and not “Greenwitch” as in the color green. On the hill there is the Royal Observatory where we saw an amazing documentary in the planetarium, told by Benedict Cumberbatch. We also went to the Tower of London where we spent a whole day, since it is so huge.
Then, in July 2019, I was a course leader for EF and we stayed in Dauntsey. For one day we made an excursion to London to show the kids the famous tourist attractions, which I mentioned above already. I was busy with taking care of them, so I did not see anything new during this day trip.
But on the last weekend in August 2019, my mother and me flew to London once again. The special occasion: Wicked– the musical. It honestly is the best musical I have seen so far with many “oh my gosh!!” and “Seriously?!”-moments. We also ate Fish and Chips (what else?) at the Pub called “The Shakespeare” close to the Victoria Apollo Theatre.
I know I have been to London many times already, but there are still other things I did not have time for. For example, see a play at the Globe Theatre or exploring Notting Hill. Plus, I really want to see the Harry Potter Studios for once. Can you understand, why I will be back in London sooner or later? 😉
Stay tuned for that!
Let the memories begin 