It was a very rainy day in Gdansk today, and I was reminded of a trip to the United Kingdom that took place almost a year ago. We visited several cities in a short time, but our journey began in London.
Regarding the route, everything is extremely simple - planes fly from Gdansk to London twice a day, so it remained to choose the most convenient flight for our plans. As a result, just over two hours in the sky, and around 11 am we were in the centre of London.
It is difficult to describe a city like London. Yes, he really is as beautiful and amazingly
majestic as they say; and yes, he really makes an impression from the first minutes. But I won’t get ahead of myself, I’ll tell you a little about my feelings, although all this happened a few months ago, nevertheless, the memories are still very vivid, and I think of England too often... (more often than is allowed 😉) therefore this post about my emotions and impressions in the UK.
Even at the entrance to London, you pay attention to a very important detail, namely, houses. At first glance, ordinary private households; houses are mostly made of red brick with tiled roofs, with cozy gardens and recognizable fan-shaped windows. But if you look a little, you get the feeling that they are alive. There is no mysticism, everything is much simpler - the British love and appreciate their houses so much that they truly put their soul into this houses, and as a result of such a reverent attitude, English houses breathe life and the energy that the owners generously share with them. Literally everything is in its place, clean and comfortable, even a little fabulous, but this harmony is not imposed, but organically living in its own world, in a unique rhythm known only to the owner. You look at such a house and understand - yes, indeed a real fortress, and only being in England you understand the truth of the old saying. It was with such emotions that we arrived in the city, and on the fertile soil of first impressions, delight and charm, culture shock and admiration generously sprouted.
London is an international metropolis. This idea needs to be clarified at least a few days before the trip, because the number of people is still a bit shocking. A giant anthill works like a clock, everything lives and moves in accordance with a long-established mechanism, hence there is a pleasant feeling of security and comfort.
The first point on our route is, of course, Buckingham Palace. We were in England in mid-October, very little time had passed since the death of Queen Elizabeth 2, and in this regard, the feeling of grief and loss near the palace was still very vivid. Posters, portraits, stuffed animals, songs, quotes, poems, and lots of flowers - each expressed his feelings in his own unique form; all this made it possible to feel the awe and love that the English had for their queen.
Unchanging as England itself, the ceremony of changing the guard of honour in the palace - everything was as solemn and pathetic as possible, as required by the regulations; I didn’t manage to shoot everything, tourists and not the best weather caused a little confusion, as a result, we only saw the end of the ceremony, but that was enough to feel the atmosphere.
Further along the Birdcage Walk we went to Big Ben. The concentration of architectural masterpieces in the city centre is simply incredible, at some point the eyes stopped picking out details, and the world turned into an endless cycle of delight and admiration.
Lots of stock photos - red phone booth, Big Ben, London Eye, etc. It was necessary to note the obligatory program 😊Then it was decided that we couldn’t do without a boat trip, because we risked not having time to see the maximum in one day. Honestly, I don’t remember how much it cost us to walk from Westminster Pier to Tower Millennium Pier, but everything was excellent, and it was worth it. The rain stopped temporarily, and the gray leaden sky only frightened us with its clouds but did not interfere at all with enjoying the beauty of the English capital. In the course of our ship's movement, the captain, with a subtle sense of humor inherent only in the British, conducted an excursion, skilfully adding witty jokes to the standard program.
The lunch break gave us the opportunity to reboot and slightly correct the route. London turned out to be "a little" 😉 more than we expected. We dined at a restaurant near the Tower in the hope of a quick bite to eat and be in time for an excursion, but no luck. Not only did we lose our tour reservation due to the fact that we were late for the indicated time, but also the live queue was two hours ahead.
After walking around the castle, we still decided not to lose heart and continued to move towards the Tower Bridge. The rain helped to decide about the urgent need to visit this museum, and a small queue made it possible to quickly implement this plan and not get very wet. The museum is like a museum, nothing special, but at the top this opinion changes quickly. The glass floor makes it possible to walk almost through the air at a great height, and beautiful views of London from the windows harmoniously complement the experience. In large windows, for convenience, there are special small windows; there are enough of them to take beautiful photos with your gadget, and along the walls there are benches for relaxing. Comfortable and elegant. In general, Tower Bridge is definitely worth a visit. Of course, in the museum you can buy souvenirs and magnets, I bought the book "The History of the Tower Bridge" as my personal standard.
On this, the obligatory program was completed, and having crossed to the opposite side of the Thames, we decided to just take a walk to the hotel, and I quietly harboured the hope of meeting a good bookstore and buying a couple of books 😉. Looking ahead, I’ll say that the idea failed, but I more than compensated for this failure in Edinburgh, and from there I carried four books at once.
Further, walking along Queens Walk, we enjoyed the beautiful views and architectural wonders of London. Due to the fact that we had little time, we immediately understood that we simply would not have time to visit the City of London, so we looked at it from afar from the opposite bank, and the view was amazing.
Back to return, to the other side of the
Thames, we decided through the Millennium Bridge; a beautiful view of the majestic city and a lot of impressions; all this just dragged us into a whirlpool of emotions. Fatigue eventually took over, and after a short walk through the central streets of the city, we nevertheless went down to the subway and quickly reached the hotel.
After a short rest, it was time for dinner. With new strength and inspired by the impressions of the day, we went on foot to the Parliament building. Our hotel was located just 20 minutes’ walk from our destination. Everyone is well aware of the stunning view of Parliament that opens from Westminster Bridge when the lights are lit, and evening London acquires a special charm and a slight feeling of relaxation. The panorama didn't really disappoint; the grandeur of England, stiffness, and restraint, on the other hand, absolute devotion to traditions - all this can be felt when considering the Palace of Westminster. On the opposite bank, as a reminder that we are in the 21st century, the London Eye shone brightly.
A pleasant walk through the evening city led us to Trafalgar Square, where we decided to have dinner in a cozy pub. The impressions were not unambiguous, and even now, comparing with the food in the restaurants of Glasgow and Edinburgh, I can say for sure that we were simply unlucky. It wasn't tasty. I ate almost nothing, ordered fish and chips and traditional English meat pie - without words. The restaurant is not cheap, we stood in a queue to go inside. The Ale was delicious, and the atmosphere was super delicious, I can say for sure that the place has history, but the chef must have had a bad day.
We decided to return home by bus, climbed to the second floor, and got to our hotel perfectly. Atmospheric, charming bright streets of London in the evening became the perfect finishing touch to our journey through this city.
London has remained a completely unrevealed city for me, it is huge and beautiful, and in
order to get a little bit into the atmosphere of this metropolis and explore its beautiful and bright facets, visit museums, and taste the cuisine, you definitely need more than one day. At least 5 days - this is the conclusion I made when I looked at the sleeping streets of London from the window of the taxi in which we went to the airport at dawn the next day, because the next point on our route was Glasgow. You can read more about how it was HERE.
I'm sure that within a couple of years I'll definitely be back in London for a longer and more thoughtful visit! 😉
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