Back in early 2020, when only doctors and welders wore face masks, we took the train to busy London. It's almost exact one year ago and pre-covid time. Let's hop on the train from the past and do a recap of this citytrip (because I miss travelling so much)!
It was February when we took the Eurostar train that travels through the undersea tunnel in the English Cannel at high speed. End station: London St. Pancras. Once arrived, we checked in at a musty youth hostel and got on exploring London's streets. It was pretty late in the afternoon so we decided to stay within walking distance of the hostel and leave the subway adventure for the next day. North of St. Pancras and King's Cross Station, the House of Illustration outlined the winter sky. Inside the illustrations of famous English children's books and graphic posters of hightech - now perfectly normal- inventions covered the walls. I remember that we really enjoyed this gallery!
The area and the gallery building used to be part of a former industrial site. Anno 2020, it's a combination of cultural and social spots. Coal Drops Yard, a shopping centre with local shops, roof gardens and bars was very pretty with its lights on. But we were probably the most excited when we saw a boat that was a book shop at the same time!
We also loved the fact that some museums in London are free to visit (on certain days and hours). So we did a good amount of them during our citytrip! The famous British Museum was a gem. It's probably the biggest history museum we have ever seen. And the building itself, phewww... Breathtaking. The National Gallery we did as well. It's an art museum dedicated to European art from the 13th-20th century. Majestic as well.
On the days the rain poured down on the streets, we went to see London's graffiti tunnel in the South Bank Area. A man was painting his design from the paper he held onto the wall. Maybe there never goes a week by with the same graffiti designs onto these tunnel walls? We also had days with a clear blue sky and that's when we went to Westminster Abbey as the real tourists we were. I appreciate London so much for its gorgeous buildings.
Day trips to Cambridge & Oxford
We grabbed the opportunity to explore Cambridge, one hour away from London by train.
Cambridge had the most beautiful fairytale-like university buildings and squares. We were astonished by the pretty sights the city has to offer (and also a bit jealous when comparing the buildings of our colleges with the ones of the universities here). From a heritage conservation point of view, I guess it's fair that tourists aren't allowed to wander freely around the buildings, but we were a bit sad about having to pay for every entry.
Like the geeks we are, we also dropped in at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. With both museums located next to each other, we found ourselves surrounded by precious collections and suck up the knowledge :)
Another city that seeps with history is Oxford. We planned one whole day for this as well. Since it was raining heavily, exploring the city was less inviting. Yet we made our way through the rain puddles to the sights that were praised high in travel books and blogs.
Within Oxford, there are an abundance of film locations. There is New College and the Bodleian that were used to film the Harry Potter series. Exeter College was used as an inspiration for the Golden Compass (His Dark Materials) novels. And the list probably goes on and on. We visited a part of Bodleian Library on the inside and when looking it up it's one of the oldest libraries of Europe!
Now with a actual excuse (because of the rain) to visit yet another museum, we entered the History of Science Museum. The facade seemed so small for what's on the inside: scientific objects like compasses, spheres of the moon and Earth, sundials, spectrometers,... It's crazy to think that centuries ago somebody used or even created this objects and made up world history..
England is hit especially hard by Covid-19 and in the light of the troubles our thoughts are with everyone who is impacted by the pandemic. We are so blessed to have been able to visit this special place.
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