London has a special place in the minds of Americans my age. To us, it is a city of magic, a place where our childhoods rest regardless of whether we have set food there at all. It is from London that Peter Pan flew away to Neverland and where we depart for Hogwarts. It’s at the heart of the Doctor’s finest adventures and nearly every Sherlock Holmes case ever solved. In short, it is difficult to imagine what London must be like because it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. But in London’s case, the fact is just as fascinating as the fiction: in London Shakespeare wrote and performed his plays, and in London reigned some of the best and the worst monarchs of all time, from William the Conqueror to Henry VIII. For me, visiting London was the realization of a livelong dream, and both sides of it (the imaginary and the historical) have always fascinated me.
It was like one big history/fantasy/literature nerd moment.
I arrived at King’s Cross station after a beautiful train ride across Scotland and England (some of which was along the cliffs by the sea!). All I could think was “Harry Potter Harry Potter OH MY GOSH IT LOOKS LIKE IT DID IN THE MOVIES.” Actually I’m pretty sure those were my exact thoughts. Anyway, Platform 9 3/4 is actually not in the main area of the station as J.K. Rowling originally thought, which is probably good because otherwise nobody could ever get onto a train from platform 9 or 10. All the fans gravitate towards an area by the restaurants and shops instead, where a cart stands halfway through the wall marked “Platform 9 3/4”. There’s also a small Harry Potter shop nearby, where you can buy pretty much the same products as at the Universal Parks, plus a 9 3/4 ticket (which I did buy.) The guys outside by the platform were really nice and took my picture for free, because there was no line and I had my own camera. I think usually you have to pay. It was such a good start to my London trip, and now I have photographic proof that I’m going to Hogwarts!
I somehow managed to find my way through the underground and to my hostel. I stayed in the Chelsea/Kinsington area directly across from the Natural History Museum and about 10 minutes from Hyde Park or Royal Albert Hall. It’s a really nice area of town, full of embassies and expensive restaurants. It looks like the area Irene Adler lives in from Sherlock (although I know that was Belgravia). On my first evening there, I took a walk to Hyde Park, which was beautiful. London has amazing parks!
I got up early the next day and went out for a cheap English breakfast–well, cheap by London standards. Honestly, you can find cheap food if you look hard enough; it’s the pound conversion you’ve got to worry about. That’ll always get the best of you. Anyway, before anything was open and as people were just beginning to head to work in the morning, I saw Trafalgar Square and walked to the Houses of Parliament.
The first time I saw Big Ben I let out a squeal of excitement, which caused several passers-by to give me strange looks. Honestly I’m surprised I didn’t outright scream. It was amazing to see in person! Hearing the clock strike 9:00 made me so happy. I can remember when I first started learning piano (I must have been 6 or 7) one of the earliest songs I learned was called “Big Ben” and it was just one of the ones meant to help you learn your notes. It sort of imitated the chimes to help you learn how to count. Just remembering how long I’ve known about that was amazing to me.
Next, I made my way over to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. Two hours early and there were already loads of people waiting! Fortunately I was able to snatch a single spot by the fence so that I could see better–one more benefit of being a lone traveler is that you always fill in the odd space and get better seats (or standing places) for just about everything. I was standing next to a family from Pennsylvania who seemed really disinclined to talk to me though. Fortunately there was no need to make conversation once the changing of the guard started. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was really cool to watch. I especially liked when the band played towards the end. It really was like a concert though; people were pushing and shoving to get to the front and kids were literally climbing the fence posts just to see. Calm down people, it’s every day at 11:00.
The Tower of London requires at least an entire afternoon to visit. Fortunately I gave it that much time, and I was so glad I went. The history that happened in that one spot is just incredible! I went on a Beefeater tour, which I highly recommend not only because our guide was hilarious but also because you learn a lot about the Tower that simply isn’t posted anywhere. Some of the highlights of the Tower include the place where executions took place, including that of Anne Boleyn; the English Crown Jewels, which is impressive but you are on a moving belt so I went through the exhibit twice; the White Tower, which contains a museum with lots of armor, coin-making tools, and other items from the Tower’s history; and the various rooms near the outer walls which were used at one point to house prisoners of the Tower. In fact, I found those rooms the most interesting because some of the people who carved their names into the walls were being kept their for their
involvement in the Throckmorton Plot. This particular plot was orchestrated to dispose Elizabeth I and place Mary Queen of Scots on her throne. It of course failed, and the conspirators were arrested and many of them executed. I am also related to the Throckmorton family so it was really cool to see this piece of history directly related to my family! Even if my ancestor did get beheaded for it…
After seeing the Tower I headed over to Shakespeare’s Globe to see King Lear. Shakespeare in London, how much better can it get? I’d actually bought tickets for Lear before I realized that the Tempest was the next day, starring one of my favorite stars from TV, Colin Morgan. Given you can’t return tickets, I decided to just go to both. It was a good decision! The two were really different. King Lear was done by a group of traveling actors and, while keeping the script true to Shakespeare, wore more 1940’s style clothing and had minimalist sets. Usually I don’t go for things that are untraditional like that; it seems against the spirit of the play. However, I have to say this was a wonderful group of actors. Some of them played two parts (one actress played both Cordelia and the Fool) very well. It was funny, it was tragic, it was a good night out in London. And it was a very tastefully done modernization on the original, something that I will rarely admit to liking.
The Tempest, on the other hand, was very traditional, complete with period costumes, sets, and effects. It was the best play I have ever seen and I really wish I could see it again! First of all, the acting was superb. Roger Allam played Prospero, and he was brilliant! It’s amazing how much of a different it makes, seeing the play performed as opposed to just reading it. I’d read the Tempest and admittedly did not understand it or think it was funny as when I saw it, and I know a great deal of that is thanks to the great actors.
Of course my favorite was Colin Morgan. He played Ariel and really brought a lot to the character. He flitted across the stage, climbed everything, danced, sang, did cartwheels, hung from the top of a platform by one hand as if he were really only floating there, and at one point descended from the ceiling on a rope. His acting, the way he said his lines and the way he responded to the other characters, also made me want to learn more about Ariel. If only Shakespeare had written more! If only there were a novel to accompany it! Ariel was perfectly fairy-like, non-human both in his movements and in his relationship with the other characters, and yet it seemed as though he wished he could have been one of them and belonged, as if, when he saw all the love and the hate and plotting of revenge and murder, he was experiencing human emotions and only beginning to understand them for the first time. At one point in the play, Ariel witnesses Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love and, looking at them wistfully, turns to Prospero and asks “Do you love me, master? no?” and after a bit of silence, Prospero does not answer. The crowd laughed a little and then all stopped and let out a little “aaawww” because we could see and understand, it wasn’t really funny. The most magical part of the play was when Ariel tells Prospero about his friend Gonzolo’s suffering, saying, “His tears run down his beard, like winter’s drops From eaves of reeds.” And after that line, everyone in the theater paused and listened. The rain was falling heavily on the thatched roof of the Globe.
And of course, what is Prospero’s final speech without the Globe itself? What an unforgettable experience! Did I mention Colin Morgan has a beautiful singing voice? Or that the thunder effects were rolled behind the audience and so sounded like real rolling thunder? Or how at least 4 cast members had guest starred on Doctor Who? I could talk for days about how perfect that play was. I also found Caliban and his companions hilarious. They were the only ones really allowed to interact with the audience, without deviating from the script or character. Except for one time–being in modern London, we had quite a few planes fly by above, and Caliban paused at once point to watch it fly above us in wonder, before saying in a dazed voice “He’s gone!” and continuing with his dialogue. I thought that was pretty cool, and he was easily the funniest part of the play too. During their scenes, Caliban, Stephano, or Trinculo would inevitably end up in the audience, either standing in their midst, or drinking their beer or cider. I imagine it would have been like this during Shakespeare’s time and it added a lot of humor to the play. For pictures, check out the Globe’s Facebook page. You can also get a good look at the costumes there. And here, I will stop short of going on about Colin Morgan’s costume and say simply that it appears they all had a wonderful time, because during the dancing after the play (as is traditional at the Globe) he was grinning from ear to ear.
I had planned to visit both Westmister Abbey and the British Museum in one day, but made a very bad mistake at Westminster Abbey which caused me to delay the visit to the next day. Germany is one hour later than the UK, you see, and I hadn’t reset my watch, so I thought they had inexplicably closed the Abbey when it turned 9:30 and the doors didn’t open! It was really only 8:30. You’d think being so close to one of the biggest clock towers in the world I’d get the correct time, but apparently replacing my morning coffee with the more British breakfast tea was not a good idea.
The good news is, I did get a whole day at the British Museum. You’d need a month to see everything though! According to their brochure, the museum houses more than 8 million pieces, and they’re all free to see, so everyone is there. I swear. THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF LONDON. Maybe I’m exaggerating. But there were a lot of people there. And who can blame them? I saw (for example, among the millions of things I must have seen) an Easter Island head, tons of mummies and Egyptian artifacts (they even have a piece of the Sphinx), Chinese pottery and jade, and of course the Rosetta Stone. I can’t describe how amazing, and how overwhelming, it all is. I left in a daze, my head swimming with new facts about world history.
On my last day, I had until 14:30 to catch a bus to the airport, and I wanted to make the most of that time. So, having been granted boundless energy for the duration of the trip, I decided to visit Westminster Abbey and 221b Baker Street. Right. So, I headed down to Westminster Abbey for the second time and actually stayed until 9:30 this time.
Westminster Abbey is awe-inspiring. It’s beautiful, and so much history has happened there. I mean, every coronation since 1066. Wow. But what’s really weird about Westminster Abbey is that it’s more like an indoor graveyard than a church. You see, in the middle of the Abbey, they have the places of worship and all the beautiful things you see on TV when someone is married or crowned there. Yes, that’s all amazing and I stayed quite a while in those areas, soaking it all in. But what surrounds that is graves. Lots and lots of graves. Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth I, Mary I, and I believe every English king since William the Conqueror or something. Honestly, it’s hard to tell, because the graves are everywhere. I’m sure I missed someone important. The tombs are elaborate and beautiful, and the carvings are incredible. There was an actual competition between Elizabeth I’s tomb and Mary Queen of Scot’s. (Quite understandable, I think, and fortunately they’re not in the same room.) You’re even stepping on somebody’s grave if you want to walk somewhere. It’s just unavoidable. Another interesting thing they have is St. Edward’s Chair, where the monarch sits when they are coronated. They have a deal with Scotland where they bring down the Scottish Stone of Destiny (their traditional coronation chair, and yes it is a big rock) to put under the St. Edward’s chair for coronations, and I was glad to have seen both components. All in all I actually like seeing where important people are buried, and standing where so much history takes place, so I liked Westminster Abbey. As a church, though, I think it is overshadowed by the graves.
I have to admit it: I made an extra trip to Speedy’s for lunch. For those of you who don’t watch Sherlock, Speedy’s is the cafe outside Sherlock Holmes’ and John Watson’s flat. It’s the actual site of some of the filming and the exteriors for Baker Street are shot there, even though Baker Street is another 2 underground stops away. Anyway, Speedy’s was a pleasant surprise. In a city that robs you daily, I was able to get a sandwich and drink for 3 pounds. Hooray! It was pretty good, too. Unfortunately it’s a small cafe and it simply does not have the room for all the attention it’s receiving so I had to sit outside. I did notice that inside they had lots of pictures from the Sherlock filming and even named a wrap after the show! It was like being on a set, except no one was filming, and that was surreal.
Finally, I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street for a couple of hours before I caught my bus. It’s a funny museum located as close to 221b as they could get it, since there is actually no 221b address. They’ve decorated the place like it really belongs to the Sherlock Holmes and John Watson from the books and treats them they like are real people, displaying newspaper articles about their cases and so on. I’d say it’s a must-visit for fans, but if you’re not a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, I’m not sure how much you’d appreciate it. I love all the little details–that they had a fire lit in the living room, real candles burning, Watson’s medical case sitting open in the chair, a big “VR” shot into the wall, that the furnishings and wallpaper were just as I imagined them. I’ve read a lot of the original stories, as my sister got me a huge compilation book with of them in it a few years back, but not nearly all of them, so some of the references were lost on me. Nevertheless, I appreciated the museum and thought it was kind of cute. The gift shop was nearly as interesting and had a lot of funny Sherlock Holmes related things for sale. If only the deerstalker hats hadn’t been 30 pounds! The staff there was also really nice, taking extra care to point out my bus stop to me, which I missed anyway because I have no sense of direction. Oh well, they tried!
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London was fantastic! I couldn’t possibly have seen everything important while I was there, but I certainly tried. More than anything I enjoyed the history that is preserved there and seeing so many famous landmarks in person. What’s great is that London lived up to my expectations, which considering I’ve had expectations of London since I can remember, is a pretty amazing thing. It was, as I said before, a good break from the traveling in continental Europe, but I’m still glad to be back in Germany after all. And I’m happy to say, my enthusiasm for studying for my German exam and presentations is much better now, having given it a rest for that week in London. I focused only on the history, the sights, the exploration, and that was something I needed.
