Recently, I started a new job. Armed with a little extra cash in hand and a few mandatory vacation days to spare, the question was, how to make the most of this unxpected free time. Coincidentally, I made two new friends during my stay in Vietnam, who happened to live in the UK. Seemed like the perfect reason to finally visit England, a place I’ve always wanted to explore and test out my English profeciency. Spoiler alert, even now I encountered many situations where I couldn’t understand a thing, due to the thick British accent.
Arrival in Stansted | 15.12.2023
Back in the days everything was easier. Seriously Dresden used to have a direct flight to London. However, they decided to cancel that route in November, which meant I had to wake up at 05:00 am, take my Flixbus to Berlin at 6 am, to arrive in Berlin at 07:50am to get my flight at 09:30 am. Eventually though, i arrived at noon in London Stansted, from where I took the express train to Liverpool Street, which took about 40 Minutes and 20 Pounds.
Now in London, I faced another dilemma: Should I invest in an Oyster card? This IC card for London’s public transportation costs 7 pounds and comes with a daily cap. Essentially, you pay for your tickets as usual, but once you reach the cap, you won’t have to pay any additional money for the rest of the day. (In the end, I did, but it wasn’t really worth it for me but makes up for a good souvenir).
I had my first appointment with Alex in the evening, so what should I do in the meantime? Completely unprepared for this trip, I recalled a friend’s recommendation of hop-on-hop-off bus tours. After a quick Google search, I discovered a fantastic deal from TopView. They not only offered the bus tour but also included several other tours with the 48-hour pass. Perfect! Among the options was a two-hour Jack the Ripper tour, conveniently taking place in the same area I was currently exploring. I booked the ticket, strolled around for a bit until the scheduled time, and eagerly joined the tour.
Fun Fact – Jack the Ripper
The true story of Jack the Ripper takes place in the year 1888 in London’s East End, specifically in the district of Whitechapel. During that time, the overall life expectancy was 66 years, but in Whitechapel, it was significantly lower, with the average person living only until 40. The district was impoverished, with challenging jobs available. Many men worked in docks, slaughterhouses, or barber shops, in which it was also common to conduct minor surgeries. Roughly 90% of men carried knives and were accustomed to using them. Conversely, women were often employed in the textile industry, working with fabrics and silk, though they received lower wages than men. For the most unfortunate of women, turning to prostitution was a desperate means to secure a meal and shelter.
There are five canonical victims attributed to Jack the Ripper, with many more potential murders that lack certainty. In brief, all the victims, except one, endured brutal and grotesque mutilation and disembowelment. Internal organs were removed, and the throats of the women were slashed. Evidence suggests the perpetrator was left-handed (indicated by the throat cuts), possessed a mustache, and was likely familiar with Whitechapel, as well as adept at dissection.
Remarkably, due to the extensive media coverage of these incidents, people in London became aware of the harsh conditions in Whitechapel. Consequently, policies were implemented to help the district overcome its criminal challenges and improve its overall well-being.
After this unexpectedly fascinating tour, I headed to Clapham to meet Alex and her partner. I met Alex during my internship in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and it just feels so crazy, to meet her again on the other half of the planet. The world surely can be small some times. Later in the evening, I made my way to the hostel near Kings Cross, quickly snapping a photo of the 9 3/4 platform, where they had already removed the cart. I then headed straight to bed, perparing for the next day, which promised a tour of the palace at 9:30 AM.
London Tours | 16.12.2023
When I heard “palace tour,” I may have set my expectations a bit high, imagining a visit inside Buckingham Palace or a similar grand experience. In reality, it turned out to be a pleasant stroll around the palace grounds.
Fun Fact – Royal Guards
The red color of the guard’s uniform was designed to diminish the visibility of any blood stains, while the high hat serves as a symbol of the guard’s rank.
Fun Fact – St. James’s Palace
St James’s Palace is where the future name of the King or Queen is announced. The royal individual can select from one of their given names, which then becomes the official name. This location is also a hidden gem for witnessing guards on the move, in contrast to the more common sight of them standing guard in front of Buckingham Palace.
After lunch i continued to take advantage of my hop on hop of bus ticket. Despite the (expected) unfavorable weather, it was only chilly, and fortunately, it didn’t rain. The 48-hour ticket also provided a boat tour on the Thames which was a nice change of transporttion. Here I heard the same “this bridge was built entirely by woman during ww2 and is the only bridge finished in time and under budget” joke for the third time. The bridge this anecdote refers to is the Waterloo Bridge (ice.org).
In the evening, I took a Flixbus to Birmingham to meet Silvia, another friend I had made in Vietnam. Since our interactions had been limited to online chats, I felt a bit anxious about how our in-person meeting would look like. However, the reunion turned out to be smooth from the very start, and we had a fantastic time together.
Birmingham | 17.12.2023
Having arrived in Birmingham the evening before, we had already explored the local Christmas market, which funny enough, sold mulled wine, German sausages and beer – so just like home. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much to see in Birmingham. Thus, we took our time to just have a good english brunch and talked about our cultural differences and similarities, as she is also originally from Italy but just came for studies to England. In the evening, we made spontaneous plans to cook but found nothing left in the fridge. Mind you, it was a Sunday, so I walked to the nearest convenience store, which didn’t even have a pizza in their freezer. Almost giving up, I realized that supermarkets, located a 30-minute foot walk away, were still open until 10 PM. Almost in disbelief, I went there, and indeed, they offered fresh ingredients just like any other day. Super convenient and a sharp contrast to Germany, where everything is closed on Sunday.
Regarding Birmingham I learned, that it was argueably the center of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. This prominence was due to its central location within the UK, a skilled workforce, inventive individuals (including James Watt), and an abundance of raw materials.
Back To London | 18.12.2023
As supposed from a vacation, we started off our day late. After exploring Birmingham’s library, apparently the only noteworthy building alongside the university, I then proceeded to go back to London. There was still one friend left, who I wanted to meet in London. I suggested the Sky Garden, which is a location on the top floor of a high rise building, to catch up with my friend as well as enjoy a good panoramic city view. Although the Sky Garden offered free entry, obtaining a reservation through their online service proved challenging due to technical issues. A workaround is to make dinner reservations at one of the restaurants affiliated with the Sky Garden building, which would let you enter the Sky Garden after you finished your meal. We opted for Larch, which is a restaurant at the ground floor of the building with a mandatory consumption fee of 30 pounds (?!). The food was delicious but in the end, the view from the Sky Garden was not really that special.
Already 9 PM, I made my way back to my hostel. y feet began to hurt (again) but having quite a warm evening I just wanted to stroll a little bit longer along the Thames. At around 10:30 already super tired I stood at the east side of the Westminister Bridge, where I could already see Big Ben on the other side. Already wanting to head to my bed, I opted to seize the moment, cross the bridge and capture the iconing “worlds most photographed telephone box with Big Ben in the background” photo, before the area would become crowded again the next day. It proved to be a worthwhile decision, and I concluded my day at midnight, looking forward to a good night’s rest.
Departure from Gatwick | 19.12.2023
Today’s me has to appreciate yesterday’s me’s decision to take some photos of Big Ben as today was super rainy and grey, just as you would expect how a regular day in London would look like. It was definetely not a pleasure at all to walk around. So I decided to finish on a good mood by first taking an early coffee break. For lunch I went to China Town and afterwards strolled around Soho enjoying my luck and privilege on being able to travel around as I want without any constraint.
Fun Fact – Soho
“Soho’s name derives from an English 16th-century hunting cry “so-hoe” when the area was open fields and grazing land.” – cbreresidential.com
In the afternoon, my route included Trafalgar Square, Carnaby Street, New Bond Street, Old Bond Street, Buckingham Palace, and finally, Victoria Station, where I caught my train to Gatwick Airport. From there, I flew back to Berlin and took a bus to Dresden. Admittedly, I realized how ignorant I was about British history, as my knowledge was virtually nonexistent. However, this brief journey provided me with a better understanding of historical figures and royalty.
