"London - World Capital City, truly the best :-)" London by Trekki

VT has already fantastic tips about London, 24.116 to be precise, in 1279 rated and 3197 written pages (at the time of my updates, early November 2008). So who am I to believe that I might even add one single sight which hasn’t been covered yet. Nevertheless, I will write down my very own London impressions or London through my eyes. It is fully based on the manner I have developed when I set out to explore a (big) city: I want to get to the bottom of things, find (or reveal) the network that holds it all together, I want to see behind curtains, get answers to questions and reasons and find patterns. Maybe its my job or maybe it was always me (this very much forensic and detail mind). Of course I cannot even dream of getting to the bottom in two weeks only, but it was a start and I know where I will continue when I come back.
Well, to make the long explanation short: in “my” London I will focus on the patterns, on the unusual or maybe hence fascinating activities which are closely related to London, the “London Way” and the “British Way”, both physical (as in walking) and mental (as in imagining) activities. Nonetheless I will also cover well known sights, but maybe from other than typical perspectives and describe the way I saw them, what brought me to see them and what added to “my picture of the network”.

London is full with the finest artwork of the planet. There is British Museum, the Art Galleries, Victoria & Albert Museum and many more. But London has more than that and I realised that I was more fascinated by the very much prominent but nevertheless hidden artwork, the one we continuously pass but take it for granted because it is part of the daily life. The magnificent façade of well known Houses of Parliament or Tower Bridge for example, which I sneaked around many times to find yet another sculpture or detail every time. But my most favourite artwork indeed were the small ones, tucked away in the backstreets or at prominent walkways, like the cast iron swans at the benches opposite of Houses of Parliament and the lamppost basements.

That’s why I want to dedicate my London contribution to the designers who made and make London so special.
And I would like to dedicate it especially to Harry Beck, a man who created one of the most brilliant and customer oriented inventions of the last century, something millions of people know and use daily, something which has been copied so often and which will stay brilliant no matter how modern and trendy times will get –
the tube map :-)

The swan bench - by a fantastic unknown artist

Yes, it seems that London is calling me somehow :). And as I am an obedient girl (hahaha, what an oxymoron), I follow this call and go.

Now I haven’t been in London for quite a while. My very first “London” was way back in 1977, when I was there with my school class. We were lodging in a kind of school home, near the famous Post Office Tower (sorry, it can never be the BT Tower for me) in Charlotte Street with Tube station Goddge Street. It was the days of ABBA and I remember that we were singing ABBA songs (namely “Dancing Queen”) all the time and had good fun all these 12 amazing days. We had the Go-as-you-please Tube ticket, 7 days for an incredible 5 GBP and thus were underground as often as overground. These days I knew the tube map by heart and am amazed that some is still there when I think of the lines. Goodge Street Tube station (I think it was Goodge Street) had this endless elevator with the zigzag doors and we felt like explorers when took this or this long escalator deep down into London’s belly. I couldn’t get enough of strolling through the Temple District and still remember “blue” when I think of the stained glass windows of its church. We were hanging out in Bayswater at Leinster Square, where “our boys” were staying, the boys’ class of another school at home. I remember Victoria & Albert Museum and some great exhibits there, and of course, British Museum. I was so fascinated by the musicals these days that I went to listen to Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre twice. These days, Andrew Lloyd Webber was not famous at all. Oh and I remember that there was a most beautiful pub just opposite of Palace Theatre, with old décor and interior. I often went there but have forgotten the name. The name is somewhere – can someone please give me some hints ? I would love to see if it is still there (I think it was where Shaftesbury Avenue, Earlham Street and West Street meet, if I look at GoogleEarth). Oh my god, I just saw that actually a Monty Python musical is running in Palace Theatre – Spamalot. Be nice to me, London, please and let this run until I’ll be there. Haha, I would most probably never survive this, would die on the spot from laughter.

Well, so this was “my London”, and as ABBA were singing in Dancing Queen – I had the time of my (youngster) life there.
During the last weeks I often thought that I should go back and just see how much has changed or not changed at all. There are of course several reasons for me to go and visit London, first of all “VT reasons” of course – finally have the chance to hug Sarah and other dear VTers, the museums, the spirit of Old London and the backstreets, the Eastend and the docks, and… the bookshops. Most probably I’ll end up in need to rent an airplane to go back home, as I can’t pass bookshops without entering and have found that English publishers have much better variety and choice in their themes than German ones.