London at night, March 2008

Admittedly, not everyone is able to feel at home in a city that, all of its suburbs included, counts a population of 7.5 million people.

Some think London, as stylish as it is made out to be in the glossy fashion magazines, is a little dirty, a little run-down and not much of a beauty at all. And truth be told, places fitting the description exist (Hello, Walthamstow! Hello, Bayswater!).

But isn‘t exactly that ancient charm mixed with the new architectural projects (such as the Gherkin or the London Eye) what makes London so unique and loveable? Sceptics will be happy to know that London is unrivalled in offering the most green areas and parks in one of the most densely populated areas.

Just as diverse as London‘s facades are the Londoners‘ faces. Much like New York or Los Angeles overseas, London is one of Europe‘s central melting pots of culture.

Someone once said to me over Sunday lunch eaten across the road from the Tower of London, “London is not England, London is the world.” And for all that they meant it to be a negative remark, I could only understand it as a positive statement about my home of choice.

My companion at lunch wasn‘t wrong at all; if you want to get to know England and the English, then you cannot travel to the tourist spots like Brighton, Manchester or London as all of these have by now adjusted to international crowds and their needs. And I don‘t say that without feeling any disdain as all of these places are beautiful on their own and certainly worth a trip.

However, if you want to experience the feeling of a town embracing the world and its different cultures, if you want to find out what could be in store for you in life, then London surely is the place to be.

Where else would you end up sharing a house with a Peruvian, Indian, Australian, Italian, French and Lithuanian (and, well, a German, as in me)? Where else would you be able to taste culinary treats from all over the world, in one day?

As Samuel Johnson, word wizard the Dictionary of the English Language, said, “By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show.”

“For there is in London all that life can afford.” – Samuel Johnson

And it is true. There is just everything in London; always something to do at almost any time of the day (I found that miraculously, London is one of the places that does sleep at night; The City, Tower Hill and Southwark anyway).

If we decided to add up all the hours I spent walking about London in the dark and then did the same for walks I did in the light of day, you‘d probably say that I just have to know SO MUCH MORE about London‘s night life than the actual sights.

However, I find that it‘s not true. During my working hours, I did a fair share of looking up other sights and places and I spent many Saturdays and Sundays in town, walking amongst the tourists.

THREE of my favourite things to do on a SATURDAY MORNING:

• Walking from Tower Hill to Bank to the Guildhall Art Gallery on a cold but sunny Saturday morning (I once did a course on Victorian photography there). The most fun I had was to stand in the middle of the square and just spin around to admire the architecture.
  

  Southwark Cathedral, January 2008

• Another thing that has qualified as most enjoyable: 
Walking across London Bridge towards Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market. 
Before I went browsing the stalls for fresh food, I sat in the church and listened to a choir rehearsal (I do love church music!). 
Afterwards, I bought some fruit at the market and went walking down along the River towards the London Eye. Halfway through, I stopped to have a cuppa and write zine-related letters.

• For the lazy ones: 
Hop on a tube to Bayswater, catch some breakfast at yer ole Starbucks and find a bench in Kensington Gardens by the pond.  You‘ll make many new animal friends and it‘s so quiet and relaxing: Just the right thing after a wild night out.

TWO of my absolute favorite things for RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOONS:

• Of course, in a place like London, most shops are open on a Sunday afternoon (which is really different in Germany!), so a bout of shopping is always possible. 
If you‘re not entirely too lazy or opposed to experiencing some culture, you can always pop into the National Portrait Gallery (which I love much more then the National Gallery next door! Also, if you’re fashion-inclined: They have a display on Twiggy going on until the end of March!) before heading over to Covent Garden. 
Sure, Covent Garden is awfully crowded on days that tourists pour into the city but you sure do miss out if you haven‘t got time to go there. 
Personally, I loved the street performers and the Lush shop best. You can have a bite to eat, get souvenirs or clothes, all in one lovely location.

• The one thing I did most often on Sundays was attending Evensong at Westminster Abbey. 
To be honest, those visits had a lot of influence in my change of study subjects (amongst other things of course!). 
Especially the services before Christmas and Easter were amazing and Westminster Abbey is the only place I ever prayed down on my knees. 
The boys‘ choir is exceptional and I‘ve never heard people sing with so much passion. 
Evensong at the Abbey is truly special.

Fun things to do on ANY DAY OF THE WEEK:

• Catching shows in small pubs, like the Barfly, The Lock Tavern or the Water Rats.

• Camden Market.

• Oxford Street – because you can only really shop there on days that are not part if the weekend.

• Hummingbird Bakery in South Kensington, Soho or Notting Hill – yummy American-style cupcakes. The shop in Soho has actually just been opened (and thanks to Kate from treslola.com who told me about it in the first place).

• Hopping on a train to Brighton.

Brighton, April 2009

Places you DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT ON but might not know about:

• 56a infoshop, Elephant & Castle – It is an anarchist social center, first and foremost but you can buy zines as well! I wouldn‘t know about it if it wasn‘t for Lizzy from Marching Stars Distro!

• Highgate Cemetery – Got utterly lost while looking for it and ended up in a park instead. But while reading up on the cemetery I stumbled across the myth of the Highgate Cemetery Vampire? Interesting. And really scary as said vampire seems to have been active outside the realms of the actual cemetery as well.

• Garden of St Dunstan‘s in the East – St Dunstan’s church was destroyed in Worl War II, however, the ruins of the building have been turned included in a beautiful little garden that you can find halfway between the Tower of London and London Bridge.

• All Hallows by the Tower – Because I‘ll never be able to go to London again, and NOT go there. My time at All Hallows has been magical and very much inspiring. I could write so much more about the church but I’d rather know you don’t neglect it when you’re around Tower Hill and go inside and see for yourself. I promise – you will not be disappointed!

All Hallows by the Tower, 2007/2008

Well, friends – this about sums up where I loved to spend my time when I lived and London and whenever I return. Maybe, one day, I will make a seperate post on nighttime activities and my favourite clubs and parties.

Which cities do you love best? What kind of places do you like to visit? And how do you feel about London?

(All pictures in this post have been taken by me. Do not use elsewhere.)