Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Mancunian Way

The last couple of days in London where much more chillaxed. I decided to go into town one last time to explore the beautiful city and to check out the National Art Gallery. The Gallery building stands grand just above Trafalgar square in the heart of downtown London. The interior of the building is somewhat royal with large rooms, high ceilings and intricate panel design. The walls are lined with thousands of great works of art covering vast periods and styles. Although I am no art critic, I was impressed by the quality of many of the works which included artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gough, Picasso and Rembrandt.

On the way back to my host family I decided to explore the Edgware shops, home to many Kosher Cafes. I had a donut and cappuccino at Grodzinski's, a kosher bakery/cafe chain that has been running since 1888.

That evening I returned to the JLE in Golders Green to hear a shiur by world renowned Rabbi Tatz. The Rabbi was an excellent speaker and his class was very thought provoking. After the class there was a coffee social event where I got to meet many of the local London Jewish young adult community.

On Thursday morning I went out for Breakfast with my Dad's cousin Anthony and his wife Tania. We went to a local Kosher brunch venue in Edgware. It was lovely to meet up with family and I much enjoyed.

Around lunchtime I jumped on a high speed train bound for Manchester. This was the first time I have ever been on such a train so I was surprised at the speed, quietness and the amount of tilt as it turns corners! Upon arrival I was greeted by my old school friend Daniel Leigh. We used to be good friends while I lived in Manchester in the late 1990s. His family have been kind enough to host me for the week I spend up here is chilly manc-ville!

Just before Shabbat I went out to the local Kosher shops and to my amazement I was transported to mini-Mea-Shaarim!! Not only were there large numbers of Charedim but they were all speaking Yiddish! One place I went into serves all kinds of Shabbos-friendly food for takeaway such as Kugel, Cholent and Gefilte and also caters for events.

My mate Daniel is into the music scene and helps organise and run jamming and drumming events around Manchester. After Shabbat on Saturday night, we went down town to a small underground venue to watch/participate in a jammin event that consisted of freestyle m-c-ing, drumming, beatboxing, rapping, singing, poetry and even monologues. It was truly an energetic experience - witnessing genuine mancunian hip hop and grime accapella fresh and performed right in front of me. Between the sets were opportunities for audience members to have a go beatboxing, freestyling or drumming - good times!

Today I went out to visit my Aunt Vanessa who lives not far from where I am staying in the Jewish area of north Manchester. I was great to see her and catch up after all these years. We went out for lunch at a Kosher upper-class restaurant called JS and later we perused through old and new photos.

Later I went back into town to check out the local sites and take photos of the historic Gothic architecture. I visited the beautiful Manchester cathedral which houses impressive stain glass windows, magnificent altars and scary gargoyles to ward off evil spirits. I also went to check out the town hall built in a similar Gothic design and constituted a large clock tower, not dissimilar to a smaller big-ben. I also had a wander through Afflecks palace (a quirky indoor market - kind of like cosmic corner on steroids), Piccadilly gardens (the centre of town with a water fountain and space to chill) and the Arndale centre (a huge shopping mall located in the middle of town). I also saw the Manchester ferris wheel, a rip off of the London Eye in downtown Manchester. Although I did not bother to pay for the ride, it does look impressive at night shadowing the old Victorian and Gothic buildings that lie in the background.

Tomorrow I am off for a day trip to Liverpool. There is still heaps to do in Manchester - hopefully I do not run out of time before I leave to Amsterdam!

Oh and btw - I am going to the Man Utd game on Tuesday - look out for the little spot at the top of the North stand :)

Monday, January 24, 2011

"This is a Picadilly Line to Cockfosters"

After a long, but comfortable 20+ hours of flying via Hong Kong I arrived at my first European destination - London!! London is a real city - big, busy and has so much to offer. I arrived early on Thursday morning and had a whole day to kill before I could go over to my hosts. So I headed straight for the Underground where I jumped on the Picadilly line to the central city. I decided to get off at Picadilly circus and explore the city from there. The Underground, also known as the Tube, is probably one of the most intuitive and well designed public transport systems I have ever been on. It is easy to figure out where to go and the myriad of train lines connects you to just about wherever you want to go in London.

Piccadilly Circus is a great place to start exploring the city as it is very central and among the huge flashing LED advertising screens you have access to the Tube, buses and most major tourist attractions. From here I walked down to Trafalgar Square and eventually made my way to the Thames. The view crossing the river is overwhelming with an amazing mix of old school royal buildings situated between high rises and the impressive London Eye, a huge Ferris wheel. Following the river East I eventually arrived at the houses of parliament and the iconic Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. As I walked I noticed theatres, shopping arcades, underground stations, beautiful churches and old buildings. The most interesting thing that I noticed is the amount of French and Russian being spoken in the streets. As London is a European hub there is a huge array of tourists and immigrants from all over the world!

Next I walked toward Buckingham Palace. The Palace itself is not that impressive but the surrounding area including the huge golden palace gates are quite something. I got there just in time to watch the famous changing of the guards. The guards parade in, marching band and all, in full uniform and furry black hat.

After dropping my bags in a locker at the train station, I headed off to the British Museum. This museum has interesting artefacts from all over the world including ancient Egypt, China and even New Zealand. One of the most interesting artefacts for me was the Rosetta Stone, used to translate the ancient Hieroglyphics.

Next I popped down to Hyde Park. I had heard that this is where you go to hear all sorts of interesting people preaching their personal ideologies to the world. Unfortunately on that day Speakers Corner was empty!

That evening I jumped on the Tube to Edgware where I planned on staying for the next week. Edgware is the last stop of the Northern Line and is one of the major Jewish suburbs of London. It has been a while since I have seen black-hatters casually walking around the streets! Unlike other Jewish ghettos I have been to, the London Jewish areas are really mixed with lots of immigrants, and Brits dispersed among the suburbs.

The next day I met up with my mate Joel, who flew out from Sweden, and we went to Madame Tussauds. No trip to London is complete without taking silly photos of yourself with Beyonce, Saddam Hussein or Obama. The museum is presented in different rooms, each with its own theme and life-like wax models to ogle at, including a scare room where things jump out of you in the dark!

Shabbat was spent in Edgware with my host family and was a really positive experience. I davened in a Shul that used to be a Church! After Shabbat I met up again with Joel and we hit the town and experienced a little bit of London night-life! We spent most of our time in Soho, the party centre of down-town London. Soho contains a mixture of high class clubs, bars and traditional British pubs, and for those that-way-inclined a huge selection of gay bars and strip clubs. Unlike back home, most London clubs charge entry to get in which can hurt your wallet if you plan on club-crawling!

The next day Joel and I went to go check out the Tower of London. Most famous for housing the Crown Jewels, it also offers an amazing insight into medieval England royalty and warfare. The jewels were stunning and so was the door to the vault that contained them! The armoury section displayed some impressive suits of army, swords and cannons.

After the Tower we went to take photos of the Tower Bridge and then made our way to Petticoat Lane market. This market wasn't anything outstanding, however historically it used to be the heart of the Jewish area of London and used to feature many Jewish peddlers. Today the Jews have moved North and been replaced by immigrants, so finding a Halal restaurant is not difficult!

Later that evening I explored Golders Green, the new centre for Judaism in London. Situated about 20 minutes north of the city (and not too far from where I am staying), Golders Green has everything a Jewish family needs including a large selection of Kosher restaurants, cafes, bookshops, supermarkets and learning centres. Dinner was Kosher Shwarma - yum!

After dinner me and Joel decided to go see some local comedic talent. We found a free comedy show in Picadilly Circus and decided to go watch while enjoying some local brew! There were 6 comedians and most of them were hilarious!!! There are heaps of comedy shows on in London all the time and many of them are free - if you are even in London go grab yourself a Timeout magazine from Tescos and you can find the nearest show!

On Monday I went to the Bevis Marks Synagogue situated in east London. It is the oldest synagogue in London and had some very famous members including Moses Montefiore and the Disraeli family. It is a beautiful old Sephardic shul but unfortunately today it is hidden between the huge apartment blocks of Algate.

Next I was off to the Natural History museum. As you walk in you are confronted with a huge skeleton of some herbivorous dinosaur. The museum contains rooms and rooms of stuffed animals, skeletons and fossils. A large dinosaur fossil exhibit culminates with fantastic animatronic T-Rex!

That evening me and Joel went back to Golders Green and caught up with another friend David. We went to visit the Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE) which is an organisation that offers classes on all sorts of Jewish topics to young people in London. We attended a small class then went out for a milkshake in a local kosher cafe.

Tuesday morning and off to the Science museum. This museum is a fascinating collection of technologies including the world's oldest locomotive, ancient calculators and computers, as well as planes, cars, boats and interactive high-tech exhibits. I piloted a flight simulator which gives you full control of a virtual fighter plane. This was a very realistic experience as the whole capsule flips and turns as you move the joystick.

That evening I walked the galleries of the Tate Modern, London's famous modern art gallery. I am not really a fan of modern art, as most paintings and displays looked like they were compiled by a 5 year old. However in saying that there were some impressive pieces from the likes of Dali, Picasso and Andy Warhol. The large exhibition gallery contained an exhibit by a Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. He commissioned the making of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds and covered the floor of this gallery. Modern art? You be the judge!

As you can see there is so much to do in London! I have really enjoyed this energetic city and can understand why it attracts so many people. However - there is one major drawback and that is the lack of personal space. Everywhere you go there are hundreds of people and it is hard to find a quiet area without leaving the city. I would love to spend more time here, but with so many places yet to explore I must continue my journey....

I have a couple of days left before I head north to Manchester. I will be uploading some photos soon - I have taken 400 so far!!! I hope everyone is well back home! I miss you all! :)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

I'm leaving on a Jet Plane

Ok..... so the title of this initial post is mega-cliché.... what-eva!

I am only 2 days away from leaving good old Wellington and haven't started packing yet - typical leave it to the last minute Daniel! :)

I must say that emotions are mixed - extreme excitement blended with nerves - but primarily the excitement of experiencing history, architecture, culture, people, spontaneity, countryside and pubs throughout Europe and the Middle East is what is on my mind!

For those who have no idea where I am off to, these are the countries I plan on visiting over the next 8 months: UK, Netherlands, France, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Dubai.

I will miss Wellington - especially my friends and family but also the quirky things that are unique to home including Cuba Street hippy-treehugger vibes, white-trash trying to be classy by dressing up on a Saturday night but most importantly the sense of community only offered by the good people of Wellywood!

I have an international cellphone, so you can txt/call me on +372 579 16631. It's an Estonia number - weird huh? But it works in practically every country in the world - so makes life easy.

I leave Wednesday morning.... Wellington - Auckland - Hong Kong - London. Hopefully my plane doesn't get delayed at Heathrow!

Next update from the UK....