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! :)
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