Protecting an address

On the way back to my hotel, I ran into four of these guys, prowling the street in what seemed to be a perfectly ordinary neighbourhood. I saw one, then two, then rounded the corner to see a third. I couldn't stand it any longer and asked #3 what was going on. 

"Oh, we're just protecting an address," he replied calmly. He was happy to let me take his photo and to show me what he was carrying -- an MP5, a sidearm, and a Taser. And a baton. I later did some googling and learned that this is a special branch of the Met, whose job is to guard the homes of diplomats, visiting VIPs, etc. I guess with all the Bentleys, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, Maseratis and Ferarris parked along the streets, I should have guessed there were some bigwigs in the neighbourhood. 

And here I thought they were just oil rig workers.

British Museum

After Paddington Station, I rode to the British Museum. It is huge and very grand. It was also very busy.  

For me, it was a bit of a let-down. First of all, I couldn't even see, let alone photograph, the Rosetta Stone...

The collection of ancient artifacts is impressive, of course, but I have to say that after walking around ancient Turkish sites and standing beside tombs and pillars in the Egyptian desert, it is simply not the same to see them in glass cases or on stands in a museum.

And how funny to come all the way from Alberta, to see this:

So a short visit here was enough for me. The area around the museum is interesting; it's next to the University of London, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (where many favourite actors, including Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson, trained) and other institutes of higher learning.

 The cycle hire station is right across from RADA

Paddington Station

Since our whole family are big Paddington the Bear fans, and since I've read and watched the Miss Marple novel/movie 4:50 from Paddington, I had to visit Paddington station. I rode there using a hire bike and had some trouble finding a docking station. A nice couple saw me looking and used their phone to find one for me. (Unfortunately, the street WiFi typically requires sign-in and local phone numbers, etc., so I haven't been able to use it much.)

Walking from the bike hire station, the first thing I saw was this canal system.

entrance

inside the station and some lucky British woman!

You can wait for a train with Paddington!

The statue of Paddington is rather small, considering his status,
although he is referred to as a very small bear!

And there is also a Paddington Shop

Saturday in London - April 26th - V & A, Harrods, Harvey Nichols

After breakfast, I was ready to go, but unfortunately it was still pretty early and everything was closed. Also unfortunately, it was raining quite hard. Boots, the iconic British chemist's shop, opened at 9:00, so I went there at opening time and bought an umbrella. I had a nice chat with the Filipina woman working behind the counter; she said she had been planning a picnic but would have to cancel and disappoint the children. I assured her that now that I had bought the umbrella, the rain would stop. 

However, it was still raining lightly by the time I got back to the hotel. Oh well, I thought. I stowed my luggage at the hotel desk and set out at about 9:30, grabbing a hire bike and heading north towards Hyde Park. 

a Santander/Barclays hire bike docking station

Almost as soon as I started riding, the rain stopped, so that was great. I rode to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where there was a long queue waiting for opening time -- about 10 minutes away. So I joined the queue.

It's hard to capture the immensity and grandiosity of this museum in photos. It truly is amazing. I could have spent all day here, and I thought about how much we would have loved to have a museum like this when the boys were young. 

Tempus fugit could have been my motto for this trip, as I knew I had only five days to explore everything!

After the V & A, I went to Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Maybe I am weird, but I wasn't that thrilled with either one, except to be able to say I went there. The chocolate section in the basement of Harrods is vast and delectable, but there are so many choices that it was hard for me to decide what to buy -- so I ended up not buying anything. I guess that's a good thing, but I sort of would have liked to take something home.

In Harrods, I was impressed with the Egyptian escalator and there is a whole Egyptian room, which is also quite cool.

Harrods, from across the street

Arrival in London

I arrived in London at about 12:00 noon. The train (underground) ride to the hotel station was about half an hour, so not bad. It was pretty crowded, so I had to stand the whole way, but after sitting for more than 8 hours, I didn't mind that. The hotel was only a 3 minute walk from the tube station. Nice!

It's not a bad hotel -- the room is tiny and the lift doesn't work very well, but the shower is fantastic, as is the view. Unfortunately, this is a private park, only for people who live in the area. But at least I can enjoy looking at it. The buildings around here are mostly quite old -- maybe Victorian -- and many are being renovated. The cars parked outside -- well, let's just say I have never seen so many Bentleys, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Mercedes, and of course the most common, BMWs and Audis, in one short walk. There are also quite a few Mini Coopers and Fiat 500s (maybe those are for the help), but most are luxury brands. I've already noticed that people drive just like they do at home, drivers are quite aggressive towards pedestrians, and people leave their cars running. It's not cold or hot, and they aren't diesel trucks, so I wonder what the excuse is here. 

The (private) park across from the hotel -- complete with ping-pong table!

I had a pub lunch of fish and chips. It was good and all, but once was enough. More than enough, actually, as you can see from the photo.You can't see it very well, but there is also a portion of baby peas (not the mushy variety.) I saw on the menu that you could choose mushy or whole, but the woman who took my order didn't ask. She must have just assumed that a Canadian wouldn't want the mushy ones.The tea was great here -- served in a huge cup and saucer and with a little pitcher of milk. By having fish and chips in a pub, I killed two birds with one stone -- had a pub lunch and fish and chips.

The pub part was kind of strange. There were mostly men there, a few sitting alone. The two guys at the table next to mine talked constantly, mostly about what movies and TV shows they like. They are big Get Smart fans, which I thought was pretty interesting. I had a good time eavesdropping (forced to do so) but I still felt a bit awkward sitting alone with this huge plate of food! Needless to say, I couldn't finish it all. I had two thoughts about this -- first, if I could have ordered a half-portion, I would have been happy to do that -- it would have been cheaper and prevented me from wasting food. And second, if this is how much food Brits eat, it's no wonder they are seeing an increase in obesity!

Just a light lunch in the local pub!

Enough food for two -- or three! 

Right after lunch,I went to Hyde Park/ Kensington Gardens and hired a Barclays Hire Cycle.

These are 3-speed bikes that you can rent for short trips around the city. It costs 2 GBP for a 24-hour rental. During this time you can make as many trips of up to thirty minutes as you like. If you keep the bike longer than half an hour, you are charged extra. I didn't really get it at first, but the guy at the hotel reception desk explained it to me. That was exactly what I ended up doing: I rode first in the parks, then I saw a store I was interested in, so I docked the bike and went in and browsed around. After this, I walked for a while and then picked up another bike. This time, after riding for a bit, I felt confused about where I was, so I docked the bike and took some time to look at the map and get my bearings, then I walked to another docking station. Finally I used a third bike to ride back to the hotel. 

My very first Barclays Hire Cycle!

Apparently they have changed their name (and sponsor) to Santander, but some still have the Barclays label.

The South Kensington tube station -- I liked the shiny brick!

There are docking stations at all the underground stations, but also in other places. You would never have to ride more than half an hour to get to a new station.My last bit of riding was between 4:30 and 5:00. I noticed that a lot of people seem to use the bikes for commuting. What a great idea!They are very basic bikes, but apparently most of London is quite flat, so you don't need a lot of speeds. I also noticed that many of the commuters wear reflective vests and/or helmets. So I guess they bring that stuff to work with them, but just not the bike. They don't have to worry about finding a pace to park the bike, or about the bike getting stolen. I also saw quite a few commuters on folding bikes -- another good idea for this setting.

All in all, I didn't really see a lot of sights or anything today, but I felt like it was a good chance to get acquainted with the city and the bike hire system. I also enjoyed seeing the Round Pond, where people sail boats and feed the waterfowl. 

Near this pond is a statue of Queen Victoria:

I rode to a square with World War I and Wellington memorials:

Tomorrow I plan to take in some of the "big name" sights, and also possibly to attend a show in the evening. I'm glad I had a chance to use the bikes today and get oriented. It is every bit as tough as I thought it would be to remember to ride on the left! 

People watching today was also fun. Almost as soon as I left the hotel and started walking, I saw three police officers walking towards me. They wore uniforms and, contrary to expectations, all three carried guns -- and not just guns but great big ones (maybe M16s?) complete with ammunition clips. I haven't seen that before, except in Istanbul. There are a lot of police cars patrolling as well, more than we see in Edmonton.

 (above and below)  Some buildings I rode by in Chelsea -- the bottom one is a "mews" -- old stables converted into homes. They seem really nice, because they are so private, and of course have attached garages.

I also saw what seemed to be two Arab princesses being dropped off by their chauffeur at an expensive shoe shop. The car -- a black Mercedes minivan. Very nice! They already wore expensive shoes (all I could see except a bit of their faces) but I guess they wanted more!

Little schoolboy in his blazer, hat and scarf. Riding his scooter home from school.

And there were LOTS of schoolchildren in their uniform blazers. So quintessentially British. I even saw one little girl riding on the back of her dad's bike; she was wearing the classic flat straw hat along with her school uniform.

March 5 - more Copenhagen by bike

After breakfast and a friendly conversation with the guy who was clearing tables (he was Asian but spoke good English and had lots of advice for me -- including "you should rent a bike"!) I reclaimed my bike from yesterday and set off. 

Somehow yesterday when I was in the Latin Quarter (at the synagogue and Ankara Restaurant) I missed the Round Tower. I couldn't figure out how I'd missed it, but then realized that it was at this point that the hail started and distracted me from my sightseeing efforts. So, that was on the agenda for today.

I first went to Amalienborg & Frederiksstaden. This is the home of the Royal Family. It is quite spectacular. There were guards on duty wearing the beef-eater-style hats. One was kind of nasty to me. When I arrived, I wasn't sure about riding my bike inside the palace area, but I noticed that other people were, so I went ahead. I stopped to take some photos, and since I really didn't want someone to run off with the bike, I locked it. I walked a few paces to get the angle I wanted for the photo and the guard called me and told me I couldn't leave my bike there. I asked him where I should park it, as I didn't see any bike parking. He said, “I don’t know.” So then I said that I was just going to take some photos, not leave the bike, and I explained that I had locked it because it wasn't my bike. He said, “You can’t leave it there.” I asked again where I should put it, and again he said he didn't know. Very helpful! So I finally just ignored him, took my photos and left. I figured he was just on a power trip, and it seems I was right, because he didn't fine me or anything! 

the grumpy guard! The palace buildings are big and beautiful, and there is an impressive equestrian statue in the centre of the courtyard.

Near here I also saw 

The Marble Church:

 and The Russian Church:

After this I rode down to the Nyhavn area again; this is the canal with the old houses on either side. I rode around there a bit, enjoying the sight of all the old buildings, and then went to Kongens Nytorv (King’s New Square.) This is an interesting area, with a lot of nice old buildings (lots of construction going on right now, however) including the Hotel d’Angleterre -- a beautiful expensive hotel where celebrities apparently stay regularly. There is an old theatre, another palace, another equestrian statue, and the Magasin du Nord, Copenhagen’s oldest department store. I went in there and explored a bit. It has a lot of the same old stuff that everywhere else has -- Boss, Ralph Lauren, etc., but also some uniquely Danish -- or at least European designs. I was tempted by a 2-for-1 sale on scarves, but decided against them. Even with the sale, they were still kind of pricey. I did go to the toy section and saw the Andrea toy and took a photo.

The food section in the basement (seems to be the way of things here) was amazing, with the most incredible chocolates and candy. There were several Easter displays; I took photos of those, as they are quite different from what we would see at home. Licorice candy is apparently big for Easter, also licorice combined with chocolate in some fashion.

After my foray into Magasin, I rode down a street called Holmens Kanal, and ended up at Christiansborg Slot, which is the seat of the Danish parliament. This was very interesting. There is a tower you can go up in for free. You have to go through a security check first (light) and then take two different elevators, followed by some stairs. Once at the top, you go outside on a balcony and can see all over the city. That was a pretty good deal! There were a bunch of chatty older ladies in the elevator with me both times; I’m not sure what they were up to, but they sure seemed to be having a good time.

By the time I finished exploring this area (again, lots of interesting old buildings and statues) it was almost time for the changing of the guard at Amalienborg, so I had to figure out how to get back there. I asked a woman who was walking her baby (in an old-fashioned pram -- there are lots of those around here) for some help, and she showed me on my map, so I set off. It was an easy ride (the bike lanes really do make it nice getting around) and I arrived just in time.

This changing of the guard was really spectacular, much better than the one in Stockholm. For one thing, these guards wear the beefeater uniforms, not just military uniforms. And they have a large band with drums and brass instruments. Apparently they actually march through the streets of Copenhagen from the other palace I visited yesterday (a few blocks away) to this one -- they do this each day at 11:30. So that was really interesting to see.

This ceremony went on for quite a while, so I didn’t stay for the whole thing. Apparently they just stand in two rows facing one another for about 15 minutes before starting another part of the ceremony. So I left during this standing time.

I rode down to Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, past Tivoli amusement park, which is closed until April or May, and then to the Radhus Plaza (town hall.) Here there is a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, as well as other statues and other beautiful old buildings (yes, they are everywhere in this city.) It struck me funny that there is also a Ripley’s Believe It or Not and a Guinness World Records Museum -- typical tourist area! This square or plaza leads to the shopping street, so I checked out the souvenir shops to see if I could find a mug for Dave, but no luck. I also went into Tiger, which I had read about somewhere. It turns out it is kind of like a dollar store, but a lot classier. I googled it and it says it is a Danish concept store with stores all over Europe and in Japan. It definitely has a Japanese flavour to it. There is some really cute stuff and very cheap, but of course I am limited in what I can bring back.

Then I rode way down to Frederiksberg Have. This is a large park with an old palace, which looks a lot like a school. In fact, it is used as a training school for army cadets. The park is quite fantastic, with a canal and tree-lined paths, herons and other birds, and some different types of buildings, which I didn’t see. Apparently there is a Chinese Pavilion and a Swiss Chalet, but I missed them. The zoo is also here. There is a fairly steep hill to climb to reach this park, which means the view from there is quite good also. It would be nice to see this in the summer. I was sort of tempted to go to the zoo, but that is something that would be more enjoyable with children along -- maybe one day I can take Zoe and Avery!

On my way to this park I stopped in a Forex store. I have seen a lot of them and wondered what it was. It is the Danish Wal-Mart. It was kind of interesting to see a store like that done Danish style. But mostly it’s junk, just like Wal-Mart at home. The Tiger store has much more flair.

I rode back the same way I came, and then wove my way up the narrow streets to the Round Tower. So, it turns out I was right there yesterday, right at the time it started to hail. This is why I was distracted and missed it. Actually, I did see it, but it didn’t register what it was, as I was taking shelter from the hail. I paid the 25 DKK fee to go up (about $4) and that was money well spent. The climb up is fun and interesting, which different things to see along the way -- the inside of the Trinity Church, an old “privy,” the bell loft, and some other things. Then at the top, you can go out onto a platform and see all over the city -- similar to the view from the other tower, but this one is more central (the other tower is closer to the waterfront.) So that was a very good way to end the day.

view from The Round Tower