I Finally Made It to London

The United Kingdom has always been on my bucket list of places to visit! From British classics like Harry Potter, Big Ben, and red phone boxes, the country has forever intrigued me with its royal charm and elegant culture.

At the end of 2017, I embarked on my first successful solo trip to Copenhagen and Amsterdam. On this trip, I visited three new countries and many new buildings that I had previously only studied in theory and history classes. I also experienced new cultures and met some amazing people. After coming back from that trip, I already began planning my Europe trip, part 2! On this trip, I visited more new places that I did not get to see while studying abroad. One city at the top of my list was London!

And just like that, I was on another Norwegian Airlines flight from Florida, this time bound for London! Norwegian is one of my go-to airlines for cheap travel to Europe. For this trip, I only paid $210 for my one-way ticket! After another 8+ hours across the pond, I touched down in the United Kingdom!

I arrived at Gatwick Airport, which is about 30 miles south of the city. I hopped on a nearby train and headed to Blackfriars Station. As the train pulled in, I could already see some of London’s icons, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard, and the London Eye, pop into view. From here, it was a quick 30-minute ride on the Circle Line to Kensington, a quiet neighborhood outside the city center where my hostel was located!

Kensington

I emerged from the London Underground, commonly known as “the Tube”, and spotted some iconic red phone boxes and English Baroque architecture. I walked a couple blocks to my hostel. After checking in, I dropped my stuff off in my room and went downstairs to hang out in the common room. While there, I met a girl who was from Bangkok but had previously lived in London. She was visiting the city again on holiday. I also connected with a hostel staff member from Quebec, a destination I had visited in December 2015.

Since I was conquering jetlag, I asked where the nearest café was. Since everyone else was in the mood for coffee, we headed out to a nearby café next to Hyde Park. Although the British are more known for tea, their coffee was still tasty, similar to that of other European countries.

Hyde Park

It was time for my walk to conquer jetlag! It was a beautiful spring day and I set off to explore Hyde Park in search of a building that I studied in my contemporary architecture history class. In contrast to the King’s Garden and Vondelpark, which were dreary when I visited in December, Hyde Park was in full bloom during May!

I eventually arrived at the building I was searching for: The Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The main wing of this art museum is traditional in design, while a modern, deconstructivist addition was designed by Zaha Hadid. I had previously attempted to visit another one of her works, the Ordrupgaard Museum in Copenhagen, but discovered it was closed for renovations.

The extension of this museum is futuristic in design, with a white, fiberglass roof that floats over thin glass walls and appears to bisect the building in two. Inside, a large gallery is interrupted by light-filled columns, which provide a secondary source of light to the interior. Today, this space is used as a restaurant.

British Museum

After a quick stop at the Sackler Gallery, I headed back for the Tube and went downtown. I emerged at another attraction that was high on my list: the British Museum. On the way over, I spotted many of Britain’s iconic red phone boxes, as well as London’s double-decker buses.

The British Museum is one of the world’s largest history museums, housing a collection of well-known art and artifacts from many time periods. The building itself is also impressive! The main quadrangle was designed by English architect Sir Robert Smirke and takes its inspiration from Greek Revival architecture. The exterior of the museum is lined with Ionic columns while the main entrance also includes a decorative roof pediment topped with a Union Jack flag.

I entered the Great Court, where old meets new. This covered space opened in 2000 and is designed by Norman Foster. A modern, glass and steel roof encloses the museum’s original courtyard, which surrounds a cylindrical reading room. The new interior is bright and airy, with light shining on the smooth, restored stone façades.

The museum houses a large collection of famous artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone. This stone tells the same story in three languages: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian Demotic script, and Ancient Greek. Archeologists used this stone to finally decipher hieroglyphs, opening the world to knowledge about an ancient civilization! I was surprised to find few crowds around the stone. Compared to the Mona Lisa in Paris, where I had to fight crowds just to get a close-up view, I was able to walk right up to the Rosetta Stone and examine it!

Another notable exhibit houses artifacts from the Parthenon in Athens. Sculptures, as well as pediments and metopes that once decorated the exterior of the temple, are now on display at the British Museum. I had previously visited the Parthenon itself in Athens but did not have time to tour the nearby museum which houses the remaining artifacts. It was amazing to learn more about a building that was once one of the most prominent examples of Greek architecture.

The rest of the museum houses artifacts from numerous other civilizations. Like many museums in Europe, it is a place that you could easily spend an entire day in and still not have time to see it all!

After my visit to the museum, I continued to explore the lovely streets of London. I passed by Russell Square: a pocket of green space lined with Georgian style homes.

St. Pancras and King’s Cross Stations

Further north, I reached one of the city’s major transportation hubs: St. Pancras and King’s Cross Stations. These are two of the busiest train stations in Britain, and each has its own distinct architectural style.

I started with St. Pancras Station: an ornate Victorian Gothic building! The beautiful brick outside is decorated with pockets of stone around each window, and spires tower over every corner. The station also houses a commanding clock tower, which provided a backdrop for filming during Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Contrary to popular belief, the flying car scene was filmed at St. Pancras Station, NOT King’s Cross.

Inside, a vaulted wrought iron ceiling spanning the train platforms contrasts the Gothic façade. This ceiling was the largest of its kind at the time of completion. Today, the station houses the Eurostar service connection the United Kingdom with mainland Europe.

Next door, King’s Cross Station takes on a more robust form. The front façade is built in brown brick and is composed of two arches with a clock tower in-between. The arches are on axis with the two vaulted roof structures over the train platforms.

Inside, the glass roof lights up the platforms, which are separated by a series of brick arches. This part of the station served as the filming location for the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ in the Harry Potter franchise.

The station’s Western Concourse has been recently restored. A new steel structure spans the roof and curls down like a tree trunk, giving the old station a modern twist. This concourse also houses the famous Platform 9 ¾ sign. Being the Harry Potter fanatic that I am, I waited in line with other tourists to get that Instagram-perfect snapshot. Unfortunately, I am a muggle and was unable to pass through the brick wall to see the platform in person.

British Library

My final stop of the day was the British Library: the largest national library in the world. While the exterior of the building is a not-so-impressive modern design, the inside includes some elegant stacks, as well as a large collection of books and other treasures.

After an intense day of sightseeing in the British capital, I headed back to Kensington just in time for a pub-night with my hostel. I went out and sampled some pints while having great conversations with new friends! Everyone who I met was super friendly and I knew that this was going to be a great home away from home! The staff at this hostel were young and easy to relate to and helped bring everyone together, from solo travelers to groups. I ended the day with an amazing first impression of a vibrant city!