West end show

Today was our last full day in the UK, and we wanted to make the most of it. We started with a quick breakfast near the hotel and then made our way via the tube and DLR (Docklands Light Rail) to Greenwich. We started by finding the meridian line with our GPS, which indicated it was a little to the east of the site where the line is at the Royal Observatory. We had a quick look through the museum there and at the exhibits there. They were really very interesting and well presented.

From Greenwich we made our way to Harrods for lunch. We hoped to have something similar to High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, but they were not starting that service until later than we could wait. Instead we made our way to the Chocolate Bar (formerly Max Brenner) and had a very healthy Chocolate Fondue! It was delicious.

After lunch we headed to Leicester Square and the Half-Tix office to see if we could catch a show tonight. It took a while to decide from the many available shows but we eventually decided to see Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. It was full price (+2.50 GBP service charge) so we walked to the box office, which was not far away, and purchased the tickets there.

Earlier in the day we had arranged to see Georgia and her partner Miles, friends from Bright. We made our way via Covent Garden, and the street performers, back to Leicester Square where we met at the Half-Tix office. We headed to the National Portrait Museum where we had tea and discussed their recent move to the UK, which was all very exciting. They are certainly set for lots of adventures if they get to go to half the places they plan.

Evening approached quickly, so we took the time to wander through St James Park, and then back to Leicester Square for a quick pizza before the show. The theatre and the show were great – its easy to see why it has been running for so long (since 1951, and in St Martins Theatre since 1974) – such a good story. The ending was … well if you haven’t seen it you’ll have to go and see for yourself.

(Andrew)

Visiting Family

We had a lovely sleep in this morning, with the time difference from Denmark; it felt like it was an hour later! Today we were heading to see my aunty Val, my father’s sister. She lives in Twickenham neat the rugby stadium. Before we headed off we grabbed a quick breakfast in a café up the road from our accommodation, using their wireless Internet to check emails etc.

After breakfast we arranged our tube tickets and then set off from Notting Hill Gate to Waterloo where we caught a train to Twickenham. The trip was quite quick, but we were later than expected. This turned out to be ok as Val had trouble finding a park and arrived a few minutes after us. It was quite strange meeting someone you don’t know for the first time. What do they look like, will they recognise you, etc.

Once Val arrived we headed back to her car then drove past the stadium to her flat in Twickenham. We chatted and looked over some of the photos that we had brought with us before heading to a garden centre that served good food nearby.

From lunch we headed on a tour of the houses that Val and/or my father had lived in at various stages of their childhood. We started at Inveresk Gardens, then on to Craven Close, and lastly to Cavendish Avenue. It was really great to see these places, and to have Val explain what she recalled of them. This took most of the rest of the afternoon, so we said goodbye to Val and headed back to London.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Waterloo and had a “flight” on the London Eye. It was quite fascinating to see the city from that height. It was quite a quick flight, but I think just the right amount of time as the pods are quite small, and there is only so much you can really see from them. We then had a quick walk through Kensington gardens to finish off the day.

(Andrew)

Last day in Denmark

Up early this morning to say goodbye to Ela before she left for work, and make sure everything was packed so we could head out with Robert. We dropped our bags off at Robert’s office, before heading over to Christiania. We took the train near Robert’s office to the Metro station that linked to Christiania. The Metro is an automated underground railway, so you can sit right up the front and look down the track as the train is moving along. We didn’t get front row seats, but were only a few from the front.

Christiania was very different from the rest of Copenhagen. The buildings and fences are covered in graffiti, people sitting around in the street smoking, and everything looked a little run down. It was quite an interesting walk, though you aren’t allowed to take photos so we don’t have much to show for it.

From Christiania we walked to the Christenborg Cathedral (cant remember the real name). You can climb the spire here that has 430 steps, the last 100ish of which wind round the outside. The stairs were tight and two way making for some interesting climbing. You could see many of the sights we had visited from the top.

After climbing the spire we made our way back to Robert’s office for another Sharwarma. It was hotter than I remembered, but great all the same. From lunch we had a quick walk around in the parks near the central square before heading to the airport via train. It was sad saying goodbye to Robert and Ela as we had such a great time.

We arrived in Gatwick airport a little ahead of the schedule we printed, and caught the Gatwick Express to Victoria station where we caught the underground to Notting Hill Gate. After checking in and freshening up we headed out for a quick bite to eat from a nearby pub. Only a few days now before we fly back home.

(Andrew)