London 2

London Once, not long ago....our Jobmann Dance-Group decided again to spend four days in London (10.-13.July 2008). We flew from Germany "Düsseldorf-Weeze" to London Stanstad with Ryanair. In the morning we went with several cars to the airport. We arrived about 75 minutes before departure.
	Meeting Point: Dancing School Jobmann At 2:45 o'clock at night we met us in the dancing school.
	The first option was to eat breakfast together. (Rolls, Butter, Sausage, Soft drinks, Tea and coffee) Thx Malte!
	For some of us it's too early! ;-)
	The final preparations: In addition to the cabin baggage 3 people have shared a suitcase. Reason: Checked baggage booked online is charged per bag/per one way flight at a discounted rate of £8/€10 for the first bag and £16/€20 for each additional bag/ per one way flight. No sharing of baggage were permitted but ....we did it! :-)
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	Departure Dancing School Jomann Christina Jobmann: "Has everyone his passport???" For her own safety she controlled all of us! After this we went by car to the Airport "Düsseldorf-Weeze". We drove on a really rainy day 2 hours to the airport (178 km).

Airport Düsseldorf-Weeze
	After Check-In and Passport-Control We had to wait 15 minutes until we could boarding....
	Boing 737 - Flight FR3258 Here some pictures from the inside of the plane:
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Arrivel London Stanstad:
	At 7:50 am we reached our destination airport in London Stanstad.....the sun was shinning, no more rain. The flight time was almost 1 hour. Also, we had to put our clocks back by one hour because we changed in a different time zone.
	On the way to the passport control...
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	With the Airport-Shuttel-Bus we went to the bus-station Finchley Road. Almost everyone was exhausted and fell asleep.......1 hour travel time by bus.
	Bus Stop "Finchley Road" After unloading the suitcases from the bus we decided to go to eat someting. On our first day in London the largest part of our group went to MC Donalds..the same procedure as every year!!! ;-)
	At Mc Donalds between Tube Station Finchley Road and Swiss Cottage....
	The "normal" menu could not be ordered as usual. Only from 10:30 clock is it possible to buy for example a Big Mac Menü. Before this time you could buy only a breakfast meal. Some of us were disappointed!
	After breakfast we wait in front of the supermarket " " until Christina purchased the Travel-Cards for the Tube (London Underground).
	Finchley Road Tube Station We went from Finchley Road Tube station....
	Southwark Tube Station ...to Southwark (Jubilee line).
	Bankside House To get to our hostel we had only 15 minutes to walk from the Southwark Tube station. It's located just behind Tate Modern. Adress: Bankside House, 24 Sumner Street, SE1 9JA London, Phone: 0044-207-107 5750, Fax: 0044-207-107 5757, email: vacations@ise.ac.uk
	After we arrived our hostel (11:30 am) we couldn't go into our rooms because new guest can only check into their rooms after 3pm each day. Therefore we left our luggage at the hostel and decided to check the area around the hostel.


	Millennium Bridge The London Millennium-Bridge is a pedestrian bridge crossing the River Thames in London. The bridge connects on one side St. Paul's Cathedral and on the other side Tate Modern.
	St. Paul's Cathedral In a small group of 6 people we ran first to St. Paul's Cathedral. (Oli, Malte, Maurice, Gerd, Jana and i)
	German: "posen" war angesagt! :-)
	St. Paul's Cathedral In front of St. Paul's Cathedral we decided to run straight to Ludgate Hill. Then we turned left to the Thames.
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	Mc Donald's (Ludgate Hill) For hungry people ......Mc Donald's again!
	Hugerford Bridge and London Eye in the Back After we had crossed the Walterloo-Bridge we turned right. We ran right along the Thames to the London Eye.
	At the Thames promenade: Some artists were dressed like statues.
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	Simply brilliant!
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	We past the London Eye and went into the County Hall....downstairs to the play hall at 13:00 pm.
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	We had a great time and decided to make a bowling game.
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	After 40 minutes...our game results:
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	After the play hall we crossed the Westminster Bridge and walked to Trafalgar Square. A view backwards....
	Trafelgar Square Trafalgar Square is a square in London, that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars.
	The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".
	In the background....The National Gallery. It's an art gallery and it's located on the north side of Trafalgar Square.
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	On the way back..... a figure of sand...
	At 16:48 pm we reached the Backside House. Some of us had not received their rooms. We were very exhausted but we had to wait for Christina. She was on the way to organize the musical tickets for the evening. Around 6:15 pm we were able to check in our rooms.....


	Musical Lord of the Rings The following musicals were offered by Christina: Stomp 25,00 (€32,50), Billy Elliot-I will dance 44,00 (€57,20) Herr der Ringe 25,00 (€32,50), Hairspray 25,00 (€32,50), Chicago 22,50 (€29,25). I had decided to go to "Lord of the Rings".
	We had tickets for the balcony (Row F). It was not allowed to make photos ..... ...Nevertheless, I tried it without flash light.
	The pictures are not really successful, but better than .....nothing!
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	My opinion after the show: The musical was the best thing I've seen so far. It was great and I'm glad that i visited it!!!
	The atmosphere on the way back to the Bankside House was so indescribable that we decided to stay awake. Just a little bit more! Even if we were still awake for a long time :-)
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	Blackfriars Bridge (No statement)
	The best way to experience any place is on foot and with absolutely no travelplan. Simply go wherever your feet and your interests lead you.
	London Bridge by night With a group of four person we went further....
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	Southwark part of London by night (No statement)
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	Impressed, after a long day we went to bed...On this way we felt the life of the city.....almost 1:15 pm.

2. Day -> On the road with the LondonPass
	Breakfast room We got up at half past eight every day. Breakfast-Time for our group was between 9:00 and 10:00 o'clock. Excellent ... breakfast was included in the room rate aswell. Each morning we were greeted with a great continental style breakfast. We had different cheese and sausage varieties, yogurts and Fruits.....
	..... breads, rolls, toast, croissants, a choice of eggs, bacon, baked beans....
	apple and orange juice, milk, coffee and tea. Furthermore, you could also buy other drinks!
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	We left our hostel around 10:00 am and went to the next located Bicycle shop at Cornwall Street to rent bikes.
	Everybody got his own bike and he/she had to proof all the function of the bicycle. Especially the brakes and the gear shift. ;-)
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	20 minutes later our tour guide started.
	The first stop was in front of the Westminster Hall and Big Ben.
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	Guards Museum Next to the Wellington Barracks, you will find the Guard Museum. The museum has over 30 displays of uniforms and weapons issued. This day we saw the Guards in front of the museum.
	Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. It's one of the world's most familiar buildings and more than 50,000 people visit the palace each year. The Buckingham palace have over 600 rooms and right now...Queen Elizabeth is living there.
	For a long time only special persons could go into the palace. But since 1993 it has been allowed to visit some rooms in the palace.
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	Royal Albert Hall History of the Hall: The Royal Albert Hall has a long and rich history as one of the world's leading entertaining venues. Since it's opening concert in 1871 over 150.000 performanes have taken place inside the Auditorium.
	Albert Memorial The recently restored gold statue of Albert Memorial is located in Kensington Gardens directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. Queen Victoria ordert this memory of her beloved husband. He died of typhoid in 1861 at the age of 42. It was designed by Sir George Gibert Scott.
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	Hyde park The Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London. The park become known through its Speakers Corner but also it's famous for rock concerts. For example: Pink Floyd (1968 and 1970), The Rolling Stones (1969), Pavarotti (1991), Eric Clapton (1996), Michael Flatley (1998), Bon Jovi (2003) Shania Twain (2003), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2004), Depeche Mode (2006), Aerosmith (2007)....
	One of the best way is to see London by bicycle! We had a really lovely bike tour and it was so funny rolling down the path ways in the parks!
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	Looks like a nice place to spend some time. :)
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	We got back around 14:00 pm from our bike tour.


	We were hungry and we had a little bit of time to kill so i went with 3 friends to a italian restaurant.
	In LondonPass included was also a free visit to the London Zoo. The LondonPass Guide said that the new exhibit area of Africa will be exiting.
	Ramona and Lina came to our group. Together, we grap the Tube to get to the London Zoo at Regent's Park.
	Regent's Park When we left the Tube Station we turned right and crossed the Marylebone Road. After a turn left we ran into the Park. On the way to the London zoo.....we saw a squirrel. With some nuts on the hand....the squirrel started getting closer and closer.
	So, i spend a little time in feeding the animal.
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	The "Regent's Park" & "London Zoo" Group It was a long way through the park to the London Zoo but we had traveled so far and we were so close..... 1,5 h later.....
	London Zoo The Entry was free with our LondonPass. Otherwise it cost about 17 £ for an adult.
	Did you know??? Many films are made in this Zoo. For example: "In 2000, the Burmese python scene from 2001 film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was filmed at the Zoo Reptile House (Screenshot).
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	A bronze statue of "Guy" This gorilla arrived the zoo in 1947 from Paris Zoo and lived at the Zoo until his death in 1978. Over his 32-year life Guy became one of the Zoo's best loved characters. In 1982 Guy was commemorated by a bronze statue in the Zoos Barclay Court. His statue is much loved by London Zoo's visitors....even from Jana jokely
	At the zoo, we saw many other animals like: tigers, lions, quagga, giraffes, zebras and a okapi. When i get the pictures from Ramona i will add them soon. She has a few more pictures taken in the London zoo than i. Private Note: I found the Zoo not good and i was really disappointed! I have already seen much better Zoo's in my life. At 19:45 we reached our hostel (Bankside House).
	Second night trip: Piccadilly Circus by night With another group we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and walked to the bus station at Trafelgar Square.
	Sightseeing from a Double Decker According to my travel guide, the busline 24 stops on some LondonPass attractions on its route through the city. The bus line runs 24 hours long and is free for person with the LondonPass.
	First we sat in the back of bus....and then in the front!
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	Outside of London.....
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	We drove until the last bus-station. There we had to get out of the bus and we had to wait for the next one.
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	On the way back we saw Big Ben and enjoyed the view from the deck of the london bus. 5 minutes later we decided to get out of the bus again.
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	Red phone boxes Typical british old-style red phone boxes. They are a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom. Question: How many people can you put into a Telefonbox?? Result: 5 ;-)
	At 2:00 pm we went up to our bedroom.

3. Day -> Second day with the LondonPass
	Borough Market After breakfast Christina showed us the Borough Market. This Market is one of London's oldest wholesale fruit and vegetable markets. It was established on the south bank of the Thames when the Romans built the first London Bridge. It has occupied its present site for 250 years and covers an area of 4.5 acres.
	Borough Market Do you know something about "Jamie Oliver" frequently nicknamed The Naked Chef? He is an English celebrity chef. He is well known for his role in campaigning against processed foods in British schools. Two highly successful seasons of "The Naked Chef" were filmed in 1998 and 1999.
	The popular series brought Oliver worldwide fame, and more television programmes and book deals followed. People like Jamie Oliver have there purchased in their cooking-shows and there are also regular TV projects filmed.
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	It's also the country�s most important retail market for fine foods.
	30 minutes later we went by tube and bus to the Tower of London.
	Tower of London The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction.
	Bloody Tower The History of the Tower of London is great, bloody and cruel and the Bloody Tower has its part to play in its story. History - The Bloody Tower was originally named the Garden Tower as its upper storey opens on that part of the parade ground which was formerly the Constable's Garden. But was given this nickname from the murderous events which were believed to have occurred in the building.
	It is believed to first derive its name from the suicide in it of Henry Percy, eighth Earl of Northumberland, in 1585 (father of the Wizard Earl). It was then believed to be the scene of the murder of the two little Princes in the Tower - Edward V and his brother the Duke of York. Finally it was believed that Henry VI also met his gruesome death here.
	Overbury was sent secret letters hiden in gifts of food. Lady Frances was accused of poisoning the tarts and jellies and confessed at her trail. A letter from Lady Frances to the lieutenant of the Tower, in which she warned him to not let his family taste the food sent for the prisoner. The letter was the main piece of evidence used against her at the trial.
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	Just behind us....the main entrance to the Tower of the Crown Jewels.
	The Tower of the Crown Jewels With the mobile phone camera...Recordings were not permitted!

	Ravens It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.
	However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. -> They are still there!!! (Each bird has one clipped wing, so they cannot fly far, but as many visitors have discovered they can walk very fast!)
	Tower raven exhibition
	Inside the building were shown the various weapons of the different time periods...
	For example, the greatest warrior. Here is a small compared with Jana ;-)
	And ... the smallest junior warrior in his armament! That was cute!!!
	A Torture tool The idea....hurts already!
	Inside the gift shop The young Princess &
	...the mysterious black knight!
	Tower Bridge In the background....the Tower-Bridge of London! This is our next exciting activity.
	I already knew the Tower-Bridge exhibition from last year. Anyway ....you will find more pictures about it on my first report about London. Thx! Instead....here are some funny pictures. We have made them at the end of the exhibition.


	National Maritime Museum
	National Maritime Museum




	London Eye


	More about the London night life!

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