Traveling: January 2018

Saturday 6 January 2018

London 2017/18 - Part 1

London Calling

Friday - December 29th 2017

Like last year Claudia and I wanted to spend New Year's Eve in London and so Thursday after work we packed our stuff and drove to Munich Airport. Since our Easyjet flight was departing early in the morning, we stayed at the Novotel for one night. Friday morning we took the bus to the terminal, went through the security checks and had a small breakfast before departure. Once we arrived at Gatwick Airport near London, we took the ThamesLink train into the city. We got off at London Bridge and headed straight to Borough Market for lunch. There we got a vegan burger and after we strolled around the market, we got thirsty. Since London is full of great and beautiful pubs, we entered the nearest one called The Globe Tavern and enjoyed some beers until it was time to head to our hotel. Like during all of our recent London trips, we stayed in Wandsworth Town at the Holiday Inn Express, which is just about 12 minutes by train from Waterloo Station. After we checked in, it was time for dinner. Claudia and I decided to try the Pizza Express in Wandsworth and we weren't disppointed. The restaurant offered a vegan pizza and it was quite tasty. Before we returned to the hotel, we stopped at our favourite pub in London - The Alma Wandsworth.

The Shard

The Shard

Borough Market

Veggie Burger from Borough Market

The Globe Tavern

Pizza from Pizza Express

Friday 5 January 2018

London 2017/18 - Part 2

London

Saturday - December 30th 2017

Today we slept a little bit longer and after breakfast we were on our way to the train station. For today we had planned to visit the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. From Waterloo Station we took the Jubilee Line to the Olympic Park. Once we arrived there, we checked ou the Disney Store at the local shopping centre and then we walked to the tower. Luckily there was no line and soon we were on top of the platform. From there we had a good view over the Olympic Park, where the 2012 Olympic Games were held, and we could even see the city of London in the distance.

Waterloo Station

Stratford

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Stratford

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

ArcelorMittal Orbit

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Afterwards we wanted to take the London Overground Train to Hackney, but unfortunately the line was closed due to engineering works and so we had to take the bus, which took a little bit longer than anticipated. The reason, why we were on our way to Hackney was the Temple of Seitan. That little vegan restaurant serves amazing vegan burger and it was definitely worth going there. Later we took the bus back into the inner city and went to the Blackfriar Pub, one of the most beautiful pubs I've ever seen. After a refreshing beer we strolled along the River Thames to Waterloo Station and drove back to Wandsworth. There we spent the rest of the evening at The Alma Pub.

Temple of Hackney

Blackfriar Pub

Thursday 4 January 2018

London 2017/18 - Part 3

New Year's Eve

Sunday - December 31st 2017

Although it was New Year's Eve day, Claudia and I hadn't planned anything special for today. We slept in, had breakfast and then we took the train into the city. There we just walked around the City of Westminster and via Trafalgar Square towards Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately William and Harry didn't come out to give us an audience, so we had to get a coffee at Starbucks instead.

Wandsworth Train Station

London

London

The Sherlock Holmes Pub

London

Buckingham Palace

London

After a hot cup of coffee we came across Crosstown Doughnuts and they had vegan donuts on display. Needless to say that we had try some, because they were really delicious. Our next stop was Soho, Carnaby Street to be precise. There we had to get a couple of beers at the White Horse Pub. We stopped there last year on New Year's Eve day too, and we thought that it would be a great tradition to do that again. In the early afternoon it was time for lunch and like last year, we ate at Tibits, a great vegetarian restaurant. Unfortunately it started to rain afterwards and since we didn't have any tickets for the London fireworks, we decided to get some snacks at Whole Foods Market for our little celebration in our room. Then we returned to Wandsworth, spent a couple of hours at The Alma Pub and later we celebrated the beginning of 2018 in our room. It wasn't very glorious, but we just wanted to have a relaxing evening.

Crosstown Donuts

Piccadilly Circus

Regent Street

Carnaby Street

White Horse Pub

Beer

White Horse Pub

Carnaby Street

Lunch at Tibits

Rainy London

Wednesday 3 January 2018

London 2017/18 - Part 4

New Year's Day

Monday - January 1st 2018

Last year on New Year's Day Claudia and I walked from Little Venice to Camden Lock Market along the Regent's Canal. This year we wanted to do the same, but just from the other side. So after breakfast we were on our way to King's Cross Station from where our walk along the Regent's Canal Towpath to Camden Town started. Once we arrived at King's Cross Station we had to check out The Harry Potter 9 3/4 Platform Shop. The line for a picture was already way too long and so we just bought a Harry Potter souvenir.

The Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4

King's Cross Station

London

St. Pancras International Train Station

King's Cross Station

After a quick visit to St. Pancras International Train Station, that's where the Eurostar departs towards Paris, and a coffee at Starbucks, we started our walk to Camden. About 45 minutes later Claudia and I made it to Camden right in time for lunch. A veggie burger, a vegan fish taco and a slice of pizza later we enjoyed a drink at Gabeto, a Cuban bar. In the afternoon we caught the metro back to Waterloo Station and had a couple of gin tonics at our favourite Pub in London - The Alma.