One weekend ago, I travelled across the pond for a visit to London and Norwich. Luckily, the inexpensive airline Ryan Air flies out of Bremen Airport, so my tickets were a good price. What I learned from this trip, most importantly, is how nice it is to go to a place where the small details, like bus transportation, hostel stays and so on are figured out beforehand. No one enjoys planning such things beforehand, but do it anyway, and you will have less stress on the trip itself.

When I finally pulled into Victoria Station, there was a bit of trouble getting to the Tube station I needed because the Northern line was closed. But, it was just another adventure, plus I got the cool experience of riding in my first double decker bus! For some reason, I always thought that was not a real thing, but I was extremely happy to see that it was. I finally met up with my friends, and after finding the hostel we got some much needed sleep. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I really enjoyed it (give me a place to sleep, and I will be a happy camper).

After breakfast the next morning, we set off to see London. Since it was Sunday, we decided to go to service in Westminster Abby. I learned that you do not have to be particularly religious to enjoy this – I am not, but I found the experience very enjoyable and relaxing. Plus, the Abby is just an incredible place in itself. Afterwards, we walked around Hyde Park for a while. This was by far my favorite thing we did. The gardens and park were gorgeous, especially with all the foliage. We then found the Peter Pan statue, which after seeing, I can say assuredly was…a statue of Peter Pan. We took two short trips to the National Gallery and the Picture Gallery, which included works by Monet, Renoir, and the famous painting of Shakespeare in its original form. We ended the night by walking along the Thames, and all in all, it was just a ‘lovely’ day, to use the preferred word of Brits.

The next day we visited Norwich, and it was awesome if nothing else because we met up with some of our Dickinson friends studying at the University of East Anglia. We walked around town to see all the markets, saw a cool castle museum and toured campus. It was like I was back home in Bremen – the grey, concrete-slabbed buildings reminded me of my own campus. In the afternoon, we fulfilled a British rite of passage and went for afternoon tea. It was awesome, because we got served delicious biscuits and jam, and warm tea. What else does anyone ever really need? At night, I had the privilege to see my favorite band The Goo Goo Dolls live for the second time, and it was incredible! Plus, we stayed after the show and got the lead singer Johnny Rzeznick’s autograph!

Before I headed back to Germany the next morning, I walked around London a bit more. I visited Westminster Abbey again to pay homage to some of my heroes, including Isaac Newton, T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickens. I then went back to Hyde Park and took a relaxing stroll by the water. I think that spending several days in one city is the best way to travel, because you truly get a feel for the place. I definitely decided that I am not quite done with London – I am already determining when I can come back to this special city. Now when I go back, I will feel like a pro!