goddesstogo

Hi sarge,
I hope you're feeling all better now.

I don't post in the lounge anymore and only drop in there occasionally to browse. I did go back and read your thread about Maitaitom. You were very nice to start it for him and what a scary story that is! I don't think I've met Tom but I hope you'll add my good wishes for his speedy recovery to your thread. I was just telling a friend the other day that more and more lately, I think health is a minefield. When you wake up in the morning, you have no idea what's might befall you that day!

hsv

I would still recommend a stroll along Strandweg rather than the farmers market.

Take the S1 or S3 from Dammtor towards Altona, get off at Sternschanze. Take the U3 Southbound to Landungsbruecken.
Get off and hop on the ferry (included in the day-pass tickets for trains) towards Finkenwerder. Get off at the Oevelgoenne stop. Right at the shore, turn left into Strandweg.
Walk for as far as you like - it is picturesque, and you'll be walking along the river all the time and may be able to see the ocean going vessels up close again.
There are cafes along your route - and if you don't feel like walking any more, head up some stairs towards Elbchausee and get a bus either back into town or out to Blankenese (a well-heeled neighbourhood with again picturesque houses lining the hills.
In Blankenese, Luehmanns Teestube offers tea and scones (if you feel homesick for London already). Alternatively Suellberg has a good bistro (apart from its starred cuisine at 7Seas restaurant) and a nice cafe with splendid views.
http://www.luehmanns-teestube.de/
http://www.suellberg-hamburg.de/

Alternatively, a little bit closer to town, old school Hotel Louis C Jacob offers coffee and cakes, too (apart from arguably being the best restaurant in the city) and has a wonderful linden tree terrace (painted by Max Liebermann decades ago already) overlooking the river (it's a bit formal).
http://www.hotel-jacob.de/

If the weather is bad, next to City Hall to the right, Bucerius Kunstforum has usually excellent changing exhibitions, currently Marc Chagall.
http://www.buceriuskunstforum.de/h/i...74efbd5fa35896

goddesstogo

Thanks, hsv, but I didn't see your post till just now and we're back in London.

As it turns out, we didn't go to the farmer's market. We walked up (down?) Rothenbaumchasse to the circle and then had a nice walk on Eppendorfers Baum. We had lunch in a little restaurant and walked back to the hotel in good time to get to the airport and come back here. I was surprised to see a sweet little market on Rothenbaumchasse just outside the folk museum. There were about 8 little trailers opened up along the side selling meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, home-made jams and jellies, and baked goods. The products looked lovely. As we walked back to the hotel at about 2 p.m. they were just closing up.

hsv, perhaps you know this -- in the circle where Eppensdorfer meets Rothenbaumchasse, there's some sort of monument (at least that's what I think it is) that looks like a wall of black stones. It's about 20 feet long and about 10 feet high and the stones are contained in a wire mesh so they maintain the shape. We looked for a plaque or something explaining what that was but didn't see anything although it did look like there was a sign there at one time but it had been broken or kicked down and taken away.

We had a wonderful time in Hamburg and thought it was a beautiful and interesting city.

goddesstogo

I can't believe we're now halfway through our stay in London.

hsv

The structure you are describing in the middle of Klosterstern is not a monument. In the commercially minded city of Hamburg, someone thought it was appropriate to give private companies the chance to exhibit exterior space designs on public grounds. The wall you are describing was put up along with the benches surrounding it by a wire mesh company.

goddesstogo

How disappointing, hsv. It looked so serious!

goddesstogo

Today, I wanted to go to the V&A but the Jubilee line was down so I took a nice long bus ride through many neighbourhoods. I got off at Kensington High Street so I could have a bit of a walk to the museum and passed by the Museum of Natural History which looks like a palace. The V&A is very beautiful. Even if you tipped it over and shook out all the art, it still would be worth seeing just for the building itself. Of course, I didn't get to see all of it but I'd like to go back and take SO, especially for lunch so he can see the gorgeousness of the cafe. I could barely concentrate on my prawn wrap! People were drawing in the sculpture court. I'd like to do that. Maybe I will.

I bought a few gifts in the gift shop (to my way of thinking, museum gift shops are the best places for gifts) and then I continued walking along Brompton Road, stopping in at the Oratory for a bit. I didn't realize when I was on Brompton Road the other day that I was so close -- literally a couple of minutes' walk -- from the V&A. It reminded me once again how close so many things are in the centre of London. I continued walking down Sloane Street to Sloane Square where I got on the tube for a very complicated and crowded ride home because the Jubilee line was still down.

A quick change of clothes and then we were off to Kilburn Road for comedy night at the Good Ship. Good comics! Both of us liked the opening act best and thought the headliner was quirky and very funny but he spoke so quickly and often a little too quietly so we missed some of the jokes. Still, it was a fun evening.

A couple of things:
When we were in Hamburg, I noticed that nobody there jaywalks. People will stand on a street corner waiting ages for the light to turn green even though there isn't a car for miles.

There doesn't seem to be (what I think is) the obsessive worry about germs here that we have at home. Everywhere you go at home there are pumps of hand sanitizer and posters of how to wash your hands. I haven't seen much of that here in London or in any of the other cities we've visited. You can actually pick up a sample of a muffin in a bakery with your bare hands and people don't look at you as though you're a leper.

And finally, the number of times you get offered a spray of perfume in a posh department store is directly related to the quality of your coat. I was wearing a very nice coat today and got offered all sorts of sprays and things. Unfortunately, no free samples.

Nighty night.

LCBoniti

I am continuing to enjoy your lovely time in London. I am headed there in just over three weeks and, if I weren't excited enough, your trip report is adding to the anticipation. You are giving me an idea of what I call the flavor of the city. That, to me, is the best thing about trip reports.

hsv

"When we were in Hamburg, I noticed that nobody there jaywalks. People will stand on a street corner waiting ages for the light to turn green even though there isn't a car for miles."

I wasn't there when you were.

goddesstogo

LCBoniti, I think there may be a second GTG in the works. Maybe you'll be here for that.

hsv, if I'm ever in Hamburg and I see a lone person in the middle of the street when the light is red, I'll know for sure that it's you and I'll come up and say hi!

PatrickLondon

>>if I'm ever in Hamburg and I see a lone person in the middle of the street when the light is red, I'll know for sure that it's you and I'll come up and say hi!

hsv

In case of any other red lights I won't be alone in the middle of the street.

Morningglory47

Surprised to read you're half-way through your stay already.

Here's a blog about the Underground http://london-underground.blogspot.com/

goddesstogo

MG, thanks for the great blog. I love the film underground map -- near as I can tell, we live at Scenes of a Sexual Nature. Which, by the way, is a neat seque into the 'red light' issue, isn't it, hsv and PL?

Nice day today. It was sunny and pretty out (at least until the rain in the late afternoon) so we went down to the Embankment tube station and took the Thames Clipper to Greenwich. It's a very nice ride with lots of stuff to see on both sides of the bank but I wish there had been some announcements of the sights or a better map. The map they give you just shows the stops.

Of course the first thing we did when we got there was go to the Trafalgar Pub for the 'traditional whitebait lunch'. Um, I had a chicken sandwich. SO had the whitebait which wasn't bad but not something I'm going to be seeking out again in the near future. I did drop my business card in the bowl to win a dinner for two and I'd say I have a pretty good chance of winning it since my card was the only one in there.

After lunch, we walked through the beautiful grounds of the Royal Navy/Trinity College. We stepped into the chapel in time to hear the last half of a saxophone quartet concert so we stayed put for that and then crossed over into the Painted Hall. Wow. It's gorgeous. Aside from the incredible murals covering every inch of the walls and ceiling, each of the long tables (and there must have been 40 of them) had three silver candelabras on it. Of course, they're electric now but it gives you some idea of what the room would have looked like when it was lit with all those candles. Did you know you can go for their annual dinner for only L125 pp? Tempting. But no.

After that, we walked up the hill to the observatory -- what a fabulous view you get from there, so of course we had to take a million pictures. We toured through the observatory and then took the mandatory pics of us straddling the meridian and then walked down the hill to go to the Royal Naval Museum where, among other things, we heard a short talk about the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae. By that time, it was getting pretty late and rainy so we walked through the main streets a bit and then caught the bus that took us to the North Greenwich tube station at the big O2 stadium. We want to go back to Greenwich again to see a bit more of the town but will do so on a Saturday when the market is open.

And that's it -- stopped at the library and got new books, came home, made dinner and are now settling in for the evening.

Hope yours is a good one.

Morningglory47

You might like to visit St. Alfege on the main street next time http://www.st-alfege.org/...it has a corner devoted to James Wolfe, he's buried there AND my Great Grandparents were married there. Oh, and Henry VIII was baptized in it but hardly as important as James and Amelia Wood's wedding!

LCBoniti

gtg - I would love to attend a London gtg. This trip is all about the West End for me and I am planning on several shows (Wicked, Les Miz, Legally Blonde at least) and a Lee Mead concert in Wimbledon.

PatrickLondon

If you're going back to Greenwich, try the DLR for one leg of the journey - in or out.

As for the boats, the Clippers are the commuter bus service, as it were. For the commentary, you need the slower boats from the Tower or Westminster piers (though the last time I heard one, you could tell it was a private venture, shall we say - and I could have done without the hard sell on the collection on arrival at Greenwich)

WHampstead

Agree with PL about taking the DLR. I'd suggest boat there, then DLR back to Canary Wharf (get off at Heron Quays, come out of the station and head to C.Wharf tube station. To come in to the station from the street level is quite spectacular if you've not been before. (it's confusing 'cos there's a Canary Wharf DLR stop too but, trust me, this is easier).

Dinner at the Trafalgar would be a good thing to win - the restaurant food there is decent traditional stuff. Most of the pubs in Greenwich are ok, it does get v.crowded at weekends though. You can walk through the park and over the hill to Blackheath where I think you already went once?

J

WHampstead

BTW - if you're interested, this Saturday is Oxjam in Kilburn. Five music venues (pretty much those you saw on the music tour) hosting umpteen bands starting at 4pm and going on all night. info here: http://oxjamkilburntakeover.co.uk/

goddesstogo

We'll definitely take the DLR next time. We caught the bus outside the DLR station and it was a long ride to the underground. Still, you get to see a lot that way. We'll check out the Canary Wharf tube station too.

Thanks for the Oxjam website -- I'll take a look at it!

Today was another long walk day for me. I seem to clock in about 4 or 5 miles a day, not counting time spent wandering around museums or department stores. I started off the day by going back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields and rescheduling the ill-fated dinner/candlelit concert evening for next week. I know I could have done it on-line but I wanted to be down there anyway because it was London Eye Day. SO was at the library -- he wouldn't have come with me anyway because he hates heights -- and I seriously considered waiting till our friends from home visit next month but I thought I'd better take advantage of the beautiful weather, so I went on my own. It's such a short walk from Charing Cross Station to Embankment, really only about 5 minutes, and then across the bridge to the Eye. I was glad I didn't believe everything I'd read about long line-ups and how it's best to buy an advance ticket because it took me 10 minutes to buy the ticket and I was on the Eye 15 minutes later. As for the ride itself, well, let's say I'm glad I did it but I wouldn't bother to do it a second time. It's a fascinating machine and the views are great (but they're great from so many places here) but otherwise it's really just OK. It's so incredibly sturdy that it doesn't even have the thrill factor of a regular ferriswheel. But now I've done it and I can cross it off the list.

After the Eye, I walked back up to the National Gallery where I had coffee and the best thing I've eaten here yet -- a raisin scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam. Oh. My. God. I saw a darling little girl who looked to be about 7 or 8 eyeing the cakes with her little friend, both of them in their school uniforms. The first little girl pointed out a sweet to her friend and said, "Oooh, it's LOVELY!" What is it with children here? Why are they so much cuter than the ones we have at home (my nieces and nephews excluded, of course!) Fortified by clotted cream (which, as someone recently said to me, you might as well just eat on the steps of the hospital) I walked around the gallery for a while and saw a small exhibit, only 3 large pieces,of wonderful hyper-realistic paintings by Clive Head.

I'd planned to meet SO at 5 and I had plenty of time, so I walked up Charing Cross and then Tottenham Court Roads to the British Library and I was treated to a glass of champagne at the St. Pancras Champagne Bar, which wisely has little heaters under the tables because, boy, it's chilly in there. Afterwards, we had dinner at a Fodors-recommended (the book, not the posters) restaurant called North Sea Fish, a nice, small place in Bloomsbury that seems to have a local clientele. On the way to the library, I'd walked past the Bloomsbury branch of Planet Organic so we stopped in there to do a bit of shopping and then two tired kids took the tube home.