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As you may guess from the title I've been to London for the past days
so here is my story.


If you have no interest in hearing about some dude's boring tourist trip, reading further is not recommended.
Also if you are from Britain don't take everything too serious. ;)



I'm not the richest, so a nice silver shining mecha touring bus was the vehicle transporting my all mighty being to the other world this city called London.Start of the journey was 18:30 (6:30pm) at Cologne in Germany - well at least it shouldhave have been at that time. But that was not entirely the case as I soon had to notice, when after half an hour there was still nothing insight except the other passengers angrily attacking the poor guy from the travel agency with questions of the bus's remain. That went on for a while more till after some more wait, some hot coffee and a tasty donut our ship.. pardon I mean bus finally arrived and the crowd including my humble person floated inside.


My plan was to sleep inside the bus which was not that good of an idea as I had to find out that our driver had to always make an announcement over the speakers when someone managed to find some sleep. But after I-don't-know-how-many hours of 'good and refreshing' sleep we arrived around 6:00 (English Time) in the morning at the end of this weeping world London Victoria Coach Station.


Great thing was now that of course I already had booked a place to stay at in advance - not. Well at least I had the addresses of London's Youth Hostels noted down and made myself on the way trying to find one that would take me in for a while. I took my luggage and made my way to Victora Station. Here I first took a look at Londons Tube Map, which managed to amaze me quite a bit and then continuing my way this labyrinth of machines, stairs, lodes, escalators, tubes, busker, advertising and finally trains.


My first halt was Oxford Circus and I hurried back from this dark and tube hell to the sunlight.
Sunlight? Well it was brighter then back down in the depths of the underground but a nice typical British weather had already weaponed itself with the best of Water to give me a wet-happy greeting from above.
After finding out that Oxford's Youth Hostel was already fully booked and most of the other Youth Hostels as well I went on to Holland Park.


Holland- What!?
With a very bad feeling (see left side) I made my way through the park expecting Oranjes to jump on the way from both sides at any time.
To my luck there were none that showed themselves to me and I was pretty happy about that fact. Unlike about the fact that the Youth Hostel at Holland Park had no available bed anymore too. So I continued my odyssey till I found a nice shabby hostel, near the Station Queensway that still had a bed available for me .


The next day shall be a better one, I spoke and so it was.
- will be continued -


Ausbeute / Stuff I brought back

• Music CD: Disturbed - Indestructible
  
• Music CD: Kamelot - The black Halo
  
• Music CD: Opeth - Ghost Reveries
  
• Music CD: Sentenced - Frozen
  
• Music CD: Soilwork - Sworn to a Great Divide
  
• Music CD: Tenacious D - Tenacious D
  
• Manga: Museum of Terror (v.1 "Tomie")
  
• Manga: MPD Psycho (v.1)
  
• Manga: MPD Psycho (v.2)
  
• Manga: MPD Psycho (v.3)
  
• Book: Terry Pratchett - Thud!
  
• T-Shirt: Opeth
  
• Other Stuff: Cup
  
• Other Stuff: booze jars (4x)
  
• Other Stuff: Postcards
  
• Other Stuff: Newspaper
  
• Other Stuff: canned beer (4x)
  
• Other Stuff: etc. etc.

Impressions I got while being in London:

• British people are a bit the other way around
  
• a red traffic light does means "a short look left/right and run!" in London
  
• Starbucks Coffee is overrated
  
• Except for people in Victoria no one seems to have heard of the word 'Station Clock'
  
• Either way there must be more French, German, Italian, Japanese,Indian, American or other people in London then natives or they all hate sun-light and never show themselves somewhere in town (would explain their love for the underground too..)
  
• If you manage to find someone native-looking and ask them a stupidquestion, you will really rarely get a refusing reaction, but mostly understanding, quick help and a friendly smile on top of that.
  
• I've hardly seen any town with this few drunk and for money begging people in the streets and at the subways/stations.
  
• Fucking Mind the Gap!
  
• There seems to be a town quarter for nearly everything and if you manage to find out where to find what you will get nearly anything that your soul and body requires (but that could be just me not been in many towns of this caliber)
  
• Even if the bus plan t a bus station says the bus's gonna drive to xyz it doesn't really mean it's gonna come in less then an hour or drive more then one station before randomly throwing out all the passengers
  
• London/Britain has quite the non-existing recycling system
  
• 'It's always raining in Britain', is not really that much of preconception as we often say it.

If I remember some more stuff I'll add it.
~Mathes