London

For my winter break, I opted not to go home to Australia, but rather, travel across Europe, partly because my little bro and his girlfriend were going to be coming across and I planned to meet them. It took quite a while to decide exactly where I wanted to go in the 12 or so days I had before they arrived, partly because I wanted to see ALL the places :)

I finally settled on London, Paris and Amsterdam, before meeting Pete and Vlada in Berlin, and then visiting Riga and Tallinn. I chose to stick to cities, as I figured the countryside of these places would be best enjoyed during less dreary seasons.

Selfie outside Buckingham Palace 

So, London was first. I arrived rather exhausted and sleep-deprived, but very, very, very glad to be away from Kazakhstan for a while (there were some major issues happening at work during my final day or two before the break). I had a couple of hours after arriving before I was due to check into my accommodation, so I explored the main street near Queensway/Bayswater (the area I was staying) while pushing around my giant suitcase. My favourite discovery was a place called Pret-a-Manger, which is basically just a British chain with similarities to Starbucks, Coffee Club, etc., but it advertises itself as being natural and fresh. Turns out they are EVERYWHERE, and I think I ate/got coffee here more than anywhere else.

I stayed in a hotel that is apparently converted from old student lodging (a colleague actually lived in this place when he first moved to the UK years ago), and the rooms were ... "cosy" is probably the word used in Real Estate speech, but I feel I need a stronger word. I actually couldn't open my suitcase on the floor. Nevertheless, it was comfortable enough, with the only hassle being no wifi in the room.

Crowds. Too many people for the Changing of the Guard

Fuzzy hats!

Sightseeing-wise, I went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (the marching band played the Star Wars Theme and Thriller, among others), and I saw Big Ben, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street. I also went to the Christmas Wonderland markets at Hyde Park and wandered around there. And shopped (ENGLISH BOOKS! NATURAL SKINCARE SHOPS!).

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Pretty lights on Oxford Street

 Church was ok: I ran into a couple of Aussies I have known for ages but hadn't seen for about 7 or 8 years and had lunch with them.

Otherwise I tried to adjust to the time zone difference (6 hours from Kazakhstan, but the weirdest thing was the sun setting at about 4 p.m., which threw me off the most, as it was only going down at about 6 in Kyzylorda), so I didn't do too much. Three and a half days was a good introduction to the city. Next time I'll try to venture a little further afield, and maybe include some of the museums etc.

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Kitty at Trafalgar Square (at least I think it was Trafalgar)

 Miscellaneous comments:     

• Most of what I know about London locations apparently comes from a Monopoly board.
• London Underground is boring and ugly. Moscow stations were so much more interesting, and even Munich was nicer with a cleaner, more modern feel.
•      I definitely prefer buses, just because I can see where they’re going, but it’s a pain trying to figure out which one to take and where, and then finding the right stop. Top floor is super fun (good view) but one must be careful when coming down the stairs if the bus isn't at a complete stop, or one might end up with massive bruises where one fell into the railing.
• London vs. Kyzylorda pro: multicultural. Food varieties, people from different countries everywhere. Con: People. Waaaaay too crowded. Oxford Street was absolutely overwhelming, as was Changing of the Guard. And almost every shop I went into. 

20 seconds earlier, when I decided to dig my camera out of my bag, there were NO spaces in the crowds. I took this from the top floor of a bus, and I think it was just outside Oxford Circus station.

-Annie.