Wow.
Maybe the coolest city I've visited in Europe so far. My two days there were two of the best I've lived, and though I was sleep deprived (I took the bus, which is an eleven hour trip and includes having to wait to go through the Chunnel), I was basically pretty ecstatic. The whole trip was a whirlwind of good food, sightseeing, and tube-riding. I miss it already.
Upon arrival, friends S, KS, KJ, C and I set about acquainting ourselves with the London underground. The maze-like system is completely different from the simple organization of German public transportation, but I actually liked this a little better. After some initial confusion involving the zone system they have in place there (which determines how much one needs to pay for tickets), direction, and which lines to take, we were on our way. While boarding the tube, an announcement crackled over the PA system: "To the bloke who's walking along the edge of the platform with his girlfriend: this is dangerous, and she could die. Next time, think with your brain and not your feet!" Everyone in the train laughed--what a great first impression of England (and I mean that in all seriousness).
As people who have all read Harry Potter, our first stop was King's Cross Station. Yes, there is a Platform 9 3/4 (specially made for tourists). Yes, we lined up there and took photos. It was tacky, but all in good fun. And when you need to nerd out with your friends over Harry Potter, it's perfect. I didn't even feel that weird about it, as there were people three times my age waiting to take a picture. King's Cross, however--aside from the fake platform--looks disappointingly normal. KJ was a little embarrassed the whole time, as she is not a big fan of the books and was going along to humor the rest of us.
Our next stop on Day One was the British Museum, which we were surprised to find was absolutely free. We perused mummies and ancient Egypt, then meandered through Mesopotamian artifacts and ended up at the Rosetta Stone. There was a lot to see, but the museum was pretty mobbed and we were getting hungry, so we left after about an hour and a half. I'd heard a lot of bad things about British food, but I didn't eat one bad thing the entire two days, and this first lunch was no exception. We bought sandwiches at a sandwich chain called Pret a Manger, but they are on pretty good bread, have interesting ingredients and flavor combinations, are cheap, and fast. I got an egg, mayonnaise and cress sandwich. It was good, although I feel it could have used a little mustard. I was overjoyed to find that Englanders appear to use normal mayonnaise and not the sugared, artificial kind that is popular in Germany. Woohoo for sandwich snobbery! I also bought a bottle of sparkling lemonade, something I haven't had since coming to Germany, at Marks & Spencer in Charing Cross. C opted not to go to the sandwich chain, and instead bought a traditional Salt Beef sandwich. It was actually really good, despite neon-yellow mustard. Salt Beef is kind of like British pastrami, and the sandwich came on rye with pickles. We took our sandwiches to a park near Buckingham Palace and ate in the sun, then proceeded onward to (maybe?) see the Queen.
We didn't end up seeing her, but we did see a marching band, and we continued to make our way all over London, eventually ending at the Tower Bridge, as all of us were getting sore feet, and making our way back to our hotel. After about half an hour of recuperation after our long day, we decided to get some dinner. Being the foodie that I sometimes--albeit reluctantly--am, I had already researched the best Indian restaurants in London. These required a thirty minute tube trip, but being the adventurers that we are, S, C, KJ and I decided to brave it anyway. C loves Indian food, and was pretty excited when we got off of the train in East Ham and realized that we were the only non-Indian people on the entire street. The restaurant I'd located is called Thattukada, and it lived up to its internet reputation. I ordered a simple vegetarian curry with chapati; the curry was rich and silky, with a burning spiciness that caught me completely by surprise. It included perfectly cooked cauliflower, green beans, potato, carrot, peas, etc. It was really good, and easily big enough for two people to share. I also ordered a mango lassi, which mellowed out the spiciness of the curry, and was a perfect, smooth balance between tangy sour and sweet. S ordered chicken curry and two kinds of Indian 'bread' that I have never seen before--one was thin with a kind of sweet foamy middle, and the other was similar to naan, except a little more buttery and flaky. The chicken curry was thinner than the vegetable version, with a stronger hit of prickly hotness and a subtly different mixture of spices. It was excellent. C ordered mutton biryani, which was an extremely hot, cumin and cardamom-studded mound of buttery basmati rice with equally spicy meat atop it, and a cold yoghurt sauce to cool it down served on the side. This dish was amazing--I've never had Indian food like it before, and the memory of that perfectly-cooked rice with the perfume of cardamom in every bite still haunts me. C ate the whole thing with his hands, which is actually the correct way (everyone else in the restaurant, I observed, ate their plates of rice, etc., without using utensils). KJ, who claimed not to like Indian food because it upsets her stomach, ordered something called 'Chicken Fried Rice.' This turned out to be a plate of basmati with ghee, sweet green peppers, egg, and chicken. It at first looked like typical 'fried rice,' but the taste was great. The basmati was enhanced by the flavors of ghee and chicken, and the whole dish tasted fresh, unlike the greasy, mediocre 'fried rice' that is ubiquitous in America. Despite KJ's claim about Indian food, I noted that her plate was completely clean at the end of our meal. The waiter asked us if we had liked our food, and seemed surprised by our enthusiastic, positive answers. I'm guessing they don't see many groups of Americans in their restaurant.
After our dinner, we explored some of the markets in the area, where I was sorely tempted to buy Indian ingredients that aren't readily available in Germany, but had to contain my urge. C, however, bought lychee juice. We ended up heading to Picadilly Circus later to take in some of the London night scene and to meet up with KS, but we were so tired that we ended up walking around aimlessly and eventually deciding to crash back at the hotel. The next day, we started out early and, thanks to an amazing man with a tiny food cart containing an espresso machine, were well-fueled for our last day in London. As a side note, the latte I ordered was insanely good--the guy making the coffees tamped the espresso grounds himself, and really knew what he was doing. This was the best cup of coffee I've had since coming to Europe, which is strange, because everyone told me how bad British coffee is.
We made it as far as St. Paul's Cathedral before KJ met up with a German friend and headed out to the Twining's Factory (I'm kicking myself for not going with!), C went into the cathedral to investigate climbing to the top, and S and I walked across Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, where there was a free art festival going on. People from all over the world were showing their art, and the whole thing was a little like TBA, but contained in the Tate. One woman was patiently crocheting herself into a cocoon, and there was a man from Portland, OR (!) using the power from photosynthesis to create music with growing plants. After a few hours there, we left and got Vietnamese, which was good, but not as great as some of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in America. S and I considered paying for the London Eye, but after we saw the never-ending lines, thought the better of it. Instead, we got our hair cut for a reasonable price by hip Italian stylists. Hey, when in London...
Later we hit up Pret again for road food, and I got an excellent cheddar, mustard, tomato and pickle sandwich. The pickles were really good, not so much 'pickled' as marinated, and they reminded me of chutney. For a chain, a damn good sandwich. We endured another bus ride through the chunnel, and after about ten hours, we were back in Germany. It felt good to be home and in bed, but I feel that I could have spent at least two weeks in London and still not have seen everything it has to offer. If I ever get back to Europe, I'll need to make another visit.
The delay on this post was long, I know, but I just got back from Prague, as well. I'll try to pay blog-homage to that trip in the next few days. As of tomorrow, I have one month left in Europe--I'm excited to go home, but scared of the packing and transplanting of my life that looms ahead. Time is flying by.
