London

For the last long weekend of the school year, I went to London. I flew early Thursday morning and stayed until Sunday. Claire and Felix were also there for the weekend, so I met up with them on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday I met up with Haydn. Here is a look at some of the things I saw and did:

Buckingham Palace

I arrived in London at 7:40 in the morning, so had time to go to my hotel and then back into the centre for a walking tour. I went on a "royal walking tour" that took us around the City of Westminster and to three palaces, including Buckingham Palace.

On the walking tour we also saw many of the famous London sights, including Big Ben

The fun math section!

Later in the afternoon I went to the Science Museum, to meet Claire and Felix there. I had a quick wander round first (love museums being free!). I found my favourite section - the math manipulatives and early calculating machines. And like the best museums, they had some models to play with. In this picture you can see a set of Napier's bones at the back, then an adding machine and then (the best) an abacus! I wish we had these kinds of abacuses at school, though I think the normal ones without the two sides are easier for the kids to actually understand how to use.

Then said a quick hello to Jason for my dad. This is the plane that Amy Johnson flew from England to Australia in 1930.

The next morning I went to the Victoria & Albert. I did not have much time there as I was meeting Claire and Felix again, but I did go to their special fashion exhibit. It was on wedding dresses, and had many wedding dresses of known and famous women. The upstairs area (seen in the photo) was my favourite, as it was the more modern and often outlandish dresses.

The beautiful architecture of the Natural History Museum

Next I met up with Claire and Felix and we went through the Natural History Museum. Lovely building, but sadly I came down with a headache so Claire and I ended up sitting in the cafeteria for a while.

Claire's favourite walk, along the south bank

Having said goodbye to my friends, I walked down to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London

I took the underground back to Trafalgar Square, and had time to eat lunch in the middle of the scaffolding going up for West End Live event starting the next day. I got a sneak preview of Mamma Mia (without the crowds I saw the next day!). After that I headed over to the Duke of York theatre to see a Jeeves and Wooster play, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

British Museum - of course I found the money section!

I was back at Trafalgar Square the next morning to meet up with Haydn. After a morning snack and coffee in Somerset House, we headed up to the British Museum.

Looking across the Thames to Greenwich

Walking through a Victorian tunnel under the river to Greenwich! Had a drink in a pub, then a huge meal in a Vietnamese restaurant that Haydn knew.

My last morning in London. First I went to Kensington Palace. They had great exhibits on Victoria's upbringing at the palace, Mary and William and then the first two King George's.

Haydn and I had a last lunch in a small French restaurant in South Kensington and a walk through Kensington Gardens

Christie's Visit

At the end of May Christie came to visit me for two weeks. We had planned it out to coincide with two of my long weekends. So the day after she arrived we took off to Berlin for four days. It was a great trip. We did lots of walking, sightseeing and even some shopping.

Infront of the Brandenburg Gates

We went on two walking tours, both from the New Europe Tours company. The first was a general tour and the second was a Third Reich walking tour. Both started from the Brandenburg Gates and took us around all the main sights in that area of Berlin. 

I can't resist taking a picture of a cash register! Our first dinner, in a small, traditional German restaurant.

Lunch before our second walking tour - picnic in front of the Berliner Dom

We stayed right off of Hackescher Markt. On the last night we sat outside on the square and ate at one of the many restaurants there. A great way to finish a lovely weekend in Berlin. 

While we were in Berlin we visited a few of the museums and exhibit. My favourite was the DDR museum. It is all about life in the DDR, with many artifacts from daily life. Another favourite was the Mauer Park flea market. It was huge! 

During the week unfortunately I had to go to school. Christie did a great job of entertaining herself. We spent the evenings walking around Frankfurt, having picnics and talking the tram places. One evening we went to the zoo. It was a bit rainy, and at first we thought we weren't going to see any animals! Luckily we found some :) Both Thursdays Christie was here she came to school with me. That was fun, and she was a great help. 

Being watched

Friday night dinner at Friedberger Platz

The next weekend we spent two nights in Bamberg. By this point it was super hot. I think it got up to about 35 on Sunday! It is such an amazing town, with a preserved old centre. On Sunday we met up with my cousin Robert, who came to visit from Bayreuth. We walked around the centre of Bamberg, but then went for a long walk through a forested park - trying to find some rest from the heat! 

The next week was much the same, with me having to go to school. The weather was nice, so Christie and I did manage to have a picnic on the river one night. 

On her last night we celebrated by going out for dinner in Bornheim with some of my friends. Then on Friday the 13th I sent her off to the airport as I headed off to school. It was a bit worrying, since she had just found out her flight to London was cancelled, and we were worried about her being able to make her connecting flight to Toronto. But in the end it all worked out for the best as she ended up on a direct flight Frankfurt to Toronto. I kept busy trying not to be sad. I had an Austrian night with a couple friends in Wiesbaden, and then went out to meet a friend in Neu-Isenburg Saturday to be crafty and make some cards.