A weekend in London
Friday
16.00, meeting point Angel
This weekend in London we want to spend three: Christine flies off in Munich, Matthias in Berlin, I in Hamburg and instead of waiting in the hotel, we meet in London's district Islington at the subway station Angel. Anyone who's there earlier can take a look around the streets around Upper Street, reminiscent of Harry Potter. Especially in the Camden Passage there are many great little shops: In "Equa" you can buy beautiful fair-trade clothes (No. 28, Tel 73 59 09 55, www.equaclothing.com), and in the chocolate shop "paul. a.young fine chocolates "you want to eat the homemade brownies immediately (# 33, tel. 74 24 57 50, www.paulayoung.co.uk). Showcase in the "My Fair Lady" style? This is "Annie's" - with luck you will find a glittering dress for the next party (# 12, tel. 73 59 07 96, www.anniesvintageclothing.co.uk). If you like to knit, you have to go to "Loop" - the color selection is great (No. 15, Tel. 72 88 11 60, www.loopknitting.com). Just like the shoes at "Laura J London" (114 Islington High Street, tel. 72 26 40 05).
18.30, Hungry in the pub
Many Londoners, who live very cramped because of the high rents, use the pub as a second living room. Here they meet colleagues, friends and relatives. Mostly right after work - without eating something first. We do it like that and come to eat in the pub "Island Queen" (87 Noel Road, www.theislandqueenislington.co.uk) with beer and cider for our reunion in London.
19.30, Apple Crumble
Moose: For "half seven" we ordered a table at "The Elk in the Woods" (39 Camden Passage, www.the-elk-in-the-woods.co.uk, tel. 72 26 35 35, beautiful shop, wallpaper with moose, make a reservation!). The lamb is tender, the fish excellent, the apple crumble with rum for dessert unforgettable. "There is another saying that the English can not cook," says Sina, who shares a table with us. She is German, has lived in Paris for a long time and has lived in London for almost a year now.
22.00, at "Alice in Wonderland"
In the evenings, the tiny club called "Bourne & Hollingsworth" is our destination (28 Rathbone Place near Tottenham Court Road tube station, tel. 76 36 82 28). It should look like "Alice in Wonderland": wallpaper with white roses, picturesque lampshades. We will not be disappointed. The cocktails, which are served in Weck glasses or teacups, are great. We feel like members of a private club, so we're late at our hotel, the Durrants, in Marylebone, south of Regent's Park.
Saturday
9.00, Too lazy to run
Actually, we are determined to go jogging in the morning at Regent's Park. But in our beds at the Durrants Hotel, it's so cozy, and outside you can not even look up to the nearest street lamp because of the fog. Real London backdrop. We reassure ourselves that we will still be running enough today - and we'll stay put. If you are less lazy than we are: At www.royalparks.org.uk different lengths of jogging routes through the 1812 park (and Queen Mary's Garden) are recommended.
10.00, beans, egg and porridge
At the thick black fungus, I do not trust me ran. But otherwise, the full English breakfast with sausages, beans in tomato sauce and fried eggs that we ordered at "Balans" (60-62 Old Compton Street, tel. 74 39 21 83, www.balans.co.uk) is really tasty , We drink canteen English Breakfast Tea and share for dessert two portions of porridge (oatmeal) with honey.
11.30, The crazy sides of the city
All three of us have been in London - but with the "Quirky London" tour (22 Euro per person, www.insider-london.co.uk) we learn a lot that none of us knew. "London is the craziest city in the world," says our guide Headley. He can tell terrible horror stories and leads us for one and a half hours through alleys and back entrances of famous buildings. Thanks to him we stand in front of the house where Charles Dickens lived and see the sumptuous lobby of the "Savoy" hotel, whose courtyard was flooded with water in 1905 so guests could dine on a Venetian gondola.
13.30, pies and coke by the fireplace
We have cold feet and hunger. Luckily we walked past "The Marquis" during the city tour, where you can eat fish and chips and delicious pies (51-52 Chandos Place, tel. 73 79 03 67). Surprise: There is even a table near the fireplace for us.
14.30, Take a Walk
We walk to Trafalgar Square, continue towards the Thames, take a look at Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Kate Middleton got married, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben. Then get into the subway, relax - we still want to go to the museum, to the Tate Modern.
16.00, Modern Art at Tate Modern
Admission to the permanent exhibitions (works by, among others, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys) is free, only the special exhibition costs a little. Highly recommended is also the museum shop, in which one z. For example, you can buy a black and white umbrella that will turn colorful when it rains (32 euros, also in the online shop, Tate Modern, Bankside, Tel. 78 87 88 88, www.tate.org.uk).
Those who already know the Tate Modern should visit the Design Museum (28 Shad Thames, tel. 74 03 69 33, //designmuseum.org).
19.00, dinner overlooking St. Paul's
The elevator takes us up to the seventh floor of the Tate Modern. Up here, high above the lights of the city, you can either sit down on the bar stools and gin tonic over to the River Thames and St. Paul's Cathedral, where Charles and Diana married about 30 years ago - or in the back of the Room to have dinner. We choose the latter and order pheasant and fish. After that, one thing must not be missing: the next round of our new and absolute favorite dessert Apple Crumble. Incidentally, there is an espresso bar on the fourth floor of the museum and a family restaurant in the second (Bankside, 78 87 88 88, www.tate.org.uk).
22.00, dance half the night
After getting changed at the hotel, we head off into the night: in a converted horse hospital in the district of Camden you can relax during the day and dance at night (photo: "Proud Camden", Stables Market / Chalk Farm Road, tel 82 38 67, www.proudcamden.com). When we come in, three women kneel on the bar counter and swallow fire. We dance until the music stops at half past two. We do not get a taxi at this time - now everyone wants to go home. The London subways do not run at night either. Luckily, one of the famous double-decker night buses brings us home.
For non-dancers
There are great concerts and much more at the Royal Albert Hall (Kensington Gore, Map Phone 084 54 01 50 45, www.royalalberthall.com).
Sunday
11.00, flowers and make-up
We slept for a long time, but that does not matter. The flower market on Columbia Road is still open at noon and shines in bright colors. To the right and left of the stalls there are also small shops where we try cupcakes (for example, at Treacle, 110-112 Columbia Road, www.treacleworld.com). If you want, you can make a make-up in the super pretty "The Powder Room" and have your nails painted (136 Columbia Road, Tel. 77 29 13 65, www.thepowderpuffgirls.com) or try some hats at "Laird London" ( 128 Columbia Road, Phone 72 40 42 40, www.lairdlondon.co.uk).
13.00, bagels!
"After the flower market, you have to go to the Brick Lane Market," Sina, our restaurant acquaintance, advised us on Friday. "He's very close." Once there, we first queue up in front of the 24-hour bagel shop "Beigel Bakery" (159 Brick Lane, tel. 77 29 06 16). The creamcheese bagels are awesome, with cooked meat not our case. Flea, vegetable, designer and antique market in one: There is so much to discover at Brick Lane Market! Continue to the Old Truman Brewery building (Backyard Market, 91 Brick Lane, tel. 77 70 60 28, www.trumanbrewery.com), where you can buy everything from curry dishes to used Barbour jackets - and not wet becomes.
15.00, "Just a trim, please!"
I have not been able to go to the barber for weeks. As we pass the Spitalfields Market at the "Urban Hair" salon (53 Brushfield Street, tel. 73 77 12 79), I go in and ask. If you just want to have your hair cut quickly, say "Just a trim, please!", Hairdresser Tanja tells me.
17.00, scones goodbye
A weekend in London can not end any finer and smoother: we sit at the afternoon tea in the "Westbury Hotel" and enjoy champagne, Darjeeling tea, cucumber sandwiches and scones with "clotted cream" and jam (in the small Bondstreet , Tel. 76 29 77 55, www.westburymayfair.com, make a reservation!). A pianist sits at the piano playing "My Heart Will Go On". Too much? Yes, maybe, a little bit. But that's why it's so great!
phone
Area code England 00 44, London (0) 20.
Stay
Durrants Hotel South of Regent's Park, this traditional 92-room home is located in London's West End. One of the few still in private hands. Well-maintained English flair near the Bond Street subway station. The restaurant is public (26-32 George Street, tel. 79 35 81 31, www.durrantshotel.co.uk, double / F from 162 Euro).
Millennium Bailey's Hotel
An enchanting Victorian town house in Kensington with imposing staircases and tasteful rooms. It's a 10-minute walk to either Hyde Park or the Victoria & Albert Museum. And three priceless advantages: If you land at Heathrow, you can take the tube (Piccadilly Line) to Gloucester Road station without changing trains, carry your suitcase to the light and stand in front of the hotel. Across the street is a small Tesco supermarket open 24/7 and, because breakfast coffee in English hotels is still a risk: Starbucks is just across the street (140 Gloucester Road, Tel.73 73 60 00, www.millenniumhotels.co.uk; DZ / F from 165 Euro).
Citadines Apart'hotel
Just steps from Covent Garden and Royal Opera, surrounded by classic pubs, this hotel is ideal for those who do not want to dine every night - the apartments have mini-kitchenettes. Rooms and lobby have just been renovated. The nearest underground station is Holborn (94-99 High Holborn, Tel. 73 95 88 00, www.citadines.com, double / F from 290 euros).
Lime Tree Hotel
Nice little hotel in the posh district Belgravia with a personal atmosphere, on which the owners Charlotte and Matthew attach great importance. Only 25 rooms. Victoria Station, Buckingham Palace, London's Harrods Department Store - all not far away (135-137 Ebury Street, tel. 77 30 81 91, www.limetreehotel.co.uk, double / F from 150 Euro).
County Hall Hotel
Directly on the London Eye (135 meters high at the time of one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world, on a round trip with a good view of the city), this modern Southwark hotel is located on the south bank of the Thames, overlooking Westminster Abbey and Big Ben can be reached on foot (Belvedere Road, phone 87 15 27 86 48, www.premierinn.de; double / F from 160 euros including a further meal in the evening).
Read
travel Guide
"Instructions for use for London" by Ronald Reng (196 p., 14.95 euros, Piper). ? "London", travel book Dumont (288 p., 16.99 euros, Dumont).
event Magazine
What happens when in the city is in "Time Out London" (about € 3.50, in every newsagent and in many supermarkets and kiosks, www.timeout.com/london).
Getting Around
London's subway, better known as "The Tube" and the oldest underground network in the world, with lines that cross London, is perfect but often overcrowded. Networks are available at many stops for free. Inexpensive are the Oystercard (rechargeable prepaid card) and variants of the Visitor Travelcard (info at www.visitbritain.com). On the bus lines 5 and 19 drive the beautiful old red double decker buses. Taxi number: Addison Lee, 73 87 88 88 or www.addisonlee.com
sites
www.independentlondon.com www.visitbritain.com www.londontown.com
