Dirndls and Lederhosen

9/30/2013 - Munich, Germany

We had been told that 3 days at Oktoberfest was too much. Two and a half was just enough. We arrived early enough to sit at the Hippodrom tent for a beer. We met two other friends from Chicago before heading out for the afternoon. By now, we were all wearing lederhosen (except for the one lady, in a dirndl, of course).

We ambled slowly through the tents in the afternoon. We grabbed a few souvenirs, stopped to get pork sandwiches for lunch, and met all sorts of foreigners over beers. We had a collection of English-speaking people at our last table of the day: other Americans joined us, as well as Australians, English, and Irish. Of the entire group, one of our Americans was the biggest hero: between all the singing and dancing, we got him on the table to drink an entire stein of beer. Everyone in the tent around us cheered.

Pictured: Interior of the Hacker-Pschorr tent at Oktoberfest

New International Friends

9/29/2013 - Munich, Germany

Today's first stop in Munich was the touristy, but essential beer hall Hofbräuhaus. The three of us sat at a table with 4 Russians and 2 Koreans. By the end of our lunch, we were exchanging e-mails,  making jokes, and taking photos together. The Russians turned out to be Olympic speed skaters. The Koreans had 4 different cameras, including a digital Polaroid-type camera that they used to give us photos. 

Later, we visited the festival grounds. Our companions there were mostly German. The first man we met, from Munich, was enjoying his 37th Oktoberfest. When he learned we were Americans, he said, "You Americans are everywhere!" At night, we met a girl from Leipzig at her first Oktoberfest. She told us we were the first Americans she'd ever met, and amused us by reciting every negative stereotype an East German would have about the United States. 

Pictured: The Hofbräu tent at Oktoberfest, with the traditional hearts for sale.

Two Towers

9/28/2013 - Cologne, Germany

Cologne was our last stop before the "main event," Oktoberfest. We didn't see much of Cologne; our hotel and the main sights are all close to the train station. But we made sure to arise early enough to enjoy views of the Rhine and Cologne's cathedral.

The cathedral is the largest in Germany, and the largest I've seen on my trip so far. With its two Gothic towers, one of my friends said, "it looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings." It made me think of the Pyramids. Like the Pyramids, the building is so large and old that it's hard to imagine how it was completed. But for such an outrageously large building, the interior was subdued. We entered to soft organ music and people praying quietly. A good stop.

Pictured: View of Cologne Cathedral from across the Rhine.

Balcony of Europe

9/27/2013 - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Moving at a quick pace from Belgium to Germany, we didn't have much time to stop in the tiny nation of Luxembourg. We saw the gorge, and then I bought some socks. Our trip has been movnig too quickly for chores like laundry.

Luxembourg looks like a nice place to live, but there isn't a lot for tourists. Our first stop was the "Chemin de la Corniche," a promenade overlooking Luxembourg's gorge. It is a nice view; guidebooks and websites call it "Europe's finest blacony." After enjoying the view, we made quick stops at Luxembourg's cathedral, royal palace, and main park. We made some quick stops for lunch, socks, and snacks, then boarded the train to Germany.

Pictured: View from the Chemin de la Corniche

Guildhalls and Trappists

9/26/2013 - Brussels, Belgium

Through Brussels, we walked from the EU area, past the Royal Palace, and into the medieval Grand Place. It brought out the contrast: the EU's buildings are sleek and sterile compared to the variety of architecture and tiny detail in the Grand Place. At the EU, each country is represented by a flag or star in some places, but the guildhalls were more poetic. The Archers hall has a she-wolf and the Brewers have a golden tree. 

We took advantage of our last chance to visit Belgian pubs in Brussels, and our home base (Antwerp). Not only is the beer some of the best on the planet, but the pubs also had great personality. The first, in Brussels, was hidden in an alley behind some more modern shops. The second, in Antwerp, has vines of hops long ago grown and decayed in the bar, with Baroque music playing and a cast of Belgians and stray cats walking in and out of the bar. We couldn't have asked for better ambience when enjoying the world renown Trappist ales.

Pictured: The Grand Place in Brussels

Bookquest: Brussels, Belgium

9/26/2013 - Passa Porta

The Misfortunates by Dimitri Verhulst

The Misfortunates is a popular Belgian book about a family dealing with alcoholism. The man at the bookstore recommended it with a warning that it has "some dark humor." I felt I had to get something beer related in Belgium, even if it is dark. 

Passa Porta is one of several English language bookstores in Brussels recommended by Lonely Planet. They had a fine selection of English language fiction, including a section for Belgian and Dutch authors translated into English. The staff was happy to make recommendations, knowing which books were contemporary, where they were set, and a fair amount about the authors. 

Belfry Town

9/25/2013 - Bruges, Belgium

We had heard that Bruges was "like Disney World." It is catered to tourists like Disney World, but it has the advantage of hundreds of years of history. Even among European cities, Bruges's old town stands out. Most have a section of town that is old, but Bruges is entirely a medieval fairy tale land. 

We had a great time, and it would have been a highlight of the trip if we had only done half as much. We entered Bruges through a park with swans and horses, walked through a convent, got Belgian waffles, toured a cathedral and an old hospital, got a beer at town square, climbed the belfry tower for views of the town, got Belgian chocolates, toured the canals on a boat, got Belgian fries, toured Bruges's only remaining brewery, drank unfiltered Belgian beer, had Flemish stew for dinner, and had a taste test of Belgian beer before walking through the city at night on the way to the train station. 

Pictured: Bruges at night

Hand Throw

9/24/2013 - Antwerp, Belgium

We mostly came to Antwerp for its legendary beer, but I thought the city had more character than I expected. I enjoyed the 1920s tunnel under the river (above), even though a friend described it as "something the Soviets might have built." The tunnel had wooden escalators. Our first time through, it was silent and a bit bleak. On our way back into the city, it was maybe too loud: crying babies and singing schoolchildren echoed through the tunnel as bicyclists passed us. 

Besides the tunnel, the town square and castle have character to them. The city has adopted a legend about a Roman defeating a giant and throwing his hand into the river ("hand throw" sounds like "Antwerp" in Dutch). A statue in front of the statehouse depicts this bizarre and memorable scene. 

Pictured: St Anna Tunnel under Antwerp's Scheldt River.

Night and Day

9/23/2013 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands

More than any city I've visited, the tourist parts of Amsterdam have the biggest contrast between its morning, afternoon, and night life. Several times we walked down streets thinking that we were lost since they had looked so different just a few hours ago.

We started our last day in Amsterdam with a few traditional / touristy Dutch sights: we had bitterballen at a cafe, tried a few cheeses at a cheese store, and walked past the tulip market. In the afternoon, we visited the recently renovated Rijksmuseum and the "Amsterdam Dungeon Experience." At night, we had our last run through the nightlife with Dutch beers by the Dam. 

Pictured: Windows featuring Dutch artists at the Rijksmuseum.

Bookquest: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

9/22/2013 - American Book Center

Beyond Sleep by Willem Frederik Hermans

Beyond Sleep is a fictional work about a Dutch geologist's adventures in the Arctic. I'm not really selling it with that sentence, but it's very popular in Holland. It's noted for a sense of humor, like Vonnegut.

I picked it up at the "American Book Center," which had a huge selection of English language books. I saw some new releases that I hadn't seen anywhere else yet: Pynchon's new Bleeding Edge, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., and Enon. It had a small Dutch fiction section, with plenty of good options.

Meandering the Canals

9/21/2013 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands

I arrived in Amsterdam in the afternoon to meet two American friends. We're traveling together until Oktoberfest. Amsterdam made a good first impression: people are hanging out on almost every street corner. It is very tourist friendly, but not so much that locals stay away (unlike Venice, which seemed exclusively tourist).

We had a low-key night, starting at indie movie theatre Kriterion for Dutch beers, then meandered the canals on our way through the city. Our last stop was a bar that had over 100 kinds of beers, but we were disappointed that most of them were American beers. That's getting to be a common theme in Europe: American food and drink is pretty trendy here.

Pictured: View of the canals in Amsterdam

Surprised in Brittany

9/20/2013 - St. Malo, France

St. Malo is the biggest tourist destination in Brittany (northwestern France). From the large walled city, you can see small islands just off the coast. 

I didn't know this when I arrived. I thought it was just a place to spend a night on my way through France, so I was surprised to see a beautiful walled city on my way to dinner. I walked around thinking that it must be a UNESCO World Heritage Site or something. But going back to my hotel, I just saw that it was another part of France. I'm looking forward to the rest of France.

Pictured: Walking along the walls in St. Malo

Another Revised Schedule

Once again, based on exciting new things happening, I have rearranged my schedule. 

9/20-10/1: Netherlands + Belgium + Oktoberfest (Munich)

10/2-10/4: Germany (Black Forest? Stuttgart? Leipzig? Not sure yet. Maybe Zurich?)

10/5: Halberstadt

10/6-10/20: Central Europe: Dresden, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Croatia (I may have to cut something out here; this will be a trial)

10/21-10/31: Italy - Milan, Florence, Rome

11/1-11/6: Barcelona, Geneva?

11/7-11/17: Paris

11/18-11/30: South of France maybe?

12/1-12/10: Eastern US: New York to Washington DC to Chicago to Milwaukee

The Great Romantic

9/19/2013 - St. Peter's Port, Guernsey (UK)

One of the best days of the trip. My three destinations were: Vale Castle, the Victor Hugo statue in Candie Gardens, and the "Hauteville House" where Victor Hugo lived during his exile in Guernsey. All three were very nice, but the Hauteville House alone was worth the trip to Guernsey.

Victor Hugo expected that he'd die in exile in Guernsey, so he created a home that was a work of art. It is full of Romantic artwork (paintings, tapestries, sculptures, etc), all arranged so that Hugo would encounter the appropriate pieces during different parts of the day. Much of the artwork had personal meaning to Hugo: some was symbolic, some explicitly written in words. It was pretty fantastic, like we were walking directly through the artist's mind. 

Pictured: The master bedroom of the Hauteville House

Bookquest: St. Peter's Port, UK

9/19/2013 - Lexicon

Victor Hugo by Graham Robb

Since Victor Hugo is the only reason I stopped in Guernsey, I felt a biography was appropriate. Graham Robb's biography is recent and received good reviews. Skimming through it, I see passages about French politics and life in Guernsey. I'll probably enjoy it even more after visiting Paris.

The bookstore had the most famous works of Victor Hugo in English (including Toilers of the Sea), but nothing I hadn't read before. There were plenty of other books about Guernsey and the other Channel Islands. Most were histories, cookbooks, or books about the local language. 

Arrival in Guernsey

9/18/2013 - St. Peter's Port, Guernsey (UK)

Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands between England and France. I've wanted to visit it ever since reading Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea (set in Guernsey). 

Today, the Channel Islands are more well-known for two other reasons: they were the only British islands occupied by the Nazis, and they are a tax shelter. A monument near the pier commemorates the "liberation of Guernsey from the occupying German forces." Past the pier, I saw a bunch of suits walking around banks and other companies with familiar acronyms: RBS, PWC, HSBC, etc. 

Guernsey was more cheerful once I reached my hotel and went out for dinner. The hotel's hostess had a local accent I had never heard before. Dinner included "Guernsey oysters." A night walk around the island's coast looked promising: pleasant weather, old houses, friendly people.

Pictured: View of Guernsey Harbour from Cambridge Park.

Rocks

9/17/2013 - Dorchester, UK

My last full day in England was dull: chores, a bit of travel, a lot of reading, and a brief stop at Dorchester's Dorset County Museum. I've got museum fatigue, but after yesterday's laziness, I felt obligated to do something besides walk around and hang out. One highlight from the museum is a 155 million year old Weymouth Bay Pliosaur skull, with "more powerful jaws than any other animal in the history of the Earth." 

With some effort, I even enjoyed the rock collection at Dorset County Museum. Earlier in the day, I came across a Laurence Sterne quote from A Sentimental Journey: "What a large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little span of life, by him who interests his heart in everything." It was too far to say the rocks were an "adventure," but they were at least interesting.

Pictured: The rocks at Dorset County Museum

Lazy Beach Day

9/16/2013 - Boscombe, UK

Today was another good low-key day: a cafe, a walk on the beach, another cafe, back down the beach, dinner, and a pub. I enjoyed the beach too much to write anything interesting in my notes for the day. Sorry.

Pictured: At least I took another photo of Boscombe Pier so you can see how much nicer it looks when it's sunny

Casually Stylish

9/15/2013 - Boscombe, UK

I've gotten better at reading between the lines on guidebooks. In Istanbul's airport, I read through Lonely Planet Eastern United States to compare how the books describe places I am familiar with. The books describes Milwaukee: "Here's the thing about Milwaukee: it's cool, but for some reason everyone refuses to admit it." 

I scheduled myself a few days between London and Guernsey to relax and do nothing. Boscombe, near Bournemouth, seemed a good location. It's a beach town catering to the vacationing English (clearly, I arrived at the off season). My guide book calls my hotel in Boscombe, "casually stylish." For dinner, I walked to a Bournemouth pub/diner: a burger, homemade fries, and a trendy foreign beer (Chicago's Goose Island 312). A good day, if somewhat low-key.

Pictured: Boscombe Pier. 

Stonehenge and Google

9/14/2013 - Salisbury, UK

Our tour guide at Stonehenge was outstanding in knowledge and personality, even by the high standards of the English tour guides. He knew all the information about recent archaeology in the area (some as recent as 2 years ago). The only time that he said the word "druids" was when he explained which books to buy in the gift store: "Don't buy anything with pictures of druids on the cover."

Some days have unexpected themes. Today's was Google. On my way to Salisbury from London, I read about the future in "The New Digital Age" by Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google. Then, I chatted with a girl who works in marketing at Google on our tour (the third Google employee I've met since the trip began). Last, our tour guide mentioned Google. After explaining that Stonehenge is not an actual "henge" ("henge" is a technical term), he added that it's certainly not a "hedge." But since so many people get the spelling wrong when they search for it online, his website includes "Stonehedge" as a search term to attract visitors from Google. 

Pictured: Stonehenge at sunset

Kings and Street Artists

9/12/2013 - London

Today, we toured Westminster Abbey, then we did the "Alternative London" tour of the East End's street art, and finally we got drinks and bagels in the evening. Individually, any of these would have made for a good day, but altogether it made for one of those great days that I'm going to have trouble believing all happened in just 24 hours.

Westminster Abbey is the site of, most recently, Elizabeth II's coronation, Princess Diana's funeral, and the royal wedding. It also contains many graves and memorials for London's kings, queens, scientists, and writers. 

I was struck by something in common between our tour of Westminster Abbey and London's street art. A few tombs at the Abbey are decorated with Italian mosaics, but some of the mosaics' tiles were stolen hundreds of years ago by pilgrims looking for a souvenir. As we toured the East End of London's street art later in the day, I was amused to see the same problem: one of the pieces by Invader had some of its tiles removed by his fans.

Pictured: A mosaic by French street artist Invader near the old Truman Brewery in London's East End 

Personalities at Tate Britain

9/11/2013 - London

We spent much of the day at the other Tate art museum in London, the Tate Britain. A walk through the museum takes you through the history of British art. It has a room for each decade of the 20th century, and many rooms for earlier works. Unlike the international British Museum, the truly British "Tate Britain" is appropriately named.

We liked a lot of it, but spent the most time with the oldest pieces. I've seen a lot of art on this trip. Before I left, I would have looked at an old portrait and said, "yep, that's an old portrait." Now, I feel I'm more appropriately impressed by their craftsmanship. Especially talking with my friends, I felt we appreciated the way the best artists captured the personalities of their subjects, and what deeper image the subjects were trying to portray. 

Pictured: "Master Crewe as Henry VIII" by Sir Joshua Reynolds. This one's pretty straightforward.

Tacos in London

9/10/2013 - London

A low-key day; my only destination was Taqueria, London's best Mexican restaurant. Near the tourist areas, there are actually more Mexican restaurants than I would have guessed. But they don't look very authentic. Taqueria is apart from these restaurants: it is located in Notting Hill, and it advertises high quality ingredients and homemade tortillas. I'm usually not a big foodie, but I appreciate a good Mexican restaurant. It was one of the best meals of the trip.

After lunch, I headed back to the East End to meet some American friends. We went to one of London's trendy cocktail bars and caught up. We were excited for the next few days. My chapter in London will close with good company.

Pictured: Carne asada tacos at Taqueria in London's Notting Hill

An Eclectic Hangout

9/8/2013 - London

With another week ahead of me in London, I've got a lot of time to just hang out. Today, I tried to understand what it would be like to live in the city. I walked around the East End, got coffee, read local news, etc.

 

It wasn't long before I found a place that could be a regular hangout. I found a cafe called "The Book Club." Its calendar has eclectic events planned for every weekday in September: music shows, art classes, discussions with writers, etc. I'm generally not going to the same place twice while I'm traveling overseas, but the Book Club is pretty inviting.

Pictured: Street art outside The Book Club

Certified Copy

9/7/2013 - London

The massive British Museum needs a new name. The majority of the pieces in the museum are not from Britain; they were "acquired" from other places. The Rosetta Stone, the Sphinx's beard, and much of the interior of the Parthenon are all here. It must be hard for Greeks and Egyptians to see all their national treasures on display in London.

In contrast, the first piece on display at the Japanese exhibit isn't an ancient treasure, it's a replica. Specifically, it is a copy of the Kudara Kannon statue I saw in Nara. The statue's placard has excuses about it being a copy: "The spirit of Kannon ensures that although this statue is a replica, it is in some ways 'real' as well. Copies keep old forms alive." I agree with this, and I think more of the non-British objects in the museum should be replicas. Send the treasures home!

Pictured: An ancient (300-250 BC) lion statue from Knidos (Turkey) in the British Museum.

Royal Residence

9/9/2013 - Windsor, UK

Windsor Castle is an easy day trip from London. It's a good tour. The castle walk starts with the fortress-like exterior, goes deeper into the government rooms and residence, and ends with the chapel where monarchs like Henry VIII are buried. It makes you feel like a diplomatic guest to Queen Victoria 150 years ago.

For all the wealth and opulence (and there's a lot of it, I am doing a disservice by glancing over it with a single phrase), it was still just a residence. I guess I would have expected that the most powerful person on the planet would have some sort of secret in their home that I would want to bring into my own home. But there wasn't. It was just extremely wealthy.

Pictured: The Windsor Castle quadrangle

East End

9/6/2013 - London

I expected the East End of London to be the blue-collar part of town, like in Michael Apted's Up series. I met a friend for dinner there, and the area looked gentrified. I said to my friend, "This is a younger crowd than what I've seen in London. Not a lot of tourists." "Yes, it's the East End." "What does that mean?" "It's like Brooklyn." 

I thought it was more posh than Brooklyn. Where it was grungy, it looked deliberately grungy. Also there were more clubs playing dance music at dinnertime than I would see in Brooklyn. Even with the mixed first impression, I imagine it's probably where I'd want to live if I were living in London.

Pictured: Monikers in Hoxton Square. The bar's second floor is a hollowed out bus (my friend says, "this place gets crowded, but I've never seen anyone up there.")

Natural Treasures

9/5/2013 - London

I'm starting to think I could spend my entire two weeks in London at museums. I spent most of the afternoon at the Natural History Museum. Outside, I walked through a tent full of butterflies (a sign outside: "please don't step on them"). Inside, I saw extremely old fossils (mostly dinosaurs, but also ancient sloths, etc). I passed through rooms with windows into "actual scientists" at work (mostly sitting at desks on computers like any other job). I visited the "Treasures" room, which contains a dodo skeleton, Neanderthal skull, moon rock, and others. Last, I passed a statue of Darwin to visit a temporary exhibit called "Extinction: Not the End of the World?"

Evolution and extinction are big themes at the Natural History Museum. I expected that an exhibit about extinction would be conservationist, but instead it framed conservation concepts as questions. For example, "Are some species more important to save than others?" and "Which species do you want to become extinct?" I pressed a button to vote with the overwhelming majority: "We shouldn't kill off any species." 

Pictured: A Neanderthal skull, the first one discovered.

Bookquest: London, UK

9/5/2013 - Daunt Books

Edmund Campion: Jesuit and Martyr by Evelyn Waugh

There are obviously many options for English-language books about London or England. My choice, Edmund Campion, has almost all the qualities I'm looking for: a story about a traveler, with local history, written by a great author, and short enough to mail home. The internet insists that it is relevant for a contemporary audience, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Daunt Books was the last of four great bookstores I visited. It had great fiction and nonfiction about London and England. It also had good selections for other places; I noted its collection of Austrian and Czech literature for when I get to Central Europe. Daunt Books is in a very commercial / touristy street, but it's surprisingly quiet inside. 

The other bookstores I visited were John Sandoe, Foyle's, and Waterstones. All good choices; Daunt Books just happened to be the one I visited last.

Ghost Park

9/4/2013 - London 

A sign at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park simultaneously welcomed me and apologized: "We are delighted to be able to open a small area of the Northern Parkland for you to enjoy... The remainder of the Park is still under construction and will be fully open in spring 2014." It wasn't clear why most of the park is inaccessible, as the Olympics were only a year ago. The park was almost entirely fenced in. There were more constructions workers and security guards than anyone in the "small area of the Northern Parkland."

Since the rest of London has been so amazing, it was especially jarring to see that the Olympic Park is a ghost town. On my phone, I could see huge facilities and parkland on Google Maps. When I looked up, I saw distant skeletons of buildings, hidden behind fences and bulldozers that were demolishing the roads into the park. The closest sign of civilization was a mall with a Mexican restaurant called "Wahaca." I waited until I got back to Central London before I had lunch.

Pictured: View of the "River Lea" and the rest of the Olympic Park in the distance.

Thames Walk

9/3/2013 - London

At the Tate Modern, I enjoyed the artwork of Monet and cast a skeptical eye at Mark Rothko. About an hour later, I was at the Bank of England, lifting a bar of solid gold and reading exhibits such as "What is quantitative easing?" Not more than two hours after that, I was listening to a Beefeater explain the gory details of historic executions at the Tower of London. 

After leaving the Tower, I walked along the Thames, trying to make sense of seeing the Tate Modern, Bank of England, and Tower of London all in the same day. Geographically, they're very close, but they work such different parts of the brain. Will I always associate the Tower of London's Crown Jewels with quantitative easing and Mark Rothko? Trying not to over think things, I stopped at a movie theater in Leicester Square and saw The World's End. It was pretty funny.

Pictured: The River Thames, with the Tower of London at right.

Familiar Names

9/2/2013 - London

The day was full of familiar European names from art, science, and history. At the British Library, I saw the writings of Beethoven, Darwin, Henry VIII, and many, many more. In the evening, I had a taste of London theatre: Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. The program mentioned Ibsen's Norwegian contemporary, Edvard Munch, whose work I had just seen exhibited in Oslo.

But, somewhat shamefully, the familiar names I was most excited to see were those from home. Between the library and the show, I had a lot of time to kill in the West End. I bought an American shirt to wear to the play, drank an "americano" coffee, read part of an American biography, and had an American burrito (Chipotle in Europe!). After washing my hands, I was delighted to see a personal favorite piece of American technology: The XLERATOR.

Pictured: A familiar face on the posters for the British Library's propaganda exhibit. My favorite part of the exhibit: a colonial-era board game called Pretoria where the goal is the conquer South Africa, making it look like the British should have had an easy time in the Boer War.

Gobsmacked

9/1/2013 - London

With 12 days scheduled for London, I was in no rush when I arrived. I planned to spend most of the day relaxing at coffee shops and catching a new film. It didn't work out like that. As soon as I started walking to the movie theater, I knew I was going to want to see the city immediately. 

On the way to the theater, I passed all sorts of places I only knew by reputation: the Natural History Museum, Hyde Park, Harrods, Green Park, Piccadilly Square, and Leicester Square. I was in a great mood, then I made a mistake and stopped in the theater to see the movie, an admittedly great documentary about war criminals called The Act of Killing. It's a testament to London that I was pretty upbeat shortly after leaving the theater and arriving in Trafalgar Square. From there, I walked to the Thames, Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, the Supreme Court, Parliament Square, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace. I hadn't planned to see any of those specifically; London's sights are so compact that it's easy to run into one after the other.

London is a new chapter for my travels, and a welcome one. I am glad I don't have to get on a train or a plane, or check into a new hotel or hostel for the next 12 days. I plan to be here longer than anywhere else, except Paris, so I really hope to get a sense of the city.

Pictured: Parliament, viewed from Westminster Bridge