Finding Belgium and More

We are taking an advantage of Belgian assumption day. We decided to take a short trip to London. Since this was the spontaneous idea, we were looking for a transportation to London from Brussels. To our surprise, the air tickets are about the same price as the ones from trains.. I think typically the train is cheaper than the flight, but I guess the last minute decision is not the cheapest one for sure.

The train ride from Brussels to London was about 2 hour 10min. There is one hour time difference between Brussels and London. I found that the train ride in Europe was much more enjoyable. This train goes through the channel (tunnel under North Sea) which was dark. As usual, the train station is right next to the Tube (subway station in London), which is really convenient.

We stayed at the hotel called cityM, Tower of London. It was a boutique hotel right next to Tower of London. The hotel was chic, and welcoming. All check-ins and outs are self check-in and outs, and a lot of pleasant people are there to help in case you have any issue. The hotel was right outside the tube station, Tower hills. Seriously a few steps away from the exit.

London was very impressive and really an antique city. I was amazed to see so many sites which I have only seen or imagined in movies.. Some places just looked like coming out from Harry porter films. I thought Harry Porter scenes are just out of imagination, but how wrong was I !!! The historical buildings and history of England was pretty much embedded in London, and you can truly breathe the scent of history for me.

Things we did in London – Of course, you can do more and different things!

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Wow! Majestic!! This is the only word I can say. Truly amazing castles and so much history in it. It is located at the north bank of River Thames. There are a lot of history in it from Royal residence to prisons. We did not do this, but I think it is definitely worthwhile to do the tour with tour guides. We listened it briefly and found the tour guide is very interesting and animated!

Changing of Guard

This is something worthwhile to consider joining the tour group. We joined at Get the guide (also called City Wonders) for this tour and found ourselves truly enjoying the tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and led to the right places for us to see the event closely. We walked along with the guards and continuously moved with the guard to see the whole events. Amazing history to keep this ceremony over 700 years except one day. In WWII, when the bombing happened in the Buckingham Place, they were late but still carried out the ceremony. People in London appear to be very proud of traditions and their history.

Westminster Parliament

Something you got to do! I found British politics is fascinating! British debate style in House of Common is something I have never seen before in US and Korea.. The hall and building itself is truly amazing. Surprisingly, this is one of the least crowded places in London. 🙂

Buckingham Palace: State Room

Buckingham Palace is open to public for 2 months during a year. We were just purely lucky to be in London during August so we could see the Palace. We did not have a trouble to find tickets in the morning for afternoon tours. The tour was about 1 hour and the audio guide was helpful. This month theme was about Queen Victoria who really expanded the Palace. I think this is something you want to do at least once for the experience, but I can say this is not really a cup of my tea.

I really enjoyed London and its history. And enjoyed feeling that the European history is embedded everywhere. We loved Paris, Normandy. But London is truly an amazing city and blew my mind off.. This much of history is something which it is difficult to experience if we were in US… When we visited the National Parks in US, the nature really spoke to you and it majestic landscape really impressed you as human being. Here, the same thing happens, but just majestic history blew your mind off. I am starting to appreciate the opportunity of experiencing different parts of history in the world so easily. Pack your bag and go is definitely a new concept for me and I am grateful to have this experience.