School Trip to London

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Samuel Johnson

From 27 to 31 January 2010, the GKS’s year 13 Leistungskurs went on a school trip to visit the British capital. We managed to explore many famous places in London Town and can now only confirm Samuel Johnson’s famous quote. This post is designed to provide our readers with a brief outline of our activities during the trip.

Day One

We arrived around noon. Before setting off to explore the city, we inspected our accomodation. The hotel we stayed in was situated very close to Baker Street and beautiful Regent’s park. Hence, we resided very central and had great transport links. Having crossed that from our list, we headed towards Waterloo which is situated south of the River Thames. As we were in search of good-value-for-money food, we went to a street called Lower Marsh. This street was once part of the oldest settlement of the South Bank. As a matter of fact, it used to be marsh land until the early 19th century. The term South Bank refers to the southern shore of the River Thames. It is a popular place among Londoners and tourists. Here, you can find many famous sights such as the London Eye, Globe Theatre, Tate Modern and so on.

On our first evening, we joined a guided Jack the Ripper Walk. The tour started at Tower Hill tube station and led us through  London’s East End; much of it is known nowadays as the City of London and the financial district.

After having walked through drizzly London for almost 2 hours, we were ready for one of the most famous Bagel shops in London, on Brick Lane. This area of East London saw Jewish immigration during the 17th century. However, as so many places in London are witnessing constant change, Brick Lane is now the heart of the Bangladeshi community and therefore referred to as Banglatown.

Day Two

Our second day in London was meant to be very busy. In the morning, we went on an educational tour to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. After having learned some very interesting facts on Elizabethan theatre, we were quite hungry and made our way towards the Docklands. We stopped at Shadwell DLR station for some traditional Fish & Chips. Be advised though that it is very difficult to find a good Fish & Chips shop in London and this one is an insider’s tip. Having filled our empty stomachs, we continued our venture through the London Docklands and Canary Wharf. Throughout the 18th and 19th century, the Docklands were the busiest harbour in the world. The British stored here all goods that were brought in from the colonies. During the Second World War, the Docklands were heavily bombed and destroyed. Consequently, most of the wharfs were closed down shortly afterwards. Up to the 1980ies, they were a forgotten part of London until Prime Minister Thatcher decided to regenerate the area. Since the City of London lacked office space and buildings were not allowed to exceed the height of St. Paul’s, the Docklands seemed to be the most promising part of town in terms of expansion. Today, Canary Wharf houses most of the global finance and insurance companies and a stunning architecture.

We then left Canary Wharf behind us and visited beautiful Greenwich with its Prime Meridian and colonial architecture. In order to complete an exciting day successfully, we made our way back into Central London by boat on the River Thames.

Day Three

On our third day, we explored parts of Central London such as Oxford Street, Picadilly Circus, Soho, Covent Garden, China Town, the Strand and Trafalgar Square. Those of us interested in the Arts, visited the National Gallery.

Day Four

As our fourth day was a Saturday, we had to visit London’s famous street markets in Notting Hill and Camden.

* all pictures copyright by ngraf

Advertisement