After two days of graduation activities we started exploring the different sights we wanted to see while we were in London.
One highlight for me was the Sky Garden on top of the skyscraper nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” (because that is what the building looks like).
The elevator quickly brought us to the 35th floor, to the viewing platform where you see terrific views of London from on high. There is also an indoor garden on top, which was very pleasant.
On a side note – I asked a question of a man standing next to me looking out over London, and after talking awhile I found out he grew up in Northfield! And the amazing thing is, the last time I was in London in 2013, when I was still working at St. Olaf, a student recognized me on a street corner in London, and came up to talk with me. It’s a small world.
On this trip we also visited Borough Market, the oldest fruit-and-vegetable market serving the current community for over 800 years, but it started in a different location over 1,000 years ago*. There were many stalls with all different types of food offerings, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was a great place to walk around and buy lunch before going to the Sky Garden.
We also walked to Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abbey, rode the London Eye and went to the Natural History Museum.
The London Eye is a “revolving observation wheel.” The glass enclosed capsules move slowly and continuously. As a capsule reaches the bottom platform there are two sides: on one side people enter the capsule and on the other side people exit the capsule, without it stopping. It’s an interesting experience and offers more unique views of London. It is on the Thames River.
The Natural History Museum is mammoth (it holds 50 million specimens) and is housed in a beautiful Victorian, Neo-Romanesque building that was built in the 1870’s specifically for the museum. Although it’s been awhile since I’ve toured a natural history museum, which I enjoy, seeing this magnificent building was the highlight of the museum for me. It was stunning.
Additional Photos:
*Rick Steves London, 2017