London! (photos)

After a long, chilly day of traveling, I finally arrived in St. Pancras station (the new hub for international trains). Farther down the platform, one can view an enormous statue of a couple "snogging". Apparently, PR is trying to up the romance of the new station. It could turn a bit awkward for solo travelers and people meeting friends ("Look, I think you're cool and all but...). Giant P.D.A. statue aside, it just felt good to know that my bed for the next 3 nights was only a Tube ride away.

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Happened to be awake early enough to catch a London sunrise.

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The bar area of the hostel, St. Christopher's Inn. It is a favorite of Australians on holiday and a creepy Armanian guy. The bar also had a pretty extensive collection of Blues Brothers memorabilia to went perfectly with the establishment's name, Belushi's.


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Walking around Hyde Park



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These birds were enormous and ill-tempered. Bad combination. I made sure to use no sudden movements, while getting as close as possible to these guys. But after one came a little too close and I got a closer look at it's beak, I retreated.

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Statue of Cleopatra and her posse. Nobody has camels these days.

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Royal Albert Hall


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World War One memorial.




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Wellington Arch


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This store is ridiculous. Everything from baby rattles to pianos and nail polish to diamonds is sold here. Unfortunately, I left my platinum card in my other pair of jeans...shame. I had my eye on a really nice piano.
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Photo op that couldn't be missed.
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Whatever the guy with a machine gun and back-up handgun says, do it. At Buckingham Palace, what the queen says, goes.
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A church from across the river Thames. Such a cold night.


Unfortunately, I forgot the camera but I did end up going hashing with the West London H3 group and they are great people. For 2£ I had one of the best afternoons. The other perk of hashing in London is the quality of the down-downs. No PBR for this bunch, only London Pride.

Cheers!

My City of Lights

I took these pictures right before leaving Rennes in December. The whole city was covered in a blanket of lights. This first picture is of the Parliament building.

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And here's the Opera:

Deutschland! (photos)

Breathe in that sweet, German air. Megan and I finally made it after a train, metro, bus, plane and a taxi. It was worth it. Welcome to the city of Bremen. This is right outside of the city's train station. Also, something to notice, all the cables are for Bremen's above ground metro system. Just watch your back, these tram cars travel pretty quietly and can sneak up on you. It turns your face a little red to have one honk at you to get out of the way.


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Megan and I realizing that neither of us speaks German.
By the end of the trip we did became capable of ordering bratwurst and spiked mulled wine pretty fluently.
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A mulled wine hut before the crowds hit it. We were part of the crowds. In order to survive the intense winter winds from the North Sea, ein wein break was necessary every 15 minutes or so.

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Vive les hooligans! Turns out that the city's football team (Werder) was playing on Saturday and everyone turned out to show their support. These guys parked it on the cathedral steps with a drum and some beer. In this picture, they are mid-heckle. Watch out if you wearing a red scarf.

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St. Petri Dom, Bremen's Protestant cathedral. Here's a nice shot of the towers' backside.

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Lovely photo opportunity of the Christmas markets that were raging all through December. There was no shortage of Santa Claus impersonators, mistletoe, and sparkling ornaments.
P.S. The girl in the pink jacket is Megan, my partner-in-crime.
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More of the main square.
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The Windmill am Wall. A classic Dutch style monument, complete with overpriced restaurant.
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Different church. This is where Megan and I watched a boy's choir sing Christmas carols.
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The Christmas market on the sleepy Sunday morning.


Bisous!

Coming very soon: London! (photos)