A Trip to London. with Mrs. Gottesleben & Mrs. Hairbucher, Mr. Orth-Goetz and Mrs Bajraktarevic. January 2018

Transcription

1 A Trip to London with Mrs. Gottesleben & Mrs. Hairbucher, Mr. Orth-Goetz and Mrs Bajraktarevic January 2018

2 Wednesday, January 10 Our Bus Trip to London by Tim Linde The first day of our journey consisted of travelling from Langenfeld to London. At 6:20, we met at the Bettine-von-Arnim School. Luckily the bus arrived on time at 6:30 and we were able to start our adventure. Our teachers welcomed us Mrs. Gottesleben and Mrs. Hairbucher were assisted by Ms. Bajraktarevic and Mr. Orth-Götz. Then they introduced Oliver Gruhn, their favourite bus driver, to us. He gave us some instructions on how to behave on the bus, which was a brand new double-decker. As we were all still pretty tired and it was still dark outside, our teachers promised not to disturb us and to give us further instructions after the first break. We had a few stops in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, which we used to walk around and take in some fresh air. While we were on the bus, we listened to music, sang, watched movies, and shared snacks. Our teachers passed around an emergency mobile so that everybody could join the London group and then they told us something about the program and informed us about the rooms we were going to have so that we could form groups. For the boys it was no problem at all, but some girls could not agree on whom they wanted to share the room with even after arriving at the hotel in London there were lively discussions going on. In Calais, France, we had our last stop and took our ferry to Dover after about two hours of waiting, which we filled with little trips to the ocean, taking photos and talking. We then left France at around 15:30. Our time on the ferry was pretty good as we could mill around on the many decks of the ferry, see the ocean, and drink coffee at a Starbucks on board.

3 When we reached the British East coast, we could see the sun set behind the stunning White Cliffs of Dover. The weather was amazing and only a few clouds were visible in the sky. And there we were, in Dover, England. From that moment we made our way to the Shakespeare Hotel. As we traced out the outlines of Big Ben and the London Eye, we couldn't believe our eyes and were proud to have travelled for about 11 hours. Before we reached our hotel, our teachers told us to be back by in the evening and they handed out snippets to us for every day we had a different colour. We were expected to write the names of the group members and the room numbers on one half of them and give that to Mrs. Gottesleben. When we came back, we were expected to either give her the second half personally at the reception desk or - in case we did not see her down there- to pass it under her room door so that she could see if everyone was in. Then we finally arrived in our rooms, but instead of sleeping, we decided to walk around and eat something. After finding many (fast-food) restaurants just around the corner of our hotel, we found out how centrally located the hotel actually was and that it was really easy to travel from there. After that, we decided to go to the Paddington Station to fill up our oyster cards. There we found the Statue of Paddington Bear, which pretty much made our day.

4 Our hotel: The Shakespeare Hotel By Sara Seco & Lena Delhofen After a very long drive to London, we arrived at the Shakespeare Hotel, which is an established hotel in Paddington, Central London. We needed only ten minutes to travel to the center of London by tube. The hotel consists of four houses and each of them has four levels. There is the reception inside on the right and a room with a pool table on the left. We first got our keycards and breakfast cards from our teacher. Then, we went searching for our rooms. There were three four-bed rooms, one five-bed room and five single rooms for the boys and four five-bed and one twin-room for the girls. Some of the girls needed so long to decide with whom they wanted to share the room that Mrs. Gottesleben left them alone and did some organizational work until they had made up their minds. The rooms were very small and had five beds, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bathroom. Some rooms had bunkbeds. All rooms had free Wi-Fi. Every morning, between 07.30am and 08.30am, we had breakfast. The breakfast was very sweet and there was not anything hearty. We could have ordered an English breakfast for an extra 3 Pounds, but nobody wanted to have it. In the neighborhood there are many restaurants and a supermarket. The tube station Paddington is near the hotel so you can go everywhere very easily.

5 Thursday, January 11 The Globe Theatre Dear Diary, we spent our first morning at the Globe Theatre near Millennium Bridge. We left the Tube at Blackfriars Station and went along the River Thames, where we admired many new skyscrapers which had funny names like Walkietalkie Cheesegrater Gherkin the Shard and we had a wonderful view on the Tower Bridge. We crossed the river via Millennium Bridge, which is for pedestrians only, saw the Modern Tate Gallery, and arrived at the Globe around 10 a.m. There, we met a nice man, an actor whose name was Geoffrey, who explained a lot. First, he asked why we were there. Nobody could really name a serious reason for our sojourn at the Globe Theatre and so he stated his own reason: Because your teachers took you here! We objected and finally we understood: entertainment. He said entertainment was all that we expected and wanted. It was the same today and even in former times. That is why Shakespeare built this theatre. Money is honey, was an important phrase Geoffrey often repeated and made us say properly. Then he told us that the theatre was not the original one because the first Globe burnt down in the 17 th century and when it was rebuilt, it was closed shortly after by strict Puritans who did not tolerate any form of entertainment. The next thing he wanted to know was, Why does the theatre have no roof? Some pupils had ideas like, It looks more natural, or, It is necessary for better air. But the real and quite simple - reason was merely, light. There was no electricity in Shakespeare s time and candles were too expensive and could cause an open fire, which could burn down the wooden theatre. Next, we talked about the balcony in the theatre. One of Shakespeare s most famous plays is Romeo and Juliet and we all know of the existence and importance of the balcony. But how can we be sure that there has to be a balcony? Geoffrey helped us to come to the conclusion that Shakespeare in fact never mentioned a balcony and that we only think there is one because of the influence of films and other media. Later, we left the audience room and went to a seminar room. There were some comfortable seats and it was warm and so we sat down quite happily. The actor wanted two of us, a boy and a girl, to play a little scene from another play of Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night s Dream. The two actors had to play the Fairy King Oberon and his wife, Queen Titania.

6 Oberon: Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania?! Titania : What? Jealous? Oberon? With only nine words, they were trained to transmit emotions. They could use more, but then it would not be as interesting for the audience, and a bored audience would mean no money. At the end, it became very funny: in Shakespeare s time, women were not allowed on stage and so a boy was told to play Queen Titania. That was really entertaining! We had arrived at the Globe Theatre with no idea of what we could expect there. But what we learned that day was incredible: we were told to think. We were told to think about ourselves and the reason why things happened and we learned about the importance of money. Money is the only big motivation in the world, now and more than 500 years ago. In other words: Money is honey.

7 Friday, January 12 Tower of London By Benedikt and Jonathan Bias On Friday, January 12th, most pupils of year 11 visited the Tower of London. The Tower is a fortress at the riverside of the Thames, near Tower Bridge. The famous Crown Jewels and other interesting things are stored and can be seen there. We wanted to meet there at quarter to ten but our group was a little bit too late because the meeting point was the Tower of London, which is a really big area and it took a while to meet the rest of the group. After we had found the others, we got our tickets from Mrs. Gottesleben, who also took notes on the groups who wanted to explore the Tower. When we entered the Tower together, there was a short security check and then we went straight up to a polar bear made from metal. It symbolized the gift that a medieval Norwegian King gave to the English King. This bear had a long iron chain around one of its legs. The chain was long enough to allow the polar bear to swim and fish in the River Thames.

8 Next, every group got a box of cards, which included a quiz and information on the places where we could find the answers. It took a bit of time to visit all places and exhibitions in the Tower and get all information necessary for the quiz. But it was very interesting to go through the Tower and get a lot of information about the history of the British Empire and the different uses of the Tower in the past. We even saw the famous ravens, which guarantee the existence of the English monarchy. After we finished the quiz, we had time for ourselves, so our group looked for a restaurant near the Tower because the tour was exhausting and we wanted to rejuvenate ourselves. Another group went to Tower Bridge and visited the exhibition there.

9 Greenwich by Sven Selbach Greenwich is an area in south east London. It is located within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to which it lends its name. Greenwich is known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time. The town became the site of a royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many royal personalities. In Greenwich, we saw the Cutty Sark, which is one of the fastest clippers of her generation. The Cutty Sark was also one of the last tea clippers to be built before steamboats became more popular than sailing ships. In addition, we visited the Old Royal Naval College (or the RNC for short), which was an old Royal Navy training establishment used between 1873 and In the past, the Royal Naval College provided courses for naval officers and it was the home of the Royal Navy`s staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The RNC was built between 1696 and 1712 and was used as a hospital for disabled sailors since After that, the building became a military academy.

10 Today, the University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music use parts of the building. Other sights I didn t see are : The Greenwich Power Station, a standby power station for the London underground trams. The Greenwich Park, a royal park for the old palace of Placentia. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, a former observatory within the famous Prime Meridian and today a museum for astronomical and navigational equipment. Dear Diary, Greenwich and Boat Trip today was an exciting day during our trip to London. The goal today was a trip on the River Thames, but before that we had a lot of free time after we had visited the Tower of London. First, my group and I decided how we would get to Greenwich, the place where the trip started, and what we would do there. In the end, we decided not to go by bus or tube, but by boat. This method was a bit more expensive but effective because it would only take us 10 minutes by boat. So we paid the 6.50 pounds and went by boat. After we had arrived at Greenwich, we had 7 hours time left until the trip started, so we decided to go to the local market and look around for some souvenirs. There were many different booths at the market, but one caught my eye instantly. It was a booth with self-made pictures of famous persons, movies, and shows like Star Wars and Game of Thrones. One picture cost 6 pounds and was about 6 inches tall. We decided to get some of them. I bought 2 of the pictures and the others bought 3.

11 Everything was fine until we discovered that these pictures weren't self-made. They were just copied from Google Images but as they were not popular pictures no one noticed that they were fake in the first place. Sadly we discovered that too late, so there was no chance of giving them back. After this shady experience, we finally went to Starbucks and had some drinks. We chilled out for a while and then made our way back to the location where the trip started. This was at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, a sailing ship with a restaurant under it. Then we had to wait for a bit because a group of three boys was too late. They were so late that our teachers became nervous and wondered what they should do if the boys did not turn up. First, they were nervous, but then they got really annoyed because someone had seen the boys at McDonald s. They arrived just in time to enter the boat and finally the trip started. We were very excited about it because we were going to see London at night. The trip itself wasn't special. A guy stood in front of the audience and talked a bit about the city and its attractions. But the city was so beautiful at night, especially the skyline that we were pretty distracted by, so we didn't listen to the guy in the front. Everybody stayed on deck outside and took lots and lots of pictures while we were sailing along the River Thames. It was just beautiful and there is no word to describe the flashing lights combined with the great architecture. So when the trip was over, we all felt like we had now seen the best part of London and for me that was true. Although it had been really chilly, the Thames boat trip was my personal highlight and that of my group, too. Leon Güßgen, Andreas Mammen, Moritz Schlömer

12 Saturday, January 13 Houses of Parliament Dear Diary, On Saturday we met at the tube station Westminster. We gathered in front of a statue of the famous former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Then we went to the Houses of Parliament, which in fact have a lot of other names, too. Palace of Westminster is one of the official names. The building is located next to Elizabeth Tower and its famous bell called Big Ben, in addition to Westminster Abbey near the River Thames. This optional program started at 11am. Before we entered the building, we had to go through a security check. All our belongings were checked and only then were we allowed to go inside. The security check was just like at the airport. Spiky objects, guns, bombs, and also padlocks were forbidden. Spray cans like deodorant, pepper spray, and paint were forbidden, too. There is one difference between the security checks there and at airports: you are allowed to take your water bottle with you.

13 After the security check, we got visitor ID cards. Then we got headsets for an audio tour. Luckily it was in German. First, we were given general information about the building. The Parliament was built in 1016 and was destroyed in 1834 by a fire. The architectural style is called Perpendicular Gothic Revival. It is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires. Today Queen Elizabeth II is the owner of the building. We also saw some parts of the entry building. Our tour started in Westminster Hall which is a huge, ugly, and cold hall. Then there was St. Stephen s Hall, which has a lot of big paintings on the wall. The paintings show important parts of the kings lives. Apart from this the floor has no function. At the end of the hall, you enter the Central Lobby. It is a circular room between the Chambers of Lords (royal part) and the Chambers of Commons (public part). You can make out the difference through the design. The royal part was designed in red and gold. The public part was designed in green. The royal part is much bigger. It also has more rooms. First, there is the Lords Chamber which is used for meetings of the Lords. The Queen starts every meeting reading out the points of the meeting. Every year she also has her Open Parliament speech on her throne. Then, there is the Royal Gallery where there are a lot of paintings of kings and queens. Next to the Royal Gallery, Queen Elizabeth II has a private room for herself. In the past it was the Robing Room of the kings and queens. And we saw paintings of King Henry VIII and his six wives with the slogan divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived. We also found out that you can marry in these rooms. After the tour, we spotted some elegantly dressed people and one of us asked a woman what was going on. Luckily the woman answered in German and explained that her brother will marry in the private rooms of the Queens on this day.

14 Our tour went back through the Central Lobby to the Commons Chambers. It is the meeting point of the politicians where they discuss suggestions from the Lords. Most of the discussions can be watched live on TV. The room was much smaller than the Lords of Chamber. There were a lot more books than paintings. The books are logs about each meeting and debate. An interesting thing is that they are not voting by paper or by putting their hands up. They have a Yes - floor and a No - floor. After a bell, called the division bell, is rung, they have 8 minutes to choose their opinion and have to go in one of these floors. You can hear the bell outside, too. So all representatives get informed. Sometimes, some of them are in a pub or at home. Because of the ringing bell they all have a chance to give their vote, too. This is a tradition. Also, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is a tradition, too. This tradition has existed since It is a person who is the security guide, manager of the building, and messenger between the Lords and the representatives. This job was introduced after a king tried to kill three representatives. For more safety for both sides they needed a neutral person who cares about both parties. All in all this building has an interesting history and a lot of background stories which are too numerous to explain. After our audio guide tour, we had a lot of free time until 7pm. Yours, Cara & Nora

15 Our Trip Back By Maximilian Jacobs and Niklas Kleft We started our trip at 7 p.m. near the O2 Arena in North Greenwich. Our bus driver Olli was waiting for us in a parking lot. Before that we could do some shopping at a local supermarket so that we had enough food for our way back. Mrs. Gottesleben explained to us how to get a refund for our Oyster Cards, but most of us wanted to keep our cards because you never know if you will come back and be happy to use your Oyster Cards again. We drove for about two hours to the port of Dover. As we weren t searched at customs, we could enter the ferry without waiting. The sailing time was one and a half hours like on our trip to England. Here again, we had to leave our bus for safety reasons. Fortunately, the sea was calm so that we had a pleasant crossing and aboard we could enjoy sandwiches or wraps for lunch. During the ferry trip, some pupils collected money for our fantastic bus driver, which we wanted to give him at the end of the trip. After we had arrived in Calais, we went back into the bus, and after about two hours we reached the next stop which was in Belgium. Almost nobody left the bus because most of us were sleeping or at least slumbering. After the 30 minutes break we drove another two hours and stopped shortly before we reached our school: our bus-driver had a compulsory break and we could clean the bus and take all rubbish outside and

16 put it into official dust bins. Finally, we arrived in Langenfeld at about 6 in the morning. Benedict handed the tip to our bus driver Olli and said thank you in our names. Everybody on the bus cheered because he had really done a very good job. Many of our parents were already waiting for us. Then only our bags had to be taken out of the baggage room. Luckily for us, our teachers told the smokers to do it for the group because during one of the breaks they had been smoking in front of the bus within our teachers eyesight although they had been instructed not to do so. Most of us fell asleep as soon as we had our own beds again because the trip overnight was quite exhausting.

17 Free Time Activities Buckingham Palace- Changing of the Guard On the third day of our London trip, we decided to wake up early to visit the popular Buckingham Palace. We took the underground from Paddington to Green Park. We had a beautiful and refreshing morning walk through the Park until we arrived at the Queen s house. LUCKY US! On this day they had to change the Guards, which was just unforgettable! The Changing of the Guard takes place in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11:30 every day in the summer and every second day in winter and lasts about 45 minutes. This ceremony is one of the oldest and most famous events that visitors associate with Buckingham Palace. The Changing of the Guard is the ceremony in which the Old Guard hands over responsibility for protecting Buckingham Palace and St. James Place to the New Guard. The Queen s Guard is usually infantry soldiers guarding the palace in their parade uniform of red jackets and bearskin hats. To sum it up, it was a great experience to learn more about the English traditions and we highly recommend it. By the way, watching the Changing of the Guard is free of charge and no tickets are required. As we didn t see the Royal Family personally we added a photo which had been taken some time before our visit ;-). Imane Amkhatriou, Fatos Özdemir, Iman Azmaa

18 Our favourite burgers of London by Jan Ole Hansen and Joel Walter We were in London for four days and we ate so many burgers that we are not able to count them anymore. On the first day in London, we ate our first burger at Northfield Farm near London Bridge. The first peculiarity was that the burger was bigger than we thought. Furthermore, they added a lot more cheese to it. On the second day, we were at a Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Clingsstreet). The burger was a bit smaller, but still very delicious. The following days we often went to different Five Guys in London. They are a bit like our fast food restaurants, but in London the size of the burgers is very different compared to our burgers. The prices of the burgers are comparable to the prices at home. There are differences of up to 3 pounds according to the locals. Moreover, there are generally more burger restaurants in London than in Germany. It seemed like there was a burger restaurant on every corner. Here are some of our favorites: Dip & Flip Contact: Address: 87 Battersea Rise London

19 Bleecker: Address: Old Spitalfields Market Brushfield Street London

20 FIVE GUYS: We ate most burgers at Five Guys. You can find Five Guys everywhere in London. For example, there are places at Piccadilly Circus and in the O2 Arena. We ate at Five Guys every day and enjoyed it. We especially enjoyed the opportunity to create our own burger with different toppings. That was a very nice experience. Moreover, you don t have to wait very long for your burger because the staff is very fast. Although Five Guys is very popular, it is not necessary to wait very long to order your food. In every Five Guys you can get free peanuts with your order. It s a nice fact that the fries in Five Guys are deep-fried in peanut oil. That tastes very special. Stadium tours by Bernhard Walter and Jan Brinkmeier During our stay in London, we had a lot of free time. So we decided to visit the Wembley Stadium and the stadiums of Arsenal and West Ham United. Our favourite one was the Emirates Stadium of Arsenal because we had the chance to take part in a stadium tour. It was always our dream to stay on such a big pitch. We had an unforgettable experience and enjoyed incredible views. Furthermore, we took pictures of the club s trophies. After that we walked through the press rooms, interview rooms, and VIP lounges to get to the players changing rooms. We sat down at the place of our national player Mesut Özil and took a look at the pool and medical rooms, which were next door. Our last station was the coach cabin. It is the office of Arsène Wenger. Ironically, a few bottles of beer and wine stood next to his big TV. Actually, he should plan tactics there. He knows best how to perform his job. This was the end of the tour so we left the stadium through the souvenir shop. All in all, it was a successful day!

21 London-Free Time By Theresa Leefers, Iris Herud In London we had a lot of free time and many chances to visit awesome places, but we kind of messed up and in the end we had done maybe ¼ of that what we wanted to do. So it sounds like we had a bad trip, but we didn t because we had seen so much of London. The London tube is a nice thing as you can travel very easily and quickly to all places. It was the best part of the whole vacation because you could sit for a moment and relax or you could watch all of the different people from London. But we should go back to the cool parts. On Thursday, we went to Bourough Market. It s a nice place to find something to eat, and if you are interested in history, there s a church you can visit (see picture on the left). As we left the City Sightseeing Tour, we walked to see the Piccadilly Circus, the Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliaments and took some photos. Also on Thursday evening, another group went to the musical Wicked, which was really great. Following the advice of our teachers, we got our tickets on a last minute ticket stand for half the price. We had to ask which musical we could go to with five people. After we had arrived in the theater and sat in our seats, we noticed that the theater was really high up. We could use binoculars for one pound if we wanted to see better. But it was okay and we could see enough. We could even understand what the people said. After the theater, we went to our hotel by bus. On Friday, we visited the Tower with some people of our group who had pre-booked a ticket and then we ran free in the Tower. Our group was there for three hours because it was so interesting. We saw the Crown Jewels and lots of expensive stuff; it was incredible and the old castle was amazing with all the rooms and stories behind it. After that, we searched for something to eat. But it was kind of cold so we searched for a restaurant and we found Sissi and wasted a lot of time, but the food was good so it was okay und we could take a breather. The people who didn t go to the Tower went (in our case) to the Imperial War Museum, which is a nice place for people, who are interested in history. The museum is about the two World Wars and the Cold War and there is also an exhibition about the

22 Holocaust/Shoa. We walked around and went to the London Eye to take some photos in the daylight, and we also learned how trustful squirrels are. After we all had got together again, we walked and searched for one of the places where the Harry Potter movies were shot. For example, we visited the Diagon Alley or in German Winkelgasse. Our last day in London was Saturday. After the Houses of Parliament, we went to the science museum. If you are interested in science, then it s a perfect place for you! Don t get irritated if someone asks you to donate five pounds; it s up to you to decide if you want to donate or not. And after this, we went to North Greenwich, where the bus waited for us. Our teachers told us that there was a supermarket where we could buy drinks and snacks at reasonable prices for the journey back home. And so that s all about free time in London. Here you can buy magic wands, drink elixirs, and meet muggles.

23 Our Westend Experience: Agatha Christie s Mousetrap By Vanessa and Jana After the sightseeing tour on Thursday, January 11 th, we had originally planned a shopping tour that night, but we had a problem because we were only allowed to go through the city in a group consisting of three or more members. Our actual group of three split and two of us stayed. Since we were only a couple, all the options we had considered earlier did not work out. So we only had the chance to go with our teachers to the theater called The Mousetrap. We sat at the top and had a good view of the stage. About halfway through, there was a little break and we were able to talk a bit about the story. The play is about a criminal case, with an always changing murderer. At first you have a clear suspicion, but it is not actually right. The piece is very interesting because you never know for sure who the real killer is. The Mousetrap is in its 66 th year of a record-breaking run, during which over 27,000 performances have been given. It is quite simply a great piece of theatrical history because of what it is: a whodunit written by the greatest crime writer of all time Agatha Christie. After a nice evening in the theater, we went back with the teachers to our hotel. When we arrived at our station, Paddington Station, the teachers showed us the famous Paddington Bear. After a busy day we were glad to be back at the hotel.

24 Photo Sights in London By Geena and Malin, EF Do you want to take amazing photos to remember that nice trip and show it to your family, but you don t know where to find some special places? No problem. Of course the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben or the Tower Bridge are always good ideas and perfect scenery for your photos. Pictures like that are definitely amazing and make good memories, but places that are not as popular but still worth seeing are: 1) St. Paul s Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge, which you may know from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It is a modern bridge built in From there you have a wonderful view to St. Paul s Cathedral where, for example, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles got married. 2) Another beautiful place is the Oxford Street, especially during the evening when it is dark. It is a different atmosphere when you walk across the street by night than by day because of the still hanging Christmas lights. You can take amazing and romantic pictures and capture wonderful moments. 3) A special and relaxed place is the Starbucks Coffee place next to the Tower Bridge. It is on the north side of the Thames at St. Katharine Way, close to the Tower of London. Inside, you can drink a nice hot chocolate with a direct view of the Tower Bridge, which also looks amazing in photos. 4) In front of the National History Museum in South Kensington, you can find a big ice skating rink (but of course only in winter). You can ice skate in front of thousands of lights and make beautiful recordings. 5) Another popular spot - which we unfortunately did not get to visit - is the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street where the house of Sherlock Holmes is.

25 Next we want to give you some advice if you want to take a polaroid camera with you like we did: At first you should keep attention on the lighting, so that the pictures don't get too bright or too dark. The problem that we had with our cameras and film was that we took them into the Bank of England and the Houses of Parliament, so if you want to get into these spots the security will check your bag with x-rays. The x-rays made the photos I took look greenish. The photos looked beautiful in their own way, but sadly the quality of the photos was not as good as they looked before the x-rays. So keep that in mind if you have a polaroid camera. But, in conclusion, we want to say that London is truly a pretty city and you can take wonderful pictures anytime and anywhere. We hope you liked our diary entries, our reflections, and ideas. Dystopian London By Norman E. Leppin and Tom Henke London A shining city filled with a population of nearly nine million people. Stunning sights, luxurious shops, and historical buildings. But not everything is as bright as it seems; London is the city with one of the highest crime rates in the world. 32% of London s population says that they have been a victim of crimes like rape, theft, and fraud in the last twelve months. Also the burglary rate is, according to a survey of the United Nations, 1.7% higher than the European average. Furthermore, London is a melting pot of cultures. You can find over 200 nationalities in London, which gives a high potential for tensions between different cultures and nationalities. Also there is the problem that the living space in London is very expensive, which leads to high homelessness rates and the problem that many people cannot afford centrally located apartments, even if big landlords are committed to provide it. All in all, London is a very beautiful city, but there are also immense problems that you do not get to see as a tourist, even if they are omnipresent.

26 For the second time in London By Rina Hahn On the way to London, at the port of Calais, I already realized that a lot can change within two years. Back on my first trip, tents closely stood together and it seemed like a slum. Now there was nothing left and it looked like a desert... After a relaxing trip on the ferry, which offered an amazing view on the Cliffs of Dover, we arrived at the port of Dover. When we reached the Shakespeare Hotel, everything was familiar to me including our rooms. I had to smile and I felt two years set back. By chance, I even got the same hotel room as on my first journey to London. On the first day, we went to the Globe Theatre. It was impressive to see the theatre again and to perceive it more consciously. Through the lesson series and many talks around Shakespeare, it seemed to be the last missing puzzle piece, standing in the middle of the Globe Theatre. It was especially funny to see how the others reacted to the direct and funny way of our guide. He lead us through the theatre and then through a scene from a play. It felt like a déjà vu because we had had the same sequence two years earlier. Later on I learned that our teachers had arranged this. Just as two years ago, we had a city tour by bus after the Globe experience, but before we could spend some time on the fascinating Borough Market.

27 On our bus trip we passed many new places and especially the many offices caught my eyes. I did not really perceive them before. During the tour, I learned something new, which impressed me. Our guide told us about the habit of Londoners to drink a beer after work and he introduced the phrase no brown in town. The next day, a boat trip from Greenwich to Westminster was planned, which was new to me. Using the underground to get to Greenwich was already normal for me but then I made a new experience: When we arrived in Greenwich, the sun set and as the boat tour started, it was dark and finally the title romantic boat trip made sense. Even though it was cold on deck, we stayed there because we had the best view on the city. Everything shone and people seemed so tiny compared to the buildings in the background. In my opinion, the boat trip could have lasted much longer. On Saturday morning, we had to get up early to carry our baggage to the bus. Then we went to the Houses of Parliament, where we had an audio guided tour instead of a personal tour as two years ago. Everyone could choose individual topics of interest, but I missed the personal touch. So I was a little bit disappointed. Also Big Ben or correctly speaking: Elizabeth Tower - looked a bit different because it was wrapped. Had it caught a cold? Two years ago he was not wrapped up. Unfortunately, we had to go back to the port in the evening. After a peaceful crossing of the channel and a smooth bus ride - compared to two years earlier - we reached our hometown at 5:30 am. I realized how fast time passed by this time and how much I have missed. I personally felt tired and a little bit sad. After all, I am overwhelmed by the time we had together, the people, the city we explored and the culture we got to know. I am especially thankful for all the new impressions and experiences I collected in London once again. And is there not a saying that the most beautiful time always passes by the fastest?