London

United Kingdom - Vereinigtes Königreich

You won't believe this: We got a flight with Ryanair Salzburg-London-Salzburg for one cent, so who wouldn't hit it ? "Our" Max Pichl as a senior and judoka not only had the chance (in spite of having a heart surgery a couple of years ago) to win all his fights in this city but finally, in the end even won the gold medal - but this is a different story ...

LONDON

Cruising the river Thames

We started in the late afternoon: Starting either from Westminster- Tower- Greenwich- or Waterloo pier (beneath the BA London Eye) and see the famous sights of London aboard a City Cruises Liner in six languages. City Cruises sightseeing boats operate frequent services every day of the year (except Christmas Day). Aproximate journey times from pier to peir: 30 minutes, complete round trip from any pier: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Jubilee Walkway

The Jubilee Walkway, developed and administered by a special Trust, was established to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. It incircles the centre of London, embracing many historic buildings and views. It is approximately 14 miles (22.4 hm) in length. Follow the Jubilee Walkway by foot, using the circular Jubilee Walkway plates embedded in the ground around London.

London is a vibrant, bustling, multi-cultural city. It is also a city full of history, heritage and culture. Visit some 300 museums and art galleries, see London's most beautiful and famous sights by walking, riding the 'double-deck' buses or by booking one of the city cruise sightseeing boats on the river Thames. Also being pedestrians we had to get accustumed to driving left.

Paddington - macabre enough, this was our Underground ("Tube") Station near the hotel where we left in the morning and came home again in the evening. It was here where one of the explosions happened on July 7, 2005 when seven people were killed and all together more than 700 were injured.

Buckingham Palace

The Queen's flag is drawn up: the Queen is at home

The English lion and the Scottish unicorn above the palace

Buckingham Palace - official residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 (Queen Victoria) - its nineteen staterooms, which open for just eight weeks a year, form the heart of the working palace. They are used extensively by the Queen and members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. You may also visit the south side of the royal garden with 19th century lake - all this on an audio tour in several languages.

Hu Jintao

During our stay in 2005 the Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in London on November 8th for a three day UK visit. He was given the red carpet treatment and TV Stations as well as Tibetian demonstrators were present, and we were the beneficiaries of this seeing beautiful limousines, splendid golden coaches, the Scots Guards and uniformed cavalry promenading by likewise only seen at the Queens birthday ...

London Eye

At 135 metres, the BA London Eye is the world's largest observation wheel, with 40 kilometre panoramic views on a clear day. It can carry 800 passengers at a time.

The gradual flight (ride)in one of the 32 high-tech glass capsules takes approximately 30 minutes offering spectacular views of London and its famous landmarks, such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral and the 30 St. Mary Axe building named by the London enhabitants 'The Gherkin'. The 41 storey high building (by Lord Foster) consists outside of 24.000 m2 of glass arranged in diamond shaped panes. See picture in the gallery.

Trafalgar Square

... commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar

HYDE Park + REGENT Park + HARRODs

HIDE Park - Achilles Statue - This 33 ton bronze replica of a Roman original was erected in 1822 to commemorate the Dukes Wellington's achievements. The statue caused public outrage, as it was Britain's first public nude.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain

I must say I was a bit disappointed - Ehrlich gesagt, war ich von diesem Brunnen zu Dianas Gedenken etwas enttäuscht - Diana, Fontana in memoria della Principessa di Galles - devo ammettere che rimasi un po' delusa

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral - is a cathedral since 604 AD, and since then continuoulsy a place for worship - London's main diocesan church belonging to the worldwide anglican community, also Londons bishop diocesan authority. See Admiral Horartio Nelson's tomb (Hero of Trafalgar) in the crypt - Prince Charles and Diana were married here - 550 steps up the cupola with fantastic (whipsering- ) acoustics.

St. Margaret's Church

St. Margaret's Church - consecrated in 1523 and since 1614 church of the House of Commons. Windows commemorate William Caxton and John Milton, who worshipped here, and Raleigh, who is buried in front of the altar, under the glorious window made for King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon in 1520.

The Tower of London

In its time the Tower of London has been a residence, a palace, a prison, a zoo, and the Royal Mint. Begun in the reign of William the Conqueror (1066 - 1087), the White Tower marks the start of the Tower of London's history. Find where once was the Royal Observatory and the Traitors' Gate, the Bloody Tower where Sir Walter Ralegh was kept in prison for 13 years, listen to the heartbreking story of the two little princes, walk over to the or the scaffold site where two of Henry VIII's wives (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) were beheaded, see the beautiful Crown Jewels, the Medieval Palace, the Fusiliers' Museum (extra entrance charge), the famous Ravens, and more - all that will take you at least a couple of hours, if not one long day.

The Crown

The Tower of London has been home to the world famous British Crown Jewels since the beginning of the 14th century. Still used by the Queen and her family today, the Crwon Jewels are an essential part to visit.

Medieval Palace

This Medieval Palace was buil between 1275 and 1281 for King Edward I. The rooms have been redecorated and furnished as they might have been during the reign of Edward I (1272 - 1307).

Tower Bridge

One of London's most famous landmarks - Eines der berühmtesten Wahrzeichen Londons - Una delle costruzioni più famose di Londra

It was constructed at the end of the 19th century. From one of the towers the elevator takes you up, glass-covered walkways can be accessed and act as viewing galleries. Visitors learn about the histrory of the bridge and how it was built, from interactive displays and films. The final part of the visit is in the Victorian Engine Rooms.

Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London, also branches in Amsterdam, Hong Kong (Victoria Peak), Las Vegas and New York City, started by Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), a wax sculptor. She and her mother once took care of her uncles household. His name was Dr. Philippe Curtius, a physician skilled in wax modelling. He was her teacher and also told her all about this art. His oldest work done in 1765, was Louis XV's mistress, Marie Jean du Barry. Tussauds first wax figure was Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1778.

So get up close and personal to the celebs, sport stars, world leaders and others - touch, feel, hug, squeeze them, scream, kiss, chat, and dance with them. Spirit of London - Jump in a (real) London cab for a journey through London's long history. Enjoy the ride! Auditorium - scramble across 'Spidey's' web high above New York - Immense yourself in our fully interactive show, using state of the art digistar 3 projection. Planetarium - fly with the stars through the universe.

Chamber Of Horror

One of the main attractions of her museum is the Chamber of Horrors - Chamber Live.This part of the exhibition includes some victims of the French Revolution and also newly created figures of murders and other criminals. Serial killers and psychos are on the loose with real actors! Not suitable for under 12's, guests with heart conditions, high blood pressure and pregnant women.

updated July 18, 2020

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