Solo Trip: Adventures in London
October 25, 2018
Today was hands down the most stressful day of my trip. Let's just say London transportation is unreliable! So, I'm writing this post as I'm sitting in London Luton Airport for the next 3 hours waiting for my flight. Writing is one of my favorite stress relievers!
Well, we aren't here to talk about my stressful day. I want to talk about my amazing solo trip to London! It was the first leg of my Autumn Break from school in Berlin.
I decided to go on another solo trip for this break because as the Tudor historian and Harry Potter geek I am, I wanted to do a lot of tours no one else in my group would have wanted to do. During this trip, I did some AMAZING things that I can't wait to tell you all!
I'm hoping this will inspire anyone else who wants to do a solo trip to London because it was totally worth it!
Day 1: Tower of London and King's Cross
I wanted to start my week off with something exciting! So, the first thing I did was go to the Tower of London. The Tower of London has a large historical significance to me and in general. This is where Anne Boleyn's trial was held, and it was where she and Catherine Howard were beheaded. This was a HUGE deal for this Tudor historian; and since the Tower was in central London, it was super easy to get to my next stop, King's Cross Station!
The Hogwarts Platform 9 3/4 is there for guests to take authentic pictures of running to catch the Hogwarts Express (you can see one of my photos below)! This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!
Day 2: Exploring
I wanted to make sure I at least had one day to explore the city, so, I chose my second day! That morning, I had breakfast (aka dessert) at Peggy Porschen Cakes! It was only the most Instagram-able store front on all of London! You can probably tell by the pictures! I would definitely recommend going if you had at least 2 hours to spare, since it took me an hour to even get a seat!
After, I had my London shoot at all of the main parts of the city! I had an amazing time exploring the city at dusk time! It was the perfect time to explore because the super tourist-y spots were settling down and I had the whole location practically to myself!
Day 3: Hampton Court Palace
I was an extreme Tudor geek at Hampton Court Palace! This was where Henry VIII spent most of his time. It was also one of the only palaces that still had one of Henry's preserved banquet halls! Through out the Tudor apartments you could see aspects of all of his wives (yes, all 6), and how his architecture choices changed due to them.
The palace also had different exhibits about Henry's kitchen and Henry's earlier life! I loved the palace so much, so even if you aren't a huge Tudor or history fan like I am, I would still recommend going!
Day 4: The Making of Harry Potter
This was, for CERTAIN, the best part of my trip. In fact, it may even be the best part of my study abroad so far! I went to Warner Brother's Studios in London to go on the Making of Harry Potter tour! But, to make things even better, I had VIP TICKETS!
I was able to have a private, guided tour; and I had access to thing's no one else had access to! My VIP package came with 4 included professional photos and 1 video! For those of you who know me, I took my video on a green screen of me riding a broom through London! Also, I'm pretty sure I had about 3 cups of Butterbeer and I have no shame!
Let's also not talk about how much money I spent at the Harry Potter Shop...let's just say it was the most expensive part of my trip! YIKES!
I am probably going to write a blog post specifically about my trip to the studio in the near future, so I don't want to give a lot away now!
Day 5: Windsor Palace
Windsor Palace was splendid! This is one of the homes of The Queen. It also happened to be where the recent royal weddings took place, and...(here comes my favorite part)...where Henry VIII is buried along with his favorite wife, Jane Seymour!
I'm pretty sure I just sat in front of his tomb for a solid 20 minutes just staring at the tomb!
Since I went during the state visit of the royal family of the Netherlands, a lot of attractions inside The Queen's apartments were closed! I was super bummed because I was planning on spending a full day at the palace but I could only spend 2 hours! Oh well, at least I saw what I really wanted to see!
Overall, my trip to London was absolutely amazing and you will be sure to see me back here soon! There is still so much more for me to do! However, I'm looking forward to the second leg of my tip in Edinburgh, Scotland!
*Most of the locations are tagged in the post so it's super easy for you all to make reservations if you wanted!*
Cherrio!
-Jenna
The Berlin Art Aesthetic
October 17, 2018
After living in Berlin for almost 2 months now (yes time flies so fast) I'm so excited to say it's become my new home away from home!
One of the memorable parts about any visit is the experience, the sights, smells, noises, the taste of the food, the way the atmosphere affects you. Berlin is no exception to this.
Even though I’ve been here a while, and I’m starting to blend in more, folks can’t tell I’m a foreigner immediately anymore. However, I still like to take some time and explore the city when I can.
One recently cool spot I explored was the East Side Gallery, a modern art gallery painted right in the side of the Berlin Wall! There were Lots of political messages tied into the meanings of these pictures.
The other night I also got the opportunity to check out the Festival of Lights! It’s this really cool event that goes on in Berlin where they project different lights and different designs onto a lot of the different notable buildings and monuments.
There are also little everyday type things too! Just today I found an Asian Noodle Festival with lots of different types of noodles and pasta dishes from different Asian cultures. Definitely a cool experience.
I look forward to all the continued opportunities I have to soak up everything this city has to offer, and what new places I can find!!
-Jenna
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