England
London – a global metropolis between the New World and the Old. History weighs heavily on the buildings in the city center, but so does a lot of pop culture: the film locations of Harry Potter, the myth of Jack the Ripper, punk and the Beatles are just a few examples. London is – just like New York – a city that you think you know before you’ve been there.
Days in July are hot and long. In the metro stations, people are advised to drink enough water and to avoid the midday heat. Those who can escape to one of the numerous parks or to the pub for a beer. Drinking culture is popular culture here.
Like most big cities, London gains glamour in the evening hours. The bankers loosen their ties, the streets are blocked, the pubs have no more free seats. Now is exactly the right time for a stroll along the Thames.
Vany's Tip
Every time I’ve been in England, I’ve been lucky with the weather. But our joint trip to London and Cambridge in July 2022 topped everything: With summery temperatures and a bright blue sky, we enjoyed London until late in the evening. My clear recommendation: Explore the city on foot. You should do this in every city, but in London, it’s especially charming. This way, you can combine visits to all the important sights with a walking tour. For example, stroll from the London Bridge along the Thames towards the South Bank – from here, you can enjoy the view of St. Paul’s Cathedral while discovering the newly designed harbor district.
If you’re good on foot, you can also manage our approximately 15km day tour. From Buckingham Palace to Hyde and Regent’s Park and back to Soho, where the famous Piccadilly Circus serves as a bustling center – similar to Times Square – offering various impressions. From here, it’s only about a kilometer to the Thames to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Let yourself drift along on this long tour, have lunch at Mother Mash, for example, take a break in the shade of the parks or (if you have more typical English weather) stop off at a pub.
“Trash” and “Royality” are close together here. The punk subculture chose the song London Calling as London’s anthem, creating an apocalyptic doomsday scenario. At the same time, London is the seat of royalty, a financial metropolis with exclusive housing for the upper class. Several times in its history, this city was destroyed – in the Great Fire of 1666, for example, or by Nazi bombardments in 1940. Plagues and air pollution wiped out the inhabitants. But in the end this city survived.
Just over an hour by train from London is the university city of Cambridge. It is the English equivalent of the American Harvard. Charles Darwin, Prince Charles, Rosalind Franklin, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, Sir Isaac Newton and John Milton, among others, have studied and taught here.
The city itself has a sleepy, unexciting vibe. It’s a long walk from the train station to the university campus. The River Cam meanders past the dormitories and faculties. Students and tourists lie on the banks or paddle across the water in small boats. People drink beer together, laugh and have a good time.
Info about our trip
The last time we were in England was in 2022 – mainly in London. We were both thrilled by this city again. There is so much history and (pop) culture to discover here. You should plan at least five days for London. We really liked the numerous “Free Walking Tours”, of which different ones take place every day.
As Germans, we were particularly surprised by the fact that you can actually pay everywhere without cash and the trains are very timely and not even that expensive. So we highly recommend this way of traveling.
Besides the numerous “must-see” sights, you should take the time for an extended walk along the Thames and through Hyde Park. Of course, an evening in an English pub should not be missed. We really enjoyed a spontaneous day trip to Cambridge. You can explore the city wonderfully on foot – from the train station the way leads you past the Scott Polar Research Institute – a look inside is worthwhile.
In England, of course, you pay with British pounds and everything seems to be a bit more expensive than in Germany (at least in London). Especially if you want to eat fresh and healthy, it is not cheap.
Nevertheless, you can often find good deals on restaurants and hotels. As already mentioned, we also recommend public transport in London as a way of getting between the big cities. It is reliable and not that expensive.
You have to like English food. Heavy sauces, sausages, meat and potatoes in any processed form. It’s nothing to lose weight over.
We love English breakfasts at least – but to save money, we bought fruit and muesli at the supermarket.
For lunch, we recommend a visit to Mother Mash – they serve the classic dish Bangers and Mash (mashed potatoes with gravy and sausages – also available as a vegetarian option). The restaurant is small and crowded (in London we often waited in a line in front of the restaurant), but the food is very tasty.
For the evening we advise you to visit a pub – not only for drinks – but also for dinner. We liked the pubs The Dog and Duck (for eating) and The Three Greyhounds (for drinks) very much. Both pubs are located in lively Soho.
Since we flew to England relatively spontaneously, we had only a very small selection of overpriced, poorly located or very run-down accommodations. We opted for a run-down Airbnb accommodation. The room was reasonably clean, but the house and the neighborhood seemed less inviting.
Our tip: Book early, especially in the vacation months, or bring enough money …
Statistically, England is more “dangerous” than Germany. While in 2022 the homicide rate in Germany was 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, in the United Kingdom it was 1.0 in 2020, and in London – as in almost all major cities – it is likely to be higher. Nevertheless, we can report no negative events. As always, extra vigilance is needed against pickpockets and in abandoned streets at night.
We have not yet been to England with a child, so we cannot comment on the child-friendliness of the British. However, Vany was pregnant during our trip and she always felt that she was treated in a very courteous and friendly manner.
As already mentioned several times, we only used public transport in England. In London, you have a super developed subway network (Tube) at your disposal. For those who spend several days in London, the Travelcard is probably worth it, which you can easily buy at the machine and use contactless. The subways run very regularly.
Traveling by train from city to city is also pleasant: the trains are clean, punctual and not too expensive.