London

Leftover flags from the Jubilee

 In a strange coincidence that involved some chance and a lot of kindness I have ended up in Europe on a 3 week summer vacation with my lovely and at times awesomely eccentric dad. Summer isn't something I see very often and when I do it is fairly fleeting. Summer in the city is even stranger, I haven't been a summer tourist since I was about thirteen.

Our first stop was London, where we stayed for three days, slowly meandering around the streets. I was thoroughly jet-lagged and confused so I refused to go to any art galleries or be inside for too long. Dad finally convinced me to visit the British Museum which was an unbelievable experience. There is so much history in that beautiful building (as well as a lot of artifacts that the British have somehow held onto despite being unlawfully taken from other countries such as Greece).

Center of the British Museum

Entrance of the Museum

 I have been to London twice on the way to France for the winter but nothing prepared me for the craziness that is London when it is sunny. There are so many people and despite growing up in a city, I found it pretty hard to deal with. It was only when we took a bus out of the center of London to Hampstead Heath that I began to relax.

Located in the northern parts of London the heath stretches for miles. There is not a lawn mower to be seen so the grass grows high and the paths between the trees are full of foliage and green.

middle of Hampstead Heath

At first, I felt a little lost. My understanding was that Hampstead Heath provided a spectacular lookout over London but all I could see was grass, trees and distant houses. So I made a plan to walk up all the hills until I found the high ground. Finally we walked up the right hill and found the aforementioned lookout. I'm going to say that it was the best part of London (until my camera broke).

Parliment Hill

Overlooking London from Hampstead Hill

This morning we took a plane to Frankfurt and are now in Kassel for the art show Documenta. It is an ongoing exhibition which takes place in Kassel every 5 years. It's going to be interesting, especially as I unfortunately don't speak German.