Birthday Weekend in London Town

On Wednesday, April 2nd, after a lovely photography class, I packed my bag for the long weekend and made my way to the Vienna International Airport. I was on my way to London, England to celebrate my 21st birthday! I flew EasyJet to Heathrow. I was a little nervous to be flying the discount airline because there are many rules, and they try to charge you extra for anything and everything. Luckily, I made it in plenty on time and my bag was the perfect size. Phew! The flight was a breeze, and Emielia and I arrived around 10:30pm. I figured that I had plenty of time to get to Regent's College, where I was staying with another Webster student studying abroad in London. Although, after getting through customs, taking the commuter train to the London Bridge tube station, and taking a very long time to buy my Oyster card, I ended up catching the last train to Baker Street. The campus was a short walk from the station, and I learned it is on one of the darkest streets in London. That being said, I felt very safe.

The next morning, I grabbed a coffee and a pastry in the tube station and took the underground to the British Library. I loved the tube. It was clean, efficient, and going very far underground on very steep escalators was kind of fun.

I only visited the first floor of the British Library because that place is huge and I could have spent all day there. The Treasures of the British Library Gallery was phenomenal! Some of what I saw were the original sheet music for Handel's Messiah, Laurence Olivier's script for Macbeth, and original Beatles lyrics scribbled on a napkin.

Outside of the British Library

After the British Library, I ventured over to the Tate Modern because it was free, so why not? I got my fix of Picasso, Giacometti, and more. It was a pleasure to walk through the winding galleries. I enjoyed the architecture and the setup of the museum more so than I did the actual art. I was exposed to a lot of classical art while in Europe, and I began to appreciate the masters much more than many present-day artists.

Free art at the Tate Modern

Jannis Kounellis - Untitled, 1979

Picasso - Weeping Woman, 1937

A sculpture by Giacometti

Playing with reflections in 'The Bigger Picture'

I had a lot of fun people watching through the mirror 

The view from the Tate Modern

After the Tate Modern, I took the underground to Westminster Station and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. I also made a couple of friends while I was waiting at a crosswalk. They ended up being two boys from the south (Alabama, I think) and they were traveling around the UK and Europe. We talked for a while and I ended up snapping a couple of pictures of them.

Big Ben

Reflection at a red light 

Munich in London?

The Big Ben again 

Details on the bridge

The London Eye

No rubbish, eh?

Westminster Abbey

The new friends I made while waiting for the light to change 

This is one of my favorite pictures from all of my study abroad photos!

That night, I had chicken curry for dinner and then headed to the West End to see War Horse. Wow. That show was incredible. The puppets came to life! At one point, a character has to end a horse's life and stabs it in the neck. I actually started crying because you could see the life drain out of this character, even though it was just a puppet. Obviously War Horse takes place during war, and the Germans spoke German and the French spoke French. That was a huge credit to the wonderful acting. A German solider gave a lengthy monologue in German, and though I could actually pick up a word or two here and there, his expressions, body language, and speech patterns communicated the context of his monologue extremely clearly. War Horse is a must-see wherever it is playing around the world. It is a magnificent production filled with joy, sadness, amazing puppetry, historic links, and phenomenal spectacle. After the show, Emielia and I met up with Wyatt and another Webster Study Abroad London student and we went to O'Neill's, an Irish pub in Chinatown. That was how I rang in my 21st birthday.

Upon my birthday morning, I picked up a cup of coffee and a pastry, hopped on the tube, and got off around South Bank to go visit the Globe Theatre. The visit to the Globe was a lot of fun. Our tour guide was the most adorable older British woman who knew everything there was to know about the theatre. We had the pleasure of watching a sword demonstration in the lobby and a short onstage rehearsal of Julius Caesar with two American actors, in addition to a nice walk-through of the space.

Shakespeare's Globe

The stage at the Globe

Look at that detail!

The galleries

View of the stage from the galleries

Delicious burritos from Wahaka (a food truck in the middle of South Bank) followed the Globe tour. Emiela, Wyatt, and their friend ran off to go do the Harry Potter Studio tour and I was left on my own to explore. Being on my own in a new city was one of my favorite things about traveling! I didn't have to abide to anyone's agenda except my own. I chose to walk along South Bank for the afternoon. I purchased a ticket to tour the National Theatre in the early evening, and inbetween I searched for textures, admired cute couples, and enjoyed the artsy environment that is South Bank.

No busking, sir!

Love in London Town

Details at South Bank

Gabriel's Wharf

This couple was too cute!

This man reminds me of the old man from Up

Oxo Tower Wharf is made up of a bunch of artsy stores on South Bank. Lots of amazing textures and colors everywhere. 

The Queen's Walk

The tour of the National Theater was a treat. It was a small group of myself, a father and daughter, and the tour guide. We visited each of the performance spaces, a few of the shops, and one of the rehearsal halls. I learned a lot about UK theatre and the company. I was so impressed, that I sent my resume to HR after the tour. Maybe one day I'll be working at the NT in London! I decided to stay at the National Theatre that evening, and I picked up a £12 student ticket to Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey in the Lyttelton Theatre. It was an enjoyable play set in 1950's post-war Salford about a riveting mother-daughter relationship. I sat next to a British TV and film actor with whom I had a great intermission conversation with. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab his name. After the play, I took the underground home. There were signal problems occurring at the stations, so I ended my 21st birthday stuck many miles underground trying to ignore the teenage couple making out across the aisle from me. Overall, it was a wonderful birthday filled with theatre in a foreign city - the best kind of birthday.

On Saturday, Emielia and I took an early-morning train from London to Liverpool. Little did we know, the biggest horse race of the year was happening in Liverpool that day. So, the train was filled with buzzed businessmen and ladies in their finest hats. Emielia is Beatles-obsessed, so we spent the day seeing as much as we could related to them. The museum called The Beatles Story was actually pretty cool, and being in a another part of England was interesting. Liverpool was a different world than London. When we arrived back in London late that evening, we ate Chipotle and crashed in our beds.

Sunday was my final full day in London. I visited the British Museum in the morning. That place was enormous! I walked around for a while and saw an exhibit on German artists called "Germany Divided - Baselitz and his generation". It focused on six key post-war artists who redefined art in Germany on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The artists were Baselitz, Lüpertz, Palermo, Penck, Polke, and Richter. The drawings, paintings, and prints were interesting, and provided great insight on the artists' view of divided Germany. 

On my way to my next stop, the National Gallery, I was approached by two American girls with a plate of brownies. They were two students at NYU London who needed participants for a psychological study. I took a brownie hoping it wasn't laced with something and helped them out. The study was based on the Asch Experiment and it was a fun little side trip.

The National Gallery was lovely. I saw Van Gogh's Sunflowers (for free! I could've paid 15 euros in Amsterdam to see them ... but I saw them for free in London!), Degas, Seurat, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Picasso, and Klimt. I could have spent all day admiring the beautiful paintings. In addition to Art Nouveau, French Impressionism became my second favorite style. It's just so pretty! London was such a gift with all of the free museums.

The outside of the National Gallery

I took the bus back to South Bank after the museum for dinner. I had a solo meal at Wagamama and had the most delicious chicken curry. Following that, I went over to Soho and sat in a cafe and wrote a few letters to friends. The next morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn to get to Heathrow to fly back to Vienna. My trip to London was incredibly memorable, and I hope to visit again in the next few years.

The Last Supper, the Duomo, Teatro alla Scala ... and Klimt?

I arrived in Milan from Verona just as the sun was setting on Saturday, March 29th. My goal when I disembarked the train was to get to  my hostel, check in, do research so that I could get the most out of the next 24 hours, and get a good night's sleep. After getting WiFi in the train station to find the directions to the hostel, I went to purchase the appropriate metro ticket. I located the machine and perfectly understood how to retrieve my ticket; although, a man who lived across the kiosk insisted on helping me to my annoyance. He was trying to instruct me in Italian what buttons to push on the screen even though I told him that I didn't need help. The ticket cost one euro and fifty cents, and the only coin I had was a two euro coin. I put in the two euro coin, and as soon as the fifty cents in change came down, he snatched it. He begged me to give it to him for his "help". I gave a quick nod and smile and went on my way. Arguing with a smelly, pushy, homeless man was the last thing I needed to do.

My hostel, The Monastery Hostel, was a block from the Turati metro stop, which was a wonderful location. The man at the desk when I walked in mistook me for Italian (I loved when that happened). We had a lovely conversation about what to do in Milan, I checked in, and went up to my room. A girl was having a phone conversation in French when I unlocked the door. It turned out that she grew up in Paris and was studying photography at a university. We bonded over some talk about digital cameras and my admiration for a pair of red t-strap heels she had just purchased that day. The French girl was leaving the next morning, so she gave me her two maps and advice on where to go eat and shop. I spent the night making use of the good WiFi and made a list of sights to visit. When I researched visiting The Last Supper, all signs pointed to no because I did not make a reservation the week prior. I decided to take my chances and made it the first place to go. Getting a single ticket could not be that difficult.

I was awoken around 7am as the French girl was leaving for the train. We said our goodbyes, wished each other the best of luck, and with that I was up and out. I took the metro to the location of The Last Supper. The one thing I loved about the Milan metro was that the electronic countdowns counted down by the half minute. I was so entertained!

The Turati metro stop near my hostel

Look at the half minute!

When I made it to the street level outside of the metro station, I encountered this statue and snapped a few pictures of it.

There was lots of street art in Milan

Immediately following, a woman approached me and asked me in English if I knew where The Last Supper was located. Taking a picture of the statue must have been a tourist giveaway. She and her family had a reservation in 20 minutes to see the painting. We examined my map and started to walk in the right direction. The woman was actually from Chicago and was living in Munich. She grew up in Elgin and moved to the city after college. She was living in Germany for work now. She had an adorable son, and I met her mother, father and brother. They were visiting the brother who lived in Italy. We found The Last Supper and the family made it in time to see the painting. A sold out sign hung on the ticket desk, but I decided to ask if tickets were available anyways. I was able to purchase a ticket for 12pm! Ha! I fooled the system! I was so excited. I walked around for the next hour, had a cappuccino and a croissant, and explored the neighbourhood.

Building detail

The tree lined streets reminded me of New York

This adorable pink car pulled up when I was having my cappuccino

A vespa

Seeing The Last Supper was pretty spectacular. They take a small group of people every 15 minutes to view the painting. I was corralled into a small room, and we had to wait for the previous group to exit the room. When the room was clear, we all shuffled into another holding room. The room with the painting has precise temperature control in order to preserve it. There are two automatic doors between the first entry and the room. When we were cleared to enter, we all kind of fell and dispersed to view the painting. You enter the large room, look to your left, and there it is. It was beautiful. Ironically, I had a similar reaction as to when I entered the Sistine Chapel. Da Vinci's work had been well maintained and it was truly a once in a lifetime experience to view this. Seeing The Last Supper was the first thing that totally made Milan worthwhile. 

The next sight on my list was the Duomo di Milano. It is a beautiful cathedral, and you can pay a small fee to climb the 250 steps to the top and enjoy the architecture, the detail, and the view.  

Il Duomo di Milano

I purchased an inexpensive pass to take photos inside the cathedral

The climb was easy, and exploring the roof was a great time. You can walk around and admire the many spires and terraces. The view of Piazza del Duomo is wonderful. Although, the most interesting thing to do at the top of the Duomo is people watch the other rooftop visitors. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day in Milan, so a handful of people were relaxing and sunbathing on top of the cathedral.

The many spires on top of the Duomo

Layers upon layers - many terraces

The mixtures of old and new

People sunbathing on top of the Duomo 

The view of Piazza del Duomo

The people in the square were also interesting subjects. I snapped many pictures of children feeding the pigeons and captured the happenings in the square.

"Here. Feed the pigeons."

"Here you go!"

"Ahhh!"

"Wait! Give me more!"

"Weeee!"

Looking at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Piazz del Duomo

Following the Duomo, I had a standing lunch consisting of a caprese sandwich, water, and a small serving of gelato. Then, I walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to the monument of Leonardo da Vinci and the Teatro alla Scala. I walked through the lobby of the theatre and I watched about 25 minutes of a stage rehearsal through a plastic screen in one of the boxes. The theatre is gorgeous, full of red velvet and gold leaf, and has been home to some of the most phenomenal performances. I also visited the museum full of props, costumes, and busts of old men.

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Leonardo da Vinci Monument

I visited the Teatro alla Scala. It made me miss the stage and the theatre so much!

To top off my day, I went to the Palazzo Reale to visit the Klimt exhibit. I can never resist Gustav Klimt!

The Klimt exhibit at Palazzo Reale 

Piazza del Duomo at dusk

I had lovely encounters on my train ride back to Vienna with a Chinese businessman, an Italian-Austrian Greenpeace worker, and a young German girl. I enjoyed talking to the German girl the most. I took a couchette car, and the girl boarded the train around 11:30pm. We stayed up in our bunks talking late into the night. We talked about everything from schooling, to travel, to languages, to religion. When I told her I was Jewish, she told me that she had never met a Jew. She asked me what I thought of Germans and Austrians and if I associated all of them with the Nazi party. I was surprised by her blunt question, and I offered my personal opinion that the current generation of Germans and Austrians are not hesitant to acknowledge the atrocities of their nations' past, openly discuss parents' and grandparents' roles and views, and are a different generation. It sparked wonderful conversation, and I am so glad I met her! I returned to Vienna safe and sound. Next stop: London!