My impressions of London

As already mentioned, I just came back from a 5-day trip to London. It wasn’t my first time in the capital of the United Kingdom, but like the previous times it did not fail to impress me.

For me, London is this huge melting pot filled with people who have very distinct cultural backgrounds. Apart from extremely hot British English, you will easily hear five different languages each day, see a ton of restaurants with different cuisines on every street corner and people with all kinds of skin color rushing to the tubes.

Another trait I admire about the city is its exciting mélange of a modern metropolis with a rich, historical background. There is an abundance of impressive monuments, ornamented churches and towers dating back centuries, whereas next to them there might be skyscrapers, bubble-shaped galleries or a statue of contemporary art.  The best part about all these tourist attractions is the fact that the majority of them are free. Having the opportunity to visit all kinds of museums and galleries without spending a penny is something that I truly appreciate. I think it’s great that people can educate themselves without paying for every exhibition.  

Something else that amazes me is how confident people seem to be and how little they seem to give about the opinion of others. When you walk through the city, you will see gay couples, grannies in punk clothing and half-naked, rather plump girls. They stay true to their style, even though they might look like complete weirdos to others. Really admirable!

The last point I wanted to mention is that London seems to be home to the nicest strangers I’ve ever met. Maybe I have a biased opinion because I really like this city, but ever since I first set foot onto British ground, I’ve possibly met the friendliest pals on earth there. To proof my point to you, I’ll give you a few examples: When I was on my way to the train station, I had to carry my luggage upstairs. I had a devil of a time doing so until a guy offered me a hand and in the end carried my bulky suitcase upstairs. You cannot imagine how grateful I was, when I think back I imagine him with a halo.

Another time, I had difficulties to count the small change when I wanted to pay and you know what the cashier did? She simply told me to throw all of my pennies and pounds onto the counter and picked out the money for me! I was in awe of that woman!  

The last incident I’d like to share with you happened on New Year’s Eve. While Benny and I were waiting for the fireworks to start, we watched the guy standing next to us unpacking his backpack which he’d filled up with Tupperware containers stuffed with homemade food, champagne and handfuls of chocolate and other sweets. He offered us sweets after realizing that he could probably feed a whole army.

Maybe he did so in the spirit of the celebration (and because he got a little emotional after a few glasses of alcohol), but my point is that I’ve met so many strangers in London who weren’t nice because they had to be, but because they wanted to be. People went out of their way to help others and did good deeds without requesting anything back.

Of course, the massive 20-minute firework shooting out of the London Eye, accompanied by music and the mayor's voice made a lasting impression on me as well. It felt great to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a city with such cheerful people who gave the devoted policemen a drink, took pictures for others and might’ve not only hugged their friends, but a stranger when the clock struck midnight.