Some time before the start of a much-needed break from studies and projects, we decided at the beginning of the summer to use this year's holidays to travel by train and avoid flying for a while. Travelling by train in itself evokes a special charm, which is what motivated us on this year's trip.
We chose Great Britain as the main destination because neither of us had visited this country before and because we checked that it has a well-developed railway network, big interesting cities and a rich and unique natural and cultural heritage. We knew that in this country we would be able to make good use of the purchased ticket, and there are also train ticket prices according to the mileage of one of the most expensive ones.
We started planning a month earlier, due to the Eurostar train (more on this in the Interrail article). As we had in mind to travel in a backpacker style from city to city, the key was to buy a backpack big enough and comfortable enough to carry our luggage for the whole trip. This was followed by the purchase of food for the trip (canned fish, pâté, Nutella, energy bars, etc.).
First, we had to figure out how we would get from Maribor to London in one day. Given the seats available on the train, we had to spend two days to get to London. We decided to spend the night in Munich, where we saw the attractions we had left for next time on previous trips. We bought a ticket to Munich separately from Interrail, so we wouldn't spend an extra day travelling.
We spent the first night in a room with 12 beds and a shared bathroom. Upon arrival there, we immediately went to the attraction, which we did not manage to visit in the spring - the "Deutches Museum" or technology museum, which is considered one of the largest museums in the world. To enter the museum, we used our PRESS card of Hostelling International Slovenia and obtained a free ticket. Since the museum is a popular tourist spot, we recommend buying them in advance through the website, as we did.
We woke up ready for another day of travelling, had breakfast and then got on the train. First, we took the Intercity – Express (ICE) train to Karlsruhe, where we took the train to the Appenweier station, which is very close to the French city of Strasbourg. After a short drive, we had just enough time to take a quick tour of the city, which with its core belongs to one of the most beautiful cities in this part of Europe. The buildings of the southeastern part of the large island of "La Petite France", which to a non-expert resemble a mix of Tudor and Alsatian architectural styles, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site Once the homes of leather workers, millers and fishermen, today souvenir shops, restaurants, etc., can be seen as a photogenic backdrop in many (tourist) photos.
After a quick tour, we already jumped on the high-speed "Train à Grande Vitesse" (TGV), which took us to Paris in less than two hours. There we headed to the famous "Gare du Nord" railway station and were already waiting at the terminal for the Eurostar underground train. After a quick check-in and security protocols, we waited for boarding.
The ride took two and a half hours, with basically only half an hour below sea level. All of a sudden, when the darkness (and the tunnel) ended, we saw an orange-coloured sky at sunset. An additional half-hour drive followed to another iconic train station, London St. Pancras International.
We bought a SIM card at a historical and modern station, as mobile roaming is very expensive. Then we sat for the first time on the famous "London Underground", where we paid for the ride with a contactless bank card.
On our first real day in London, we started a graffiti hunt for the famous anonymous street artist Banksy. First, we visited the Banksy Tunnel (Leake Street), where graffiti (and murals) are legal by exception and located below Waterloo Railway Station.
We admired the others too, some of them disappearing under new coats of paint by the artist. After crossing the Westminster Bridge and seeing all the attractions (Westminster Palace and Abbey, Big Ben, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Admiralty Arch and The Mall Street, Trafalgar Square), we headed to Leicester Square. The cold wind, rain and cold did not stop us or slow us down.
In the park, we admired bronze statues of famous film and cartoon heroes (Mr. Bean, Paddington Bear, Indiana Jones, etc.). After visiting Piccadilly Circus and neon signs inviting consumers, we walked past St. Paul, the Millennium Bridge, and the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre brunch at the Borough Market. We ate pork wrapped in a dough roll with a classic side dish, french fries. Many dishes in England are based on ruminant meat - pork, lamb, mutton, beef, etc.
One of London's oldest markets, it is close to London Bridge railway station, which is overlooked by the UK's tallest skyscraper, The Shard, at 306 metres.
Next we walked to Tower Bridge and then past the Tower of London Castle to one of the business districts, where we observed the glass skyscrapers and sought shelter from the wind and rain.
Don't be surprised by the low temperatures in London in the summer. If there is no severe heat wave, then the temperatures do not rise above 23-25 degrees. We therefore recommend that you bring thicker clothing, long trousers and a windproof jacket.
And the rumours that no Englishman leaves home without an umbrella are very true. Given the fast-changing weather, this is understandable, but it's interesting because just over 300 years ago, umbrellas were a big taboo in England.
London has a variety of museums and galleries, and we decided to visit two of the most famous: the British Museum and the National Gallery. Entrance to both institutions is free for all visitors. However, it is recommended that you "buy" free tickets on their website, where you also choose the time of your visit. There is a possibility that all tickets are sold out online, so despite a free ticket, admission without a pre-paid ticket is not guaranteed.
The collections at the British Museum are dedicated to human history, art, and culture. The permanent exhibition comprises about 8 million different artefacts and is, according to some data, the largest in the world. The third most visited museum in the world consists of 95 rooms, where you can see well-preserved and important pieces of human history.
One of the most famous and photographed artefacts is the 12th-century chess figurine Lewis Chessmen, discovered on the Scottish island of Lewis, in addition to the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs. The museum holds 78 ivory figurines, while the remaining 11 are held by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Another important element of the museum's collection is the Rosseta Stone (a piece of granodiorite), on which the decree of the king is written in hieroglyphs and two other languages (demotic writing and ancient Greek). Why is this stone so important? Prior to the discovery of this stone, no one knew how to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. With the find, however, they had the same text written in one place in three languages and were able to decipher their meaning with the help of the other two languages.
Each visitor's attention is also drawn to the Tree of Life sculpture, which is made of 600,000 pieces of weapons left over from the 15-year-long civil war in Mozambique and shows a different use - the artistic value of weapons.
Of course, there are many other remarkable witnesses to history, but it is important to remember that these are only a small handful of those that are under lock and key and not on display. According to some sources, there are more than 100,000 Greek artefacts in this museum alone, of which only a few thousand are on display. The question is whether and in what numbers these "colonial" artefacts will ever return to their home countries, despite today's trend of returning museum artefacts to their countries of origin.
The art gallery in Trafalgar Square has over 2300 works of art, which we had plenty of time to see, as we entered the gallery in a fast-track process, skipping the queues. It contains masterpieces by artists such as: Van Gogh, da Vinci, Boticelli, Velázques, Cezanne, etc.
For lunch, we had a traditional British dish of Fish & Chips - fried fish in dough and freshly baked fries. The main ingredients were supposed to be brought to the Island separately by immigrants in the 16th century, and since then the combined dish has become popular among the local population and visitors.
After lunch, we headed to a part of London called Kensington, where, in one of the streets, stands the well-guarded home of the famous rocker and Queen singer, Freddie Mercury. Not so long ago, this house was the scene of wild parties and late-night filming in the studio (which is part of the house), but today you'd almost miss it if it wasn't guarded by a high fence, cameras and fierce security measures. It is located in a quiet neighbourhood, away from the city centre, where memories of Queen, Freddie, and the good old days of rock will forever remain. After exploring the musical heritage, we headed to Hyde Park, a large green space used by King Henry VIII for hunting and now an important gathering place, picnic spot and a place to walk and enjoy nature. We found our own space under the sun and rested our tired legs on the grass, before taking a tour of Kensington Palace.
You can read more about the continuation of our train journey in the next part of the article, which will take you around the eastern part of the island all the way to Scotland.
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