My latest trip to London was yet again filled with a lot of love and laughter and other than catching up with people that have been very important in my life for several decades, I did not do much. But London seems to be as popular as ever – if my Instagram views are anything to go by
My trip was short, but sweet. And when you spent much time speaking and hanging out with loved ones, you don’t really go through an entire bucket list of places to visit. However, we did some really cool things that my friends’ children also enjoyed and which I would not have known about if it had not been for them organizing it all. Hence, I cannot really take credit for the specific travel recommendation I want to share with you today, but I feel they are too good to keep them secret.
Never mind my fear of heights, I have three different recommendations for you in terms of getting a pretty view from above of London, and none of them are the London Eye. In fact, two of them are even free of charge.
First, there is the Sky Garden located in the “Walkie Talkie” building in the City of London, close to Monument tube station (Circle and District Line). You, however, need to book your free tickets in advance.
Right next to the Sky Garden is the humble little restaurant Murger Han, that – according to my friend – is the best noodle place in all of London. And to validate that point of view, he is a serious foodie, married to another serious foodie. If bone broth and other collagen fixes are all the hype for you, this one is for you, too.
Having to scoop out the marrow myself was somewhat out there and confrontational for me, I am not going to lie. But sometimes, even this comfy traveller leaves her comfort zone. And it was surprisingly tasty and the hand-made noodles were really nice. I just could not get over the portion sizes. I think a third of that bowl would have been enough for me.
Unfortunately, we did not book tickets for the Sky Garden in advance, so we opted for the alternative option of the The Garden at Fen Court, which is only a short distance away and features an actual garden on its rooftop terrace. You just need to have a bit of patience and queue up. On that day in September, the queue was not bad at all though and we waited no longer than 10 minutes.
The garden is surprisingly big, and it is exceptionally well kept. From up there, you cannot only see the grey mass of what London is, but you also have a beautiful bird’s eye view on the Tower of London and Tower Bridge dwarfed by unesthetic high rises from the 1980s and beyond. On the other side, you get a close view of the Gherkin and in the distance, there is the imposing dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
If your eyesight is better than mine, I am sure you can see as far away as Big Ben. What struck me most on this grey and slightly rainy day (no surprise there) is the utter absence of anything green in sight, though. Stairwells and rooftops came in all shades of muddy and grey, but trees were largely absent. While we were spending some quality time up there, my friend’s youngest thought that it would be really fun to walk up the Monument as well and so we did.
The Monument, commemorating the great fire of London that had started in Pudding Lane, was not far from where we were at.
While it is not free of charge and you do need to climb up more than 300 stairs, it definitely has its own charm. You’ll have a better vantage point for the Tower of London from up there but let me warn you: It isn’t the best option for those of us that are afraid of heights. On the way back, we made our way through the city, stopping at Leadenhall Market for coffee and tea and took the tube back from Liverpool Street.
None of the recommendations are sponsored in any way.
