Very British- A Journey to England

Yesterday we went to Lincoln. Lioncoln is a beautiful city situated in the North/East of England. It was recommended in my travel guide because Lincoln has got a lot of history and was not so much influenced by the Industrial Revolution like for example Nottingham. From the moment I read about Lincoln in the book I wanted to travel there and explore the city. Lincoln is a little bit smaller as Nottingham but it shows a lot of history and the city is not so crowded by tourists. The main sights are the gothic cathedral, a well-preserved castle of the 11th century and a historic city. Because we arrived in the afternoon we went into the cathedral. Lincoln cathedral The entry permission was 8pounds for adults and I was a little bit shocked because in Germany you seldom need to pay to see a cathedral but it was worth it! We originally wanted to stay there for 1 hour but we stayed 2 ½ hours because you could see so much. We were so impressed by the cross station of William Fairbank...

A few general thoughts Some people say that the English people are a little bit different. I don't want to say that they are better or worse I just want to state that I am suprised about some little distinctions. In university we have read a lot about the differences in spending your holidays, lesiure time activities or sports. But when you spend more time here it is interesting to see that some brands, which are known worldwide, have got different names in England in contrast to Germany. For example the brand "Langnese" in Germany is called "Walls" in England. The brand "Rexona" which is known for their deodorant is called "Save" here. Or "Iglo" is known as "Birds eye".  It is also interesting to see how different the demands on coffee are. A lot of people which I met here drink instant coffee. It is mostly made with a little bit of pulver and a lot of milk. I know many people in Germany which would hate this ...

Calke Abbey Today we went (again) to a National Trust house. It is situated in Derbyshire and that takes us only 30 min. by car. Calke Abbey shows the dramatic decline of a grand country-house. There are also many stables and a very big garden which you can visit. It was so different from other National Trust properties because the house is exactly the same like it was in 1985. The National Trust was interested in leaving the house like it was because the family was a little bit different. They collected many things. Inside the house there is an extreme collection of stones, china, paintings, stuffed animals and many more.  I wandered around and it was really exciting to see all of the house. You could really not imagine how it was to live inside the house. The last man who lived inside the house lived in only two rooms. The National Trust extended the house because they found a closed present inside the house which contained a beautiful bed. It looked extremely valuab...

London-my favourite city London (view from the Waterloobridge)   Tate Britain-Hall We went off to London at 9o'clock in the morning. We were from Ashtead to London in about 30 minutes. What a pleasure! We met Jeanette in Vauxhall and went straight to the Tate Britain. They both know a lot about British art and they presented me two famous artists. 1. William Turner and 2. Henry Moore. Moore is famous for his massive sculptures and William Turner painted big, bright landscapes. I liked the "Beach" paintings from Turner the most! He had a very good sense for drawing the sky with its various shades of light. We drove by boat to "Embankment" and there we went into the Southwark Cathedral. The Cathedral involved many different pieces of art and also different kind of alters. I liked it a lot. The churches are more open for exhibitions here. We enjoyed the sun outside in a café. We had chosen the best day to travel to London! It was 20 degree and the su...

Since Monday we are in Surrey, a county in the South of England. The family lives in a big house with a beautiful garden and a lot of space. It is really fantastic to have your own bathroom with everything you need. After being at Polesden Lacey on Tuesday we went to a ice-skating competition on Wednesday. In this competition the son of R.'s friend partook and therefore she knew about it. It was in a huge leisure centre in Guildford and many people sat in the audience. We saw girls and boys from sixteen to eighteen and it was a new experience. It was funny to see how the families were thrilled for their kids. The girls had worn beautiful but very short dresses and the guys were dressed in black. It was a whole new world and it must be very hard for the boys and girls to stay up early in the morning to practice ice-skating. R.'s friend explained to us her son must stay up at 4o'clock in the morning to train before school. It was not allowed to take photos so I haven't...

I am now Member of the National Trust. For 30 Pounds a year (till the age of 25) you are allowed to go in all National Trust properties. I thought it would be useful for the time I'm here so I bought it. After our 3 hour journey in the South of England we are now here in the county Surrey. After we had breakfast we drove to the "Polesden Lacey" a very nice house. Mrs Greville once owned the house and it is really lovely. One was able to see a film on the start of the tour which presented you Lady Greville. She was a clever and keen young lady and she was also very friendly to her employers. You can imagine living there! It was a big ground, many beautiful gardens outside and the house is valuable furnished. The National Turst earned money by letting the house on a lease for famous film productions. Some episodes of "Miss Marple" was shooted in Polesden Lacey. Also another new film with one actress of Downton Abbey was shooted in the great Hall of the...

Sightseeing  Hardwick Hall, the newer house It's been a while since I last written something down but now I have time to keep on writing. This weekend we saw a lot! Yesterday we went to the coffee morning which is every friday morning. Now I know more people which are always there and they tell me something more about them. I talked to many people which I met before and after a little while I met a new woman. She was called Judi and is the wife of a vicar. They are not living here but they have a cottage here around in which they spend their freetime. They had a well-brought-up dog as well and so we had enough issues to talk about. The coffee moring was over at around 12 o'clock and then we managed to drive to Angela, J. foster-daugther. She was a little bit fed up from work and J. gave her Patch to cheer her a little bit up. We two drove to Hardwick Hall which was a famous english country house. Bess of Hardwick used to live in it. It is famous because it's front ...

New thoughts and experiences I just think that from now on I only write posts which summarize a little bit the best, outstanding activities. Because I haven't got the time to post something every day and it might become a little bit stale. On Thursday we went to the pictures. I have learnt that people here don't really use the word cinema any more. It became outdated in these days. They say "the pictures" and "wood" instead of forrest. That are little details that you only get aware of when you are living here and hear the people speaking. So we went to the pictures with Max and Jan and saw "Far from the madding crowd" by Thomas Hardy. I must admit that I did not read the book but the film was really fabulous. We went to Loughborough in the cinema "Odeon" and there weren't many people so we could decide where we would like to sit. I really liked the set and the costumes the people wore! And the actress (Carey Mulligan) is brillian...

Monday, day number 6 Yesterday was such a sunny day. We went for a morning walk as usual and when we did this it was cloudy. But when we drove by car to pick up Vory, Pam and Paul the sun came out and it was so beautiful outside. We went to see "showhouses". That are houses which are made for people who are interested in buying a new house around here. It was really interesting to see how the houses in England are built. It is very easy. You chose a house, buy it and then you can bring your furniture and decorate it. That's it! But I like the fact that you have more opportunities in Germany. You can build your house in the way you like it and the villages are more individual. After our trip we went to the grocery to buy some food. We bought all the things we needed and then came back home. We ate a quick lunch which consisted of boiled eggs and sandwiches and sweets. After finishing our lunch we put the deckchair-coats on the chairs and sat in the sun to enjoy the...

Day 5 here in England or rather Rutland After this exhausting day yesterday I did not really have any time to recover and got up at half past seven to get ready for the journey to Rutland. It was nearly one hour away and I drove there with J.'s son, wife and their two kids. We got there and had breakfast there. It was called a bacon roll and it was really different from our German breakfast, but one need to try it out! Their kids got off the shore and we had 5(!) hours free-time, so to say. We talked a lot the German school system in contrast to the Scottish one and after many other things. We had several coffees and teas and waited for J. to arrive. I also met many other Scottish people. They were all very kind and friendly but their dialect was very striking as well. J. arrived and we had lunch in the restaurant which was beside the terrace. The sun was shining and we had a good time together. After many hours of waiting the kids got back from the sea and they were really worn...

Fantastic (day no.) Four Saturday was all in all very busy(as usual) but such a wonderful day! We woke up early in the morning. I got dressed as simply and practical as I could and then went a walking round with Patch. He was a little bit stubborn but I managed it. Then I had breakfast and after I finished my breakfast I went to the church down the street. Judith was already there and I got to know many frieds of her. I got introduced to them and I helped them with their selling. Judith had baked four pies, 2 plates of "flat Jack", 2 plates of Scones, crispy chocolate muffins and 4 cakes with cream around them! She also sold marmelade and all people in her neighbourhood had baked as well! It looked (and tasted) awesome! We ourself bought Scones, cakes and other things as well. It was a great opportunity to buy some souvenirs for my family at home. I also met Jackie, a 17-year-old-girl from here. She was so firendly and maybe we will meet again and will have a film night to...

Friday, my third day here Today we went up at half past seven. The sun was shining in my room-as usual but i don't care about that. Went i went downstairs Judith was already cooking a meal for her son Nik and his wife. They will spend the weekend here with us. I asked her if I should prepare it and the answer was simply "yes". Me and Judith had breakfast and we enjoyed it very much. We talked about the plan for the day. We need to take Patch for a walk, after that help in the church (they make a coffe morning every friday for older people) and then bake another cake for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a "cake day". It is called Christian Aid in the morning and many people here bake cakes or muffins and sell them in a good cause. I will help Judith with everything. I will take my first round alone with Patch in the park and afterwards help her and her friends with the selling in the church. The church is only 5 minutes away from our house so it wouldn't be ...

First whole day here My second day here started with a typical english breakfast. Cereals with milk, orange juice, black tea and toast with marmelade (grape fruit) and Marmite (uh lá lá!). I didn't sleep long because the sun was shining so bright in my room. But i get up at half past seven and then helped Judith with her breakfast. It was very different from the food I am used to but it was interesting! After that we went to vote. J. made her crosses and I could see for whom she voted for. After that we went to a beautiful café. It was not so huge but really cosy. We sat down and drink coffee and tea. We talked to Bethan (which is a friend of J.) and stayed there for hours. Afterwards we went to the supermarket to buy some food and ingredients for our baking. How different the food habits are. We also bought some pork pasties. I tried them for the first time and I must say they were really tasty! We went home to have lunch and after we cleaned up we went to see Loughb...

Start of my journey- Everything new My journey started on 6th May. I travelled by Eurostar to Bruxelles and from there straight to Loughborough. We came to Bruxelles and it was very busy there. Many people were running in different directions. My parents and me had enough time to spend some at a Häagen Dazs Café-quite expensive! But after a coffee americano/ cappuccino and some delicious Häagen Dazs ice-cream(banana/caramel i had to say "Goodbye". It was a sad situation and me and my mother cried (only a little bit!) before I was totally on my own. I managed the tour to London St. Pancras and from threre I had only 30 minutes to catch the East Midlands train to Loughborough. There were some trouble so I arrived 25 minutes later than I planned. But everything turned out fine. Judith catched me up and we drove home to East Leake. A little village with a supermarket, a pub, a butcher, some cafés, a vet, more churches and so on and so forth. She cooked me a perfect meal with...