Last Wednesday, I did something a little crazy. I went to London… for a day. That means we left Västerås at 5 in the morning and got back by half 2 in the morning (as you would say in Swedish time-telling… as you may notice occasionally, my English phrasing just sometimes doesn’t go). When the people at customs asked when we would be returning, you could clearly see the surprise in their faces, and I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have ever considered going to London for a single day, but what with the high cost of hotels and time as my most precious commodity at the moment, it kind of made sense.
It all started on a normal day at home, when my middle host sister asked the room if anyone wanted to go to London. She had found some good-priced tickets for a week and a half later, and following my keenness for spontaneity, I said yes! So began the planning for our 9 hours in London. Traveling utomlands (out of the country) is much different than what we’ve become used to within our own countries. Your phones won’t work without wifi, so calling, texting, and Google maps can no longer be relied on. I ended up going with my two younger host sisters, and because we had different plans for things to do in the city, we decided on times to meet up and printed out maps to find our way around. Kickin it old school.
My own plan for the day, however, wasn’t too complicated. With a such a short time there, I felt that the best way to go about it was to stay in one area, central London, walk around at a relaxed but purposeful tempo, and just absorb the surroundings. It was definitely a good choice. While there, I wrote thoughts and observations down in my phone from time to time, to make sure the memory of everything really sunk in.
- First was a free 2.5 walking tour of the key famous sights in the center of the city. This was a fantastic decision. It’s nice because I got to see most of the things I was planning to see, plus some entertaining historical facts and stories on the way from the tour guide, and without the stress of trying to navigate a new city with just a printed-out map. I was able to just follow with the group, and take as many pictures as I liked while walking and at the different stops. It was a group found at freetouroflondon.com, which I recommend to anyone traveling there! It’s a great first-day thing to do, since you get a good sense of what the layout of the city is like, and it’s free!
- Within the first half hour of the tour, I knew it was the right choice, because we just so happened to SEE THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND. We were standing outside the Churchill War Rooms, when a police on a motorcycle zooms past, and the tour guide immediately cuts off his sentence and says, “Look. It’s the Queen!” Everyone whipped around and dashed to the side of the street to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty waving from the window of her fast-moving black car. I snapped my camera as quickly as I could after just processing what was going on, and was utterly amazed afterwards to see that I actually got a photo of the Queen herself. The thrill was almost tangible in the group after it happened, everyone was just amazed by their luck of being in exactly the right place at the right time.
- I learned that British policemen aren’t at all armed. How’s that for contrast.
- Apparently there are pelicans in St. James Park that have exhibited a sort of cannibal behavior with the other birds in the pond (one of the more unusual tidbits we heard on the tour)
- I don’t understand people who wear those plastic bag ponchos that just scream “tourist!” over perfectly functioning raincoats…
- TIPS: I didn’t end up having time for it, but I guess the Westminster Boy choir sings at Westminster Abbey almost everyday at 5 in the normal church service there, which is a good way to both see Westminster Abbey and listen to some really freaking good choral music absolutely free!
- Part way through the tour, I started chatting with a friendly group of Canadians who were all childhood friends and now taking a trip through Europe together. I could definitely hear my slight Minnesotan accent becoming not so slight after talking to them for a while. We ended up having lunch together at a pub that the tour guide gave us a discount at, and then afterwards, walked around the National Portrait Gallery. We didn’t exchange numbers or even last names before parting ways, but it’s always fun meeting and talking to new people, even if you’re only friends for the day!
- At the portrait gallery, we saw a good number of the famous ones, like Van Gogh, Monet, Degat. It’s a cool thing to see such well-known paintings up close like that. One that stuck out to me (I’ve never seen it before, so I have no idea if it’s well-known or not) was a painting called Ophelia Among the Flowers, a sort of abstract portrayal of Ophelia from Hamlet floating down the river after drowning herself. A kind of morbid subject, but a very beautiful painting!
- Near the end of the day, I found a bubble tea shop, and it was really exciting for me. Back home, I went to Steepery/Tea Garden probably much too often, but the bubble tea craze hasn’t really hit Sweden yet. This was my first bubble tea since August, and it was delicious (though not quite as good as Tea Garden).
- With just a bit of time left before meeting up with my host sisters, I sat in a park for a bit, and happily realized how much easier eavesdropping is in your native language. Hehehe…
- The residential areas that the train went through between the airport and the city looked straight out of every British movie or TV show out there. There’s something so distinctive about the type of bricks and rooftops in those kinds of houses, and it was just one of those little things that you notice that are awesome in their own small way.
I of course wish we could’ve stayed longer, but it was lagom. I was satisfied with what we had time to see and do, and with my awareness that it wouldn’t ever be possible to cram everything into one day, and that’s ok! Honestly one of the best parts about the trip were the numerous opportunities for people watching, which could be done constantly while walking around.
I found that it was easier to read people simply from observing there than in Sweden. I wondered whether it was because of being able to pick up the finer details of overheard speech in English, or if Brits in general tend to be more outwardly expressive than Swedes. I can’t say for sure either way, but I have noticed that it is much more difficult to get a feel for who a person is upon first meeting them when living and interacting in a foreign language, even if you have a pretty good grasp of it. Since it’s not your modersmål (mother tongue), it’s much harder to pick up on context clues in a conversation, since you’re often unfamiliar with the larger context or hidden meanings of words and phrases. I felt it pretty distinctly at the beginning of this year that it was harder to get to know people than I was used to. Part of it could be due to the higher reservedness of most Swedes compared to Americans, but I think a big part of it was also the language. I alla fall (in any case), it has become much easier to get to know people after living here, learning more about the culture, and getting better at the language.
While in London, I overheard someone declaring loudly that tourists have to be the worst creatures that walk the earth… I think that’s rather harsh, but I do agree that att turista is not the best way to travel, however fun it is. It is an effective way to see a lot in a short amount of time, but true satisfaction in travel comes from living in a place, contributing to it and becoming a part of its community. As a tourist, you always feel like a bit of an intruder, or at least I do. The place you are in is not your place. Better instead to put time and care into making a place your own, and feeling like you really belong there. After boarding the plane back to Sverige, hearing Swedish again was like a breath of fresh air. I had had enough English for one day, and was ready to return to my Swedish home.
Borta bra men hemma bäst.
Emma
Swede Disposition 