london week one//

The queen was not in, Buckingham Palce


The first week is already coming to close, crazy how time flys by. I have done and scene so much in London by walking the city from place to place. The funny thing is I have only been in zone one and two of London. London is composed of 8 zones circling out of the city. So needless to say, I have more to see and do in the coming months. Its been good meeting other international students and going around with them, they are just as lost as I am, but we are getting the Hoxton area down pretty well.

A great thing I have found is that most museums and gallery spaces are free. I have only made it through the Tate Museum of Modern Art and Museum of London. Both were amazing places with good exhibitions. The London museum gave the history of london and was featuring a section on the london fire of 1666, which burned down most of the city. The Tate modern had names such as Jeff Koons, andy warhol, Picasso and Per Kirkeby. The space was very well done and had some great interactive pieces for kids and adults to play with.

In seeing the sights and walking the streets I have come to realize how massive London really is, so finally today I broke down and bought a oyster card which allows me to ride the tube from place to place.



salvador dali,
house of Parliament
Big Ben

London.

A month after arriving in the U.K I'm finally in London. I took a train from Portsmouth to London Waterloo station. From there I had to jump two more trains and finally end up on the London Underground to Old Street Station. Then what was supposed to be a five minute walk to my flat turned into a hour tour of the surrounding area. I was set on the direction, which was right, then once there the roads forked off in three directions, which I ended up talking the wrong one. The walk wouldn't have been so bad minus all my bags. A nice elderly English woman asked If I was alright and was worried I was carrying to much. After an hour I found it, checked in and went up the fifth floor to flat 18 and into room E.

The flat is nice, the building is only a year old so everything is fairly new. I will soon have six other flat mates living with me.The flat has a nice common space that's attached to the kitchen area. The common area has a flat screen with cable, but we do have to pay for a TV license. You have to have a license to watch any television anywhere in the UK. Its funny to see many American shows have an exact English version of it here like man vs wild, the office and deal or no deal to name a few.

I was the first one into our flat so I decided to go out and find some food and come back. Thankfully there is an area of small shops and take away restaurants right behind our building. The area of Hexton also has weekly street markets which I plan on checking out this weekend.

My new room for the next three months.
The common area and kitchen with a TV and couches. We also have two freezers and fridges and two stove/ovens. It should be a good semester.
This little helpful sign on most street crossings has saved me a few times already. I'm lost in this city that drives from the other direction. I'm getting the hang of it, but I swear there isn't a single straight road in this city.
Some street art in the area where I live.


My first full day in London consisted of me finding a shop to get some food to last me a few days while I settle into the area and searching for some household goods: pot,pan, pillows,etc. After a good three hours I walked into Argos (website). So you walk into this place and look at a catalog and then fill out a card with the products number you want, you pay and wait about five minutes and you pick it up. First thing I got was pillows, two for three pounds.

I also got a chance to stop by LCC (London college of Communication) I'm not a enrolled student yet so I was only allowed through a small section of the university. I tried to pick up my paperwork and student ID, but it was a no go, it would be ready in two weeks.

Till that time I plan on exploring the city and seeing the sights. The London design festival is coming up in a week, the festival takes part city wide allowing people to go into many studies and exhibition areas to see whats happening in the design community. The festival lasts two weeks, I hope to get a look into a few studios in the area. More to see and more to come.

I have an address

nicholas dahl c18, 168 pitfield street, london N1 6jp

more to come.

Living on the coast// portsmouth

After one night in london I jumped a train once more for another two hours to the coastal town of Portsmouth England. Portsmouth is on the southern tip of england is home to Portsmouth university and the spinnaker tower. The town also has some history dealing with its major port and also having a D-Day 1944 memorial museum. There are little monuments and memorials scattered along the boardwalk on the coast of the english channel. Im staying with a friend for the next week until I can move into my flat in london on the 6th. Being in Portsmouth gives me some time to catch up with e-mails and getting ready for London. Its also allowed for some good R&R with watching films and going out at night to a local pub with friends.
It feels like autumn in the midwest here, the sun is warm but the air is cool from the coastal winds. Its mainly cloudy through the day with on and off showers. The cooler temperatures are comforting, but I know it will be like this with the addition of more rain once Im in London.The only difference is the wind here is very intense along the cost and for tomorrow there is a rain advisory with possibility of an inch of rain. So I best enjoy the sun while I can and when it happens. I almost regret complaining about the 90 degree plus temperatures of italy a week ago.
I also have finally made it to a shop to get some food for the week, I found myself going to an AZDA. Its basically the UK version of the american wal-mart. I cant complain, its cheap and close to where Im staying. I bought mac and cheese in a can for fun, I thought it was funny and says its suitable for vegetarians on the back. It costed me .12 pounds.

a taste of europe

Zurich, Switzerland
Rome, vatican city
Rome
Moulin Rouge, Paris
louvre paris
Paris
Beirut, way out west festival
Copenhagen

Berlin at 7am

When all said in done its been a trip, what can I say, the people the places and the experiences. From a stolen credit card number to a hospital visit in Amsterdam, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I mean I didn't plane for these things to happen, but its apart of the bigger picture and traveling. If i have learned on thing so its that no matter how bad something may seem at the time, in the end everything works. Traveling brings challenges upon yourself, but in the end its worth it. This may be the longest post I ever make, so I apologize, but Im trying to summarize twenty three days of travel in on bit.

My trip along with Millie, Suzanne and Larua turned to be one of the best times I have had in a long time, it was so great to be with people who were easy going and accepting to changes in the trips plans. The four of us had been planning this trip over endless messages online for the past five months and it all went by in a matter of weeks. The planning was something that made everything work out so well for us all and each of us having something to bring to the table. In the end we made our way trough nine countries eight countries together and I added two more including the three hour stop in Zurich Switzerland and finally the U.K. Each place had something new to offer from ancient ruins to new sustainable design, Europe has a great history with so much diversity within such a close proximity. It was good to get around western Europe and get a sense of everything Europe has to offer.

The train was a great choice of transportation just for the beautiful scenery through the country sides and little surprises, like ending up on a night train that resembled a scene from harry potter that soon ending up on a ferry across the Baltic sea in the middle of the night. Our longest train trek ended up being towards the end of the trip from Rome to Paris France with a totally travel time of 23 hours. It did give Millie and I the opportunity to stop in Zurich Switzerland for a few hours. It was a unexpected surprise that was well worth it. The small mountainside city was off the beaten track of most tourists and it greeted us with the Swiss alps as the backdrop of a crystal clear lake in front of us. We ended up wondering the city for two hours until our next train left.

My favorite city would have to be Copenhagen, a city I would much want to go back to and explore much more. I would also want to spend more time exploring Sweden and the Scandinavian countryside. The much cooler coast countries of Norway and Sweden have a unique genuine feel to them, something that draws me in and makes me want more. The only reason we made it into Sweden was to catch the Way Out West Festival, which was amazing, over 80,000 fans jammed into a park with three outdoor stages. We ended up only staying for one day of the festival giving us the opportunity to see Bon Iver, Beirut, Grizzle Bear, Band of Horses, Flornace and the machine, Wilco, Anthony and the Johnsons and the Arctic Monkeys. It was amazing that all these bands were at one festival, I think European festivals are much better then ones in America. We also got to go back stage with Mike Noyce and have a look around, it was good seeing someone I knew from home in another country. We also meet the lead singer of Beirut and got a picture with him.

The night before there were bands playing in the cities local clubs and pubs a few that i wanted to see but were at capacity and wouldn't allow anyone else in were Rise against, The Bronx, St Vincent and Loney Dear. We did end up meeting three other fellas in our hostel and spending Thursday night going out to clubs with them and finally getting into one to see Crookers and Italian DJ. The club was actually a museum which we went back to see the exhibits the very next day. Everything we did in Goteborg made it my second favorite stop on our trip, it just had so many different things to see and do for us, I wanted a few more days in town, but we had to catch another train to our next destination.

The advice I would give to someone else who wants to explore Europe is to plan plan plan, and maybe make a decision on an area where you would like to spend some time. It was difficult in ways to get comfortable in a area and then leave it in a day. It forced us to spend each minute of the day walking and doing everything possible, but was also very tiring. We did accomplish so much much in each area ion the short amount of time we allowed ourselves. Each day we were up and walking from sun up till sun down.

I'm off to my next adventure of a semester at London college of Communication, something I have been working towards and planning for a while now. It all came up so quick and I plan on working hard as well as enjoying my time away from Minneapolis. The experience come both with my schooling as well as the culture here. London is a very diverse city with over seven million people. I will see how it goes in one week, when I finally move into my flat. Until then i will be spending a week on the southern tip of England in Portsmouth, relaxing on the coast.

Made it.

I made it after sixteen hours travel time. The flights were both on time. I did get to Toronto and get sent through a gaggle of immigration officers and walked around the entire airport at east once. no joke! Toronto looks nice and I would like to visit the downtown district sometime. But my stay in Toronto consisted of me breaking a ten dollar bill and getting seven back in Canadian currency. So now I have some American cash, some Canadian and today picked up some Euros.

The flight to London was filled with little surprises and treats i had never experienced before. We got feed not once but twice, in both cases mine was delivered to me by Scott (the bald middle aged flight attendant) because they were vegetarian options. The food was enough to suffice till I reached heathrow airport in London. The other great feature on the flight was my own personal tv screen. It was a touch screen that featured games,world news and recent blockbusters. I went with Advertureland, something I would not recommend to anyone else with the option between fast and the furious and must love dogs. I wish I chose better. Maybe on the flight home. I did get to enjoy open bar with a nice glass of white wine while I attempted to get through the better half of adventureland, before I took a nap for three hours.

landed in London to only to be greeted my Millie and her father. Our first stop was a local pub, followed by some sight seeing and visiting king Henry the thirds home. Stopped at a few more shops and went to pack for our trip tomorrow.

Trip Order//
Denmark
August 12th------> Sweden (way out west festival, arrive night before)
August 15th-----> Germany
August 18th -------.> Czech republic
August 21st --------> Italy
August 26th .... leave Italy
August 27th ... Arrive in France

Then back to brighton and move into my flat on September seventh. Off to Europe!

found.

MAPS//
I found this book put out by the "Geographers' A-Z Map Company", in 1990 at a rummage sale in Minneapolis. Thought it would be interesting and possible help me navigate around the city. Its a little dated, but I'm sure most of the old city is the same. The maps are cool, so at least its got that going for it. I mean this book was purchased for 2.25 euros (dont have a euro sign on my laptop, yet) and someone must have used it for something worth while. It will be with me.