We, the Leistungskurs English, chose to spend our Kompaktwoche on an expedition to London. On an early Tuesday morning we found ourselves at Schönefeld Airport, a little tired because of having slept hardly three hours, but ready to take off and later find our way through the jungle that is the British rail and underground system. Still at Gatwick Airport we noticed the native British being apparently very fond of queuing, as some of them reacted rather displeased when we had to declare that lining up behind our group would not lead them to any success at all. Still, generally, they gave us a friendly welcome and immediately showed themselves willing to communicate and trade with us. Their expecting exorbitantly high prices for some goods gave us evidence about their former contacts to foreigners: The British probably have been exploited by earlier expeditions and now learned from their mistakes, revealing an amazing self-confidence concerning commerce. Our accomodation of course did not reach the hygienic standards we were used to from our homes, but provided shelter from the changeable (actually mostly sunny and warm) weather and a sleeping place for everyone (this wasn't as easy to manage as it may sound, given that a booked double-room turned out as a bed limited by walls and a door).
The British are a high developed civilisation, they have a sewage system as well as running water in their houses, are able to use electricity and, as mentioned above, operate a rail and underground system similar to ours. In spite of those technical progresses we saw ourselves confronted to some minor difficulties. For example, the toaster is an obviously unknown appliance, although the white bread used for toasting is a very common food. Besides, the Londoners remain waiting for the invention of a ventilation system for their so called 'tube', where, especially in the warmer season, the air on the trains reaches temperatures beyond the boiling point of water and lacks the smallest rest of oxygen. It therefore seems nearly undeniable to me that the British must have developed a technique which allows them to survive without breathing for longer times, still for foreigners like us a journey beneath the streets of London may turn out highly dangerous.
Other public transportations, however, are a lot more comfortable, i.e. the buses, or the ships transporting passengers on the river Thames. We caughd one of them on Wednesday to travel from the inner city of London to the outer town of Greenwich. Here, a great number of astronomical achievements are exhibited in the 'Royal Observatory'. In the yard of the Observatory a metal line marks what the British call the Prime Meridian. They claim it (thought as a longer line reaching from the North to the South pole) to be the middle of the world, a notion that of course contrasts sharply with our idea of the earth being ball-shaped.
Concerning food, the native Londoners seem to prefer already prepared snacks, cold (of course un-toasted) sandwiches being among the most popular ones. They do not taste too bad, but in my opinion would never be able to replace a satisfactory warm meal.
It may appear surprising to the reader that London even owns a primitive health centre, a 61 metres high column. (The Monument) The exercise consists in climbing up the 311 steps to a viewing platform, where the athlete is supplied with the purest air of the whole town (as far as I can judge). The return down the spiral staircase might have served for astronaut trainings.
A great joy was our visit of a theatrical performance (Henry VIII by Will Shakespeare), held with traditional speech and costumes, although for budget reasons we were forced to take standing places, which, passed the three hours the play lasted, left the alarming feeling of having no feet at all.
There are thousands of things left to tell about London, only it would take too much time and space to list them all up here. It remains to say that at the end of our trip we arrived back in Berlin on a sunny Saturday morning, being seriously tired now and longing for our beds, but, at least as far as it concerns me, already making plans for the next trip to the capital of the UK.