To and From London



Icelandic cake for breakfast on the flight to London.



There's no better sight than seeing your little red suitcase on the baggage claim at the airport. I took an abnormal route from the states to London and had to switch airlines in Toronto. When I began my trip, I asked if I could check my bags all the way through to London, and the answer was "yes." After I gave over my bag, the airline said to make sure I check if my bag gets dropped off in Toronto, because I might have to pick it up there are re-check it. Wait, that means the answer to my question was "no." Whatever. Well, the bag wasn't in Toronto, and I didn't see it in Reykjavik, either. I was sort of hoping it was lost and they would have to ship it to Moscow for me - so I don't have to drag it around. But there it was, in London. 

London from south of the river.

In London, I met up with Mark and Alice. Mark is the brother of my coworker. They were so kind and took me all over central London in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I'm not that knowledgeable about British history, so I can't say that I truly appreciated what I was seeing, but it was still fun and exciting. Next, we went out to a pub where we ate dinner with Mark and Alice's friends. It was neat to be in a foreign city surrounded by friends - and travel friends are the best. It seems like you get to know them so quickly, and you forget you met them just an hour before.





Eurostar train to Brussels.

The next day I had to pick up my Kiev - Moscow train ticket at a Russian travel office, so that took most of my morning, but I got to see a new area of the city. I then had a delicious, slow lunch with a friend I met in undergrad who is studying in London. From there, I took the Eurostar out of England, through France, and into Germany!