Spontaneously Abroad Part I: London Layover

Just over a week ago, I was on the tram on my way to my CIEL class, and I was talking to one of the girls in the HC group that I didn't know too well: Lizzie. Our topic of conversation moved to all the places we wanted to visit in Europe (my list was very, very long) and when I mentioned Croatia, a spark lit in her eye. She really wanted to travel to Croatia as well. That night, I came home to a message with possible cheap flights to Croatia. We talked about it for a bit, and then, that night, we booked it.

The planning that went into the trip was all very spontaneous, which isn't usually like me (I'm definitely a planner) but I decided to throw a little caution to the wind: which is how I can say that I was in Croatia just a few hours ago!

Let me start from the beginning:

Lizzie and I left Strasbourg Thursday evening by train, arriving in Baden-Baden (Germany) Thursday night. We had booked a cheap 2-star hotel room at the hotel just seconds walk from the small airport, which was really nice since our flight Friday morning departed at 7:40 a.m. sharp. We woke up quite early Friday to catch our flight, and just walked over to the tiny Baden-Baden airport (never have I ever just woken up and walked to an airport...).

It was my first time flying with the infamous carrier Ryanair (cheap tickets, lots of tricks and advertising) but really, it wasn't that bad. Actually, to be honest, I was impressed by how easy the whole trip ended up being (our overall trip was a little complicated--dependent on 4 different trains, 4 different buses, and 3 different flights--and I was certain that we would hit a snag somewhere along the way, but none!) I've heard Ryanair horror stories (if you don't have your boarding card printed out correctly, they charge 70 euro per ticket!) but nothing like that happened. Yeah, the flight attendants walked up and down the aisles selling things, but I just ignored it--and really, can you complain about such trivial advertising when the flight costs just 18 euro? Nope!

Friday morning, Lizzie and I actually flew to London. Why London? Well, it was the cheapest option. Ryanair apparently doesn't fly to Croatia from any airport close to Strasbourg on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays, so we had to fly to London real fast, then fly to Croatia. No big deal, really...

Except that the layover ended up lasting nine hours. (Nine hours in an airport? Yeah right. We were making the most of this!)

In general, layovers suck. However, a nine-hour layover in London? That just means more exploring, of course! Since Ryanair only flies into obscure airports, we landed in London Stansted airport--about an hour outside of London proper. However, we bought cheap tickets for a fast train into the city, and within 45 minutes, we were in the city! (Before getting on the train, however, Lizzie wanted coffee, so we stopped at the British version of Starbucks... and I found a Sticky Toffee Pudding muffin! Of course, I had to try it, since sticky toffee pudding is my favorite! And I thought my parents would laugh, so I took a picture)

Sticky Toffee Pudding Muffin. Yum

 

Anyway, once in London, Lizzie and I hit up all the major tourist sites. We started at Buckingham Palace, then walked through the gardens to see Big Ben, Westminster, and the Houses of Parliament. Neither Lizzie nor I had been in London for years (for me, it's been 5 years, and for Lizzie, it's been 7 years) but I was surprised to find that I remembered which way to go for most things. We didn't really need a map at all. Five years ago, my parents and I stayed in a hotel on the Piccadilly line, and I remembered exactly where it was! I also remembered all the Underground stops we would need, like Green Park for the Buckingham Palace and so forth. It was actually quite amazing (to me at least) how much I remembered about London.

Lizzie and I at Buckingham Palace

 

Surprisingly, the weather in London was quite beautiful Friday morning! I always assume that London (along with most of England, really) is either cloudy or rainy, but it happened to be a rare sunny morning! It was perfect for wandering around the city. The photos seem to be deceiving, though, since it was actually sunny for a good hour or two. I promise.

Next on our list was the London Eye, especially since Lizzie had never been on it. Alas, good things cannot always last, and just after Lizzie and I stepped off the London Eye, it started pouring. We ran to take cover/eat lunch, but even half an hour later, the rain still hadn't let up. Luckily, I had brought an umbrella, but we were still pretty soaked (and quite chilly).

Oh hey there London!

 

For our last sight, we wanted to just see Tower Bridge for a few minutes. We took the Underground to where we thought it would be.... then wandered around in the rain until we asked for directions. However, we asked for the LONDON bridge (silly tourists) which wasn't nearly as impressive as Tower Bridge. We could see Tower Bridge off in the distance, though, and we just snapped a quick picture in the rain, then ran back to the warm shelter of the London Underground to head back to the airport.

See Tower Bridge in the foggy, rainy background? See it?

Our flight out of London went quite smoothly as well, and by 9:30 p.m., Lizzie and I were settled in at our cool hostel (the Boutique Hostel Forum) in Zadar, Croatia!

It was a beautiful night, albeit a bit quiet--not much of a nightlife, although that's fine with me--and I wanted to walk around the Old Town and see the ocean, so the two of us wandered for a few minutes. We quickly came across the ocean along with one of Zadar's most famous attractions: the Sea Organ.

The Sea Organ is a really cool architectural--uh, thing? hard to describe--made out of marble steps the lead off into the ocean and produce music according to the waves. It's basically a huge marble organ powered by the sea, constantly making pretty (if somewhat random) music. When a large boat goes by and creates big enough waves, the organ gives off loud bursts of sound in the intervals as the waves hit. Honestly, the Sea Organ is just something you have to visit, as it is quite difficult to describe with merely words. Also, it's an artwork that is very much meant to be experienced with your ears, as the pictures of it look simply like steps.

The Sea Organ by day. Honestly, it makes music, I swear, although it
just looks like stone steps

 

Anyway, we sat by and listened to the Sea Organ in the warm night air for a little while. We also took lots of pictures of the Greeting to the Sun, another artwork made by the same architect. It's a 22-meter diameter circle of solar panels that soak up the sun during the day, and at night, it comes alive with flickering colors.

Greeting to the Sun at night

After about twenty minutes of walking around in the darkness, though, we decided to head back to our hostel (a room which we were sharing with two randoms, who ended up being a Japanese guy and a guy from Brazil, neither of whom could speak much English besides "Hello," "Yes," and "I don't speak English," but both of whom were extremely nice).

And for the rest of my spontaneous trip to Croatia, I'll continue on to Part II. The pictures to follow will certainly be a lot sunnier than those I took in London!