St. Paul's Cathedral and other destinations in the city center - A week in London - 4
St. Paul's Cathedral and other destinations in the city center
The rain takes its toll
Canary Wharf
Kew Garden
Southwark
One last morning and back home
Tue, Sept. 2, 2025 - St. Paul's Cathedral and other destinations in the city center
Jürgen got tickets for St. Paul's Cathedral [↗] for this morning. It opens at 8:30 a.m., and we want to be there as early as possible to avoid the crowds. We largely succeed in doing so. Unfortunately, after the first few visitors, the security system malfunctions and has to be restarted. After 10 minutes, it is back up and running and we are allowed in.
Once we have put our bags through the scanner and picked up an audio guide for Freya, we are ready to look around. While Freya follows the audio guide's instructions, Jürgen explores the church with his camera.
Access to the tower is included in the price, but it doesn't open until later. Half an hour before opening, several tour groups have already lined up. However, the photos on display don't look spectacular enough to make Jürgen want to join the queue. Freya has been avoiding such activities for some time now anyway.
Jürgen has a few other destinations to visit in the area, so we wander through the financial district and admire the unique combination of new and old buildings. What is noticeable is that no matter where you are in London, there are many small independent shops. Although you can also find the typical chain stores, the majority of shops are privately owned.
We want to go to St. Dunstan in the East [↗]. This is a former church that was destroyed during the German air raids on London. The remains and the adjacent churchyard serve as a small green oasis in the city. Like many locals, we grab a coffee and sit down for a moment. The next shower chases us away, and since we are halfway to Leadenhall Market and Freya hasn't seen it yet, we decide to stop by there too. It looks completely different now than it did the day before yesterday, and Jürgen is glad he got up early on Sunday.
It's around noon, but we're still full from our hearty breakfast. So, we continue on our way, walking along the Thames, past Millennium Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge, and then back across the Thames to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Here, the rain drives us into a Greek restaurant, where we enjoy a delicious late lunch.
The rain stops right on time, and we can walk to the Walkie-Talkie Building in dry weather. The Skygarden [↗] there, at a height of 155 meters, can be visited free of charge. However, you need a ticket to do so, and that's a problem. These are released about three weeks in advance and are completely sold out within hours. Jürgen had checked every morning in advance and actually managed to get some, although not as late as we would have liked. In theory, you can also try your luck, but when we passed by this morning, the line stretched all the way to the street. However, when we arrive there this afternoon, we can simply walk right through. No one wanted to see our tickets. Nevertheless, it was full and all the seats were taken. The view from both the multi-story garden area and the terrace is quite nice, even if the glass barrier is a bit distracting. We don't stay too long.
In the evening, we head out again. Jürgen wants to take photos at the Millennium Bridge. There's too much going on at the bridge itself, so we postpone this to one of the coming mornings. We take the photos from the bank of the Thames. Today, we also have a nice sky, and the illuminated bridge arches look great against the skyline.
We slowly make our way back through the Southwark district. A group of London night runners, accompanied by loud music at the front and back of the group, runs past us. Those at the front are running at a good pace, while those at the back are trotting along minutes behind.
Southwark is one of London's nightlife districts and has a number of bars and restaurants. We find one where the hustle and bustle is kept within limits and end the evening here.
