London Skyline WITH Modern office towers
Just returned from a week-long visit to London. Here are six quick impressions:
- The public transit system is efficient and effective. The region-wide system includes a combination of subways, surface trains, buses, taxis, and passenger ferries and it reaches all sectors of the metropolitan area. We used surface trains and subways on this trip and we found the trains and stations to be clean, well-lighted, well maintained, and easy to use. We purchased re-fillable fare cards, called Oyster Cards, before we left home and the cards were convenient and easy to “top-up” with additional money at fare machines located at every station. Signage throughout the rail systems was abundant and easy to understand.
- The population of London is diverse and cosmopolitan, and Londoners take pride in the way all ethnic, religious, and racial groups get along. As our visit was limited to central London and some western boroughs, we cannot say that there aren’t problems in some areas, but we never got a sense that there were significant ethnic, religious, or racial issues. I would guess that the tolerant atmosphere is at least partially a result of the city’s long history as the center of a world-wide empire.
- The city is more crowded than we expected. Streets and sidewalks were frequently jammed with pedestrians and there was never a time when there weren’t other people around.
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Green Park
New construction and renovations are occurring all over the city. A few buildings here and there are in poor repair, but with the population rising and property values soaring, we do not recall seeing any vacant buildings or lots.
- The large city parks – St. James Park, Hyde Park, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Green Park, etc. – are enormous. Many were originally established as private hunting preserves for the royal family, but today they are open to all, are well-maintained, and are very popular. As a center of history and culture, few urban centers can rival London, so spending a day or two in the parks might seem like an opportunity wasted; we have trees at home, after all. But the parks are quintessentially British, and they are historic in their own right, so I would encourage visitors to spend some time there.
- As is so often the case while traveling internationally, plenty of folks we encountered spoke English, so our traditional American unfamiliarity with the local language and customs was no problem at all.
November 18, 2017