A walk through South bank ; the Southwark

January 13, 2020 / No Comments

Walking is the best way to explore a city. This was my first time staying at a hotel in the south bank and it was nice to discover the area I didn’t know well. Usually when I visit London, I stay at hotels in my favourite area of Kensington, near the Royal Albert Hall, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Hyde Park, but finding myself on the south bank of the Thames this time was a surprisingly enjoyable experience.

It was amazingly easy and quick to get to central London on one of the many buses that stop right at the door step of my hotel. And there were three tube stations within walking distance.

I prefer buses, though, as you get the sense of the city’s geography and have a chance to do some sightseeing as you travel on your way.

Hotel H10 London Waterloo is modern and super clean, with a lovely panoramic view of the city and friendly, helpful staff.

A stroll along the Thames took me past the Tate Modern, The Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the narrow Clink street (a reminder of medieval London with a bit of fantasy), the Golden Hinde ( a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s vessel from 1577) , historic Southwark Cathedral and the fantastic foodies’ heaven: Borough Market, right at the London Bridge. All are worth visiting. It was very easy to walk or take a bus back to the hotel.

https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

some of my favourite art works at the Tate Modern

some of my favourite art works at the Tate Modern

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre built in 1997, a recreation of the Theatre from 1599

The remains of 12th century Winchester Palace on Clink Street

The Golden Hinde, a replica of a Vessel from 1577

The interior of Southwark Cathedral built between 1106-1897

Worth a try! Freshly made hot juice of apple, lemon, ginger and honey!

Worth a try! Freshly made hot juice of apple, lemon, ginger and honey!

The medieval prison on Clink Street

About me

I consider myself so lucky to have been able to turn my love for music into my profession. The other passion, traveling, is fortunately a part of the work I do. As a professional orchestral violinist for most of my life, international concert tours brought me to places far and wide, from South and North America to China, Indonesia and Japan ( the country of my origin) to Russia and to most countries of Southern, Eastern and Western Europe. Privately I continue to add many more fascinating destinations to the list. With this blog, I hope to share with you some of my intriguing and beautiful travel experiences.

Update (June 1, 2020)

I began this blog in January 2020 when the world looked quite different from the way it is right now.

My orchestra had some interesting concert tours planned for this year, and it was my intention to share some experiences from those tours on this blog. In March, two days before our tour to the United States was to begin, the World Health Organisation announced the worldwide pandemic. The tour got cancelled at the last minute and we entered months of lockdown with uncertainty and concern about the unknown virus.

Although the situation looks less alarming and the lockdown is now loosening up, as an orchestra musician, I am quite worried about what the rest of the year and the future is going to look like for everyone. My biggest wish is to be able to play concerts for a big audience as we used to without any fear and concern. Obviously this will not be possible in the foreseeable future.

I am very grateful that I could experience many special moments both with making music and travelling and I treasure my memories. In the coming time, I would like to share past travel and cultural experiences with you on this blog