Although Katja is not a fan of flying, she is a fan of traveling (preferably to a foreign land), and thus gets very anxious when she goes too long without venturing out to the airport. Thankfully it was finally time for her first trip abroad since returning from Vienna, and even better it was to London, which is one of her favorite places to visit.
As with her trip in December, a friend's birthday provided the excuse for her to hop across the pond. Not that she needs an excuse to travel, but if she has one, why not? And, as always, the first thing she did after making her way into Central London from Heathrow (besides having a large and much needed cup of coffee) was head to Danceworks to take class. Please note her beautiful Les Petites Jupes de Patricia skirt and RubiaWear leg warmers; jet lag is never an excuse to not look fashionable.
Besides not liking to go too long without ballet, Katja knows that taking class does wonders to get her adjusted to the local time zone. Plus she loves the studio, the teachers are great and the students friendly. And it's located off of Oxford Street, so it's in a convenient location to get in some shopping, which is a must on any trip to London.
While Katja always prides herself in getting in a healthy dose of arts when she travels (she is a cultured girl, after all), she has to admit that this trip was primarily about socializing. She did, however, make it to one museum, the Victoria and Albert, as it's open until ten on Friday nights.
The V&A bills itself as the world's leading museum of art and design, and this could possibly be right, given its size and impressive and very diverse collection. Katja spent some time perusing the seemingly endless galleries, before stopping off in the rather fabulous gift shop. Then, of course, it was time for a glass of wine.
Afterwards she made her way to the German Gymnasium, a newish German restaurant/bar that she wanted to try. The place has an interesting history, which also explains what might seem like an odd name; it was England’s first purpose-built gymnasium, built in 1865 for the Germany Gymnastics Society, with funding coming solely from London's German community. Katja found a seat in the elegant Meister Bar, which has a great selection of cocktails and and interesting wine list. She was tempted by a wine from Slovenia, but as her next trip is to Ljubljana, she figured she'd save trying Slovenian wine for then, and stuck with her standard Zweigelt. Next time she's going back in the afternoon for Kaffe und Kuchen.
The trip involved numerous coffee and lunch dates with friends, and as usual lots of bubbly, especially at her friend's birthday party.
Katja was very happy that she's the kind of girl who tends to be overdressed, and who always makes certain to pack something fancy (the witty Oscar Wilde did say something about how one can never be overdressed or overeducated, and she completely agrees), as having been rather busy in the weeks before the trip she completely failed to notice the party's black tie dress code. But at least she had a festive dress, and while she might have not been the sparkliest girl there, as usual she was the life of the party.
Katja must admit to a rather slow start the following day; being the life of the party does requires some energy, plus she doesn't like to go without her beauty sleep. But it was still a very social day, starting with a late lunch at
the Albion Bankside, where her friend was served one of the most generous cheese plates she's ever seen. Which, of course, made Katja very happy as it meant she didn't feel guilty asking to try the very tasty assortment. After finishing lunch she wandered over to Bedales, in Borough Market, to meet another friend. While the place is a wine bar with a great selection, Katja behaved and stuck to hot chocolate. Lest you think she's getting a little boring, she assures you this was only because she knew she’d
be drinking a healthy amount of bubbly at a friend’s place that evening.
Then, before she knew it, it was time to head back to New York. She's always a little sad when it's time to leave London, so is very thankful that the United Lounge in Heathrow has a lovely cocktail list to distract her. Now if only the United Lounge in Newark was half as civilized...
