Why? That is the question that people asked me every time I said that I was going to London for one night only. I still can't believe that I did it, but I am glad that I got the chance. It was an amazing night!
The moment I saw that you could get a return trip for €4,- to London I didn't hesitate for a moment and bought the tickets, if in the end I would have decided to stay at home, I wouldn't have missed the €4,-. Two hours later I had found some more people that wanted to join me: Naomi, Dion, Ruben and Robin.
One month later we got on the train to Eindhoven. Five hours later we were in the centre of London, at Liverpool Street Station. This is where our adventure really started! With lots of courage we started our city tour through London, with temperatures near the freezing point. Our guide and London specialist Dion (He has been to London three times already!) planned a trip for us along the highlights of the abandoned London: St. Pauls Cathedral, The Royal Opera House, Trafalgar Square, Chinatown, The Big Ben and of course along the Thames with beautiful views of The London Eye, The Spire, Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge and lots of other bridges!
After three hours of walking and 11,5 km it was time to rest. Fortunately there is a picturesque establishment named the Polo Bar near Liverpool Street Station. With her opening times of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the endpoint of lots of night revellers in London. It was also the endpoint of two British guys that kept us awake for the last hours in London when they heard what we were doing: “Wait, you’re doing what?!” “That’s focking brilliant.” This Englishman: "That guy is my Boss!” and Wels: “If someone is bothering you, just say fock off.” kept us awake with deep conversations about education, marine technology: "Selling boats, you’re going to be rich!”, Computer Science: "You should stop or end up in a call centre!”, success (of which the definition according to this Englishman is not appropriate for this site), nationalities and lots of other subjects.
When it was 5.30 it was time to leave the British guys alone and catch our train to the airport. The next couple of hours were a mix of falling asleep, answering questions about flying and airports and a constant miscommunication and long reaction times.
Half past one we arrived in Delft. In the past 19,5 hours we spent 6 of them in London, 5 in the train, 4 waiting at the airport, 2 hours flying, 1 hour in the bus and some lost moments. Maybe it seems crazy to travel this long to spent only 6 hours in London, but I am glad that I did.
– Gijs Nannenberg
