Artöm Mazurchak

I live in Berlin. I built Biz-cen.ru in Russia, Lashoestring.com in the UK. I run a Telegram channel. For contact — email.

ENРУ

Trip to London

I had a small trip to London, at the end of 2014. In my view, this city is more closer to St. Petersburg than to Moscow if we compare common sense of speed and life style of each city. I want to share some interesting details that I collect through my journey.

Transport

Public transport is very popular in London. Most cars on the street are cabs. It’s costly to have your own car there, because there is no enough parking places, moreover, taxes and petrol prices are quite high.

Interesting hand-rails in Gatwick Express on the way to Victoria station:

Close-up of train seats in dark red patterned fabric with a white plastic grab handle on the headrest Train interior with maroon patterned seats; a glowing white headrest catches the light, a passenger seated behind

Perhaps, to save place for pedestrians, all bus stops have constructed in the way that their backs turned to the road:

London street with a bus stop shelter; the Gherkin skyscraper rises in the misty background London street with a bus shelter, red telephone box and bare autumn trees beside a brick wall

Double-decker buses cut branches of trees on their routs:

View from a bus window of a London street with a tree, parked van and passing black car View through a vehicle window of bare tree branches, terraced brick houses and a vivid teal sky

When person on a wheelchair wants to get into the bus. The bus stops in front of him, lowers the closest side to stand nearer disabled person and a small bridge appears.

A red London bus at a stop with its wheelchair access ramp folded out onto the pavement

Subway

A ceiling in carriages is curved so passengers don’t stand in front of doors as they do in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Moreover, you can find a small standing seats at the beginning and at the end of each carriage.

London Underground carriage doors with a route sign reading High Barnet and Camden Town Inside a London Underground carriage; passengers seated and a man with a dog lying at his feet Tube carriage door and a seat upholstered in blue patterned fabric, passengers visible through the glass

Everywhere in subway you can find different posters with an information about future changes in timetable, recommendations of how to reduce money for metro tickets or other announces.

Baker Street Underground platform with Way Out signs for Bakerloo, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines, and a bench

Details

The are a lot of different small things that make this city so charming. One of such details is the way how they name streets or write warnings.

Stone-clad building wall inscribed '1 Poultry' with a London Underground sign on a wet street Street sign reading 'Chalk Farm Road NW1' painted on a weathered brick wall Doorway at night with the number 34 in yellow on a blue floor mat

It is hard to guess what it is. By the way, it is a ceiling in Starbucks. Yeah, you can see pedestrians right over you.

Grid of glass blocks in a wall letting through daylight

Dinner tables with scooters as chairs, along river shores at Camden Town market:

People sitting on a row of scooter seats beside a canal at Camden, houseboats and a bridge behind A crowd resting on a long row of scooters parked under a shelter beside a canal

Other typical views of London:

London street running under a steel railway bridge, lined with shops and a 20 mph zone sign Looking up between buildings at an airplane crossing a cloudy blue sky London street with The Shard rising in the distance, a mural on a wall and cars in the foreground A concrete skyscraper under construction with tower cranes and blue scaffolding The word 'RIGHT' painted in white on the asphalt of a road A hand holds a round lens showing an inverted view of a London street with a red bus A lamppost with a 'Reward Missing Cat' poster showing a ginger cat, on a city street
Send
Share
Pin
Ctrl ←The limited ability to change place of living
Ctrl →How to negotiate in uncertain situations
© Artöm Mazurchak, 2014–2026 RSS
Powered by Aegea