London, England

The ship was tied up in the Thames River in Greenwich outside of London. We spent 3 days there because this was the turn-around point on the cruise where the people on the first cruise got to spend their last day on the ship while touring the port before leaving the next morning on the turnover day, then the new people had a day in the port as well. We made good use of this time and saw quite a bit of this interesting city of contrasts. This was a new port for us.

We arrived early in the morning and tied up to this floating dock in the Thames River.

But first lines were attached to buoys at the bow and stern.

 
It was interesting to watch how our ship was secured and also the full moon was setting.

The sun hit the iconic London skyline.

We were off the ship early. This high capacity ferry tied to the opposite side of that floating dock
and it was a quick ride to the dock once it was loaded. A couple of times there was standing room only.

The Cutty Sark Clipper Ship, now a museum, was on display right next to the dock.

Our first adventure was a walk up a hill to the Greenwich Observatory. Looking back toward The Thames is the Queen's House and the Royal Navy College.

The Queen's House is a museum and art gallery today, but various queens over the centuries have occupied this house.
Note that the Royal Naval College buildings do not block the Queen's House view of the river.

 
This is the location of the Prime Meridian where the 24 hour meridians begin and end. Ginny was in 2 time zones.

The Observatory is at the top of the hill. It was not open when we arrived. We thought that we'd come back, but we did not.

Our big adventure the first day was a trip to Kew Gardens.
We took a train and then walked through this neighborhood to get there.

There were lots of school groups there, each with their teachers and a garden guide.
There were lots of outdoor gathering spaces where the children could stop for activities and lessons.

This unusual structure housed an arid landscape, which was protected from the copious London showers.

 
Pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants were in a different building.

The huge Victorian lilypads from The Amazon were in a greenhouse and two workers in waders were trimming back the jungle. They had the small plastic boats for keeping the trimmings, but they had laid a tool on one of the lilypads for safekeeping.

Big Ben is at one end of the Palace of Westminster. It was completed in 1859 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The 4-faced clock still uses the original mechanism and has 5 bells. The Great Bell weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons). There are four quarter bells, which chime on the quarter hours.

London is a city of contrasts from ancient to modern.

We rode on one of these low ferries for a different view of the city.

Low bridges were the norm.

We went under London Bridge and fortunately, it was not falling down as the old nursery rhyme states.

A city of contrasts...

We disembarked near London Bridge and we walked over it.

 
There was a lot of traffic--both foot and vehicular.

Potters Field Park was on the other side of the bridge. Ginny wanted to see if it should be included in her wild gardens presentation. It was okay and certainly better than a 100% mowed lawn, but it needed some attention.

We were out early the next day and we did like this wild garden near the ship.

Our goal for this day was to see the redeveloped King's Cross neighborhood, which used to be a blighted area where they had stored coal in huge silos and it was called the Coal Drops Yard. Here's what Ginny says about it in her native gardens presentation: More than 40% of the 67-acre Kings Cross development is open space. A new network of streets and footpaths lead through new parks, gardens and leafy squares. Regent’s Canal also flows through the heart of the neighborhood. More than 400 new trees were planted and in many places, walls and roofs are greened. King’s Cross is now a lush, green neighborhood, rich with natural life.

We came back to this natural area later. Note the big round buildings. These had been the coal silos. They kept the fancy framework and build high-end apartments where he coal bins had been.

Deep bioswales or rain gardens line most streets. They were built with curb cuts so they absorbed the stormwater from the streets. This measure reduces the risk of flooding during high rain events.

The Regents Canal had a self-operated lock to get the barges and boats to the higher level.

Elevated walkways with gardens and seating were on top of some shops.

Here's an outdoors restaurant with extra large umbrellas.

Shops and a plaza are at a lower level.

 
Google Deep Mind had an office space here.

 
A local brewery

It was closed when we were there.

One of the bins was made into a public space and performance venue.

We walked along Regent's Canal. Many people live aboard these river barges.

 
What could be more British than walking two Corgis along the Canal?

This Moorhen deliberately threw this plant stalk over the cascade.

The Canal got wider as it approached the Thames River. Some of the river barges were businesses, while others were educational centers.

A well-used water feature.

 
We walked in the wild area where there are trails, signs, a pond, and more. While we could stil hear the city noise, it was muted by the trees.

A Moorhen nest with maturing chicks was in the middle of the pond.

We are on the London side of The Thames River.

The Queen's House and the Royal Naval College buildings...

 
We went through this gazebo to walk on a huge raised mound called Mudchute Park and Farm, because it was where silt from the river was dumped. Now it's used for community gardens, raising livestock, and other farming activities.

 
We then walked along the river side and along some of the canals.

Floating gardens were located in some of the side channels. They never need irrigation; they provide habitat; and they remove nutrients from the water.

A Cormorant dries its wings near one of the floating gardens.

We had a lovely conversation with this group. The flag is to cheer on their favorite football (soccer) team.

The people here work hard to keep this patio garden looking good.

Then we walked under the river to get to the ship on the Greenwich side.

It was a bit intimidating to know that The Thames River is all around you. There were elevators stairways on each end.

We left late that afternoon. The glass dome structure in front of the Cutty Sark Clipper is the housing for the elevator and stairway for the tunnel under the river.

The Millennium Dome was built to welcome the 21st Century at great expense. The 12 yellow towers hold the Teflon-coated fiberglass cloth dome. In 2005 it was converted to an arena and it's now called O2. It's located inside a bend in the river, so there is water on three sides.

A giant, headless walker statue looks like he's heading toward the cable car terminal.

With tugs on our bow and stern we slowly made our way through the Thames Barrier, a retractable barrier system built to protect Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges.

And then we were on our way to Bergen again. We loved this Into the Midnight Sun Viking adventure.