Jetlag Chronicles

Art and literature has been a passion of mine my entire life. I was never a scholar, but I've always been eager to learn new things, to expand my horizon. It just has to happen in my own time. Now, it was time to discover the British Library. Up until quite recently, I didn't know the extent of the British Library, but as soon as I discovered it, I just knew I had to go. It is the largest national library in the world, and is said to contain over 200 million items. If this was a real life conversation, I would go something like this: "I can't even!" And since I'm just getting back to writing, I will just stick with that, because it's accurate. I can’t even being to fathom the amount of history and knowledge that’s gathered within these walls. Just the basement itself is buried almost 25 meters below the ground, and the reading room sees 16 000 different faces every day. It just goes on and on and on with different levels and spaces and desks ...

No matter where I am in the world, I'm always looking for a peaceful and quiet place to just sit down and enjoy the moment. This is particularly true when it comes to London. I used to hate it. My first time in the city was a mid week stay in the fall of 2012, and I honestly thought I would never return to the city in this life time. It was raining all the time, I got lost, my hotel was complete crap, I couldn't sleep and I didn't feel safe. Somehow, seven years later, I have learned to love it here, despite all it's flaws; it's busy, it's loud and it's usually grey. The traffic is insane, that's just a fact, and visiting the UK from just about anywhere in the world will leave you utterly confused as to which direction the cars are going and coming from. There is a reason «look both ways before crossing» is written in stone on all pedestrian walk-ways. Navigating the city will feel like an impossible task at first. There are so many flickering...

For centuries the East End in London was known as the home for outcasts and immigrants of the city, and as I dug deeper into the area and researched its history , I discovered some very dark and disturbing facts. During the Roman period of London, when it was known as Londinium, Brick Ln was used as a Roman burial ground. It was strategically positioned just outside the former city walls of London, and became a dumping ground for death. It was known as «home of the dead» for centuries. It is also said that the first of Jack the Ripper's victim was last seen in the area in 1888, just adding to the big pile of death. Despite, or maybe because of its complicated history, Brick Ln has thrived and become the heart of the East End. After the 1990's it has become a mecca for artists, hippies, Bohemians, yuppies and everything in-between - and it's now  known as  the place to visit for music, thrifting, street art and vintage everything. And  Old Spitafields Mark...

Camden Market is massive! It's a wonderful maze of over 1000 restaurants, shops, food trucks, music, market stalls, art, cafés and pop ups. It's almost too big. I felt lost, several times. And overwhelmed, most of the time. I even forgot to take pictures at some point because I was so busy enjoying myself. That's when you know you're in a good place! I thought their claim to be the biggest market in London might just be another one of those sale tricks to get people to visit, but it really is the biggest market I have ever been to in my life. I guess there is a reason this market has its own app (if you have Google Play) and has been named one of the 7 urban wonders of the world  last year. That's all kinds of impressive, considering it all started out as a small arts and crafts market with 16 stalls in the mid 70's. The most beautiful and picturesque section of the market is definitely the 200 year old Pickford Stables. It's a network consistin...