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My Sweet England
  • Michelle Eichenberg

My Sweet England

After two years of knowing each other I would finally visit my friend Leah in Oxford and have some fun together. And afterwards, I would visit my family in London. Read more
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  • Trip start
    November 18, 2022
    Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    London from above

    My fascination with England

    November 18, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    England is one of my favourite countries to travel to. I don't know, I love the Brits. I first was there in 2014 on a 2-week "exchange" in Cheltenham, then my last school trip was to Canterbury and the region, I visited my family in London July 2018, lived in Oxford for 3 months in 2020 and came back in 2022 to finally meet my dear friend Leah in person. We've known each other over Zoom since September 2020, worked together since November 2020 and have been close friends ever since. As we met each other online during the pandemic, we never actually met each other before that. So... I finally had to visit her. And as she still lives in Oxford (she wants to move to New Zealand) I had to use the time that is left to meet her at least somewhere near Germany. Before we met, I was a little bit nervous whether we would like each other in person as much as via Zoom. But my concerns were unfounded, we clicked immediately with each other. My biggest struggle was to actually understand her height. She is very petite and shorter than I am, but because of her huge brain and knowledge she always shared with me, I was super confused. I always pictured her huge, as she was with her mind. To combine the feeling and the actual physical being, was the hardest in the following week :DRead more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Hot 'n' Cold
    Sexy SteampunkMe and party = 404

    London Nightlife

    November 19, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The next day, we started super chill and didn't really care about any time at all. We slept in, cuddled with Leah's cat Pate and had a nice breakfast. We were chilling as we planned a long night out in London.
    Before that, though, we headed to The Lighthouse, a Spanish/Steampunk restaurant where we had some tasty tapas and found great literature. After filling our tummies, we went to the bus stop and must have been a very odd pairing. I was wearing a huge winter parka, a thick scarf and seemingly sunglasses (which were just my normal glasses, but they get tinted whenever there is enough sunlight hitting them). Leah was wearing nothing more than a light blue dress, in her hands her leather jacket - that she didn't need as she was too warm! She is doing cold showers after Wimhoff... I should try that as well, then I could finally get rid of all that heavy winter clothes. But now I was cold, so I lived with it. We got our bus and drove to London, where we had a big night out with lots of new experiences for me (as I've never been to parties before). When the party ended, at around 3am, we needed to get back with the next bus to Oxford. Unfortunately, we had the best of timings as the bus drove every hour but at 4am. That meant we had to wait in the middle of the night, in London, in the rain, for about 1,5 hours. Ted Mosby is right when saying nothing good happens after 2am.    Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Anticipation
    Getting silly

    Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar

    November 20, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    After sleeping for eternity as we came home at around 7am, we couldn't just jump on the next bus to Birmingham where we had our next event. We had planned to go to the BBB which started at 11am, but hell were we not read for such an early start. So, we skipped the market part and decided to just go to the after party. So, getting a sandwich and Chai Latte from the Art Café near Westgate, we hopped onto the bus to Birmingham and had an even better night out than the night before. We met two very cool guys called Scott and Stephen, with whom we went to The Village Inn, which was a gay bar nearby. We were lucky, as they had a drag queen show that night, which meant a lot of fun.Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Bon apetit!

    My second home Oxford

    November 21, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

    I love Oxford. It is so similar to my home town, Göttingen. It's a university city, so it has a huge number of students living in it. They make the old, architectural city vibrant and colourful. The thick walls and old history become full of life when mixed with the different cultures of the students.
    When I lived here in 2020 being an au pair, I fell in love with the city and its vibe. This time around, it was the same but so different. I have grown so much in the last two years. I've gone through so much shit and godd things and did so many things. And being here again, it felt like looking at my younger self and seeing what mistakes I could have avoided. The surroundings were somehow different, although nothing changed very much - at least not externally.

    Today we were just spending some lowkey time at Leah's, enjoying good food, music and friendship.    Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Beer
    I like interesting toilet designsXmas-y already

    Old Faces, New Jokes

    November 22, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Today, Leah and I went to Oxfam Superstore, my all time favourite Charity shop in Oxford (and there are plenty around). In 2020, I always used leave with at least 5 more psychology books. This time, it was worse. I found a new fav cup (I've used to collect them, I defo have enough) and some cool books for my niece and nephew as well as my au pair boys. The ladder I would visit tonight, after not seeing them for 2 years. So weird. So, I left Leah to get some work done and meet me later, I was riding the bus to my au pair families home. And entering the house, it was a pretty strange feeling. I've lived here. And it was so long ago and not very long ago. It felt the same and completely different. Flora greeted me in her usual "common" way and Zephyr and Ezra were not very interested. They've grown a lot since I've last seen them. It's weird, how connected you can feel to people and in the same way not in the slightest. Zephyr was all my heart when I lived in Oxford, he was my joy. And now he didn't even recognize me, really. I felt sad about it, and at the same time kinda relieved. Kofi, the goldie, recognized me at least. And he used me right away for some much needed cuddles. There were two new cats, Kiwi and Mango (I think) that got much more attention than good ol' Kofi. He was so much bigger than Aluna. I had to use both hands to pet him. And really move my arms :D
    We had some banana bread with each other and played some cards, Flora and I talked a bit about the time between. She remembered loads of things from the past. Her dad has passed away, which I was extremely sad about. I very much liked that old, wise and kind man. I wished I could have stayed longer, that Covid wouldn't have happened. But on the other hand, I was so glad that everything turned out the way it did. So I left the house, my old short-term home, with very mixed but mostly positive feelings.
    Leah and I wanted to meet at The Library, a great bar/pub where we'd be at a free Stand-up Comedy show. As I had still time, I decided to walk the 40mins, to process my feelings, call my parents to check on them and let them check on me. Arriving at the bar, Leah and I got ourselves some yummy pizza and settled for some new jokes, that our laughter would be rating as good or bad. The night was alright and quite enjoyable all in all.    Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Covered Market mural
    At Turtle BayPaul Kenton, ladies and gentsLeah's favCutie pies

    Strolling around Town

    November 23, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Today we actually wanted to do something productive, participating at a Walking Tour around Oxford, but when we arrived at the starting point, we learned that the tour was cancelled. So, we went on our own tour around town which contained the search for something to eat (we finally sat down at Turtle Bay), flirting with a guy over ice cream at Covered Market (he was damn hot, not only the ice cream was melting) and some very tedious shopping (or at least trying to). After we settled for finding nothing, we went to Leah's favourite art gallery at Westgate and discovered some amazing paintings. There was actually one original of my favourite artist on display and the gallerist and we started to talk about art which was actually quite interesting. At the end, she gave me a whole art book with his paintings in it to take with me, and I was over the moon. On our way back home, we stumbled over some more artwork in a telephone booth. There were mice, everywhere. So cute and in their own tiny world. I loved it.Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Pate
    I'm so done with the worldSome cool mural

    Drenching Wetness

    November 24, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today was my last day with Leah, as the rest of my time in England, I'd be with my family in London. So, we chilled in the morning, cuddled with Pate and made ourselves ready for a night in London.
    When we had to get to the bus station for the Oxford Tube, we got into one of the worst downpour ever. As it was pick-up time for all the school kids, not one single taxi was available, so we had to run through the rain. As my luggage was quite heavy (I'm always packing way too much), after 10mins, not only I was soaking wet, but also my luggage. As I didn't want to get a cold, I immediately got changed once we were in the Oxford Tube. After two hours, we arrived at my aunts house, I got rid of my huge, wet luggage, got my party outfit out and off we went to a rather short, but still good night out. I've promised my aunt to be back at 11pm, which I missed, as the train wasn't running that late anymore and I had to take the bus. But I had to leave early anyway and so my Goodbye to Leah was rather short. Hopefully, I'd see her again, soon.    Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Afro
    Brands use murals as adsRomeo and JulietThe last mohikanerFuture in our handsPsyche by my fav akajimmycDark humourAkajimmycAsian styleWowWoman's bodyVogueYou may goSafety firstOn Carnaby StreetMost famous gentlemen's club

    Street Art and Rock 'n' Roll

    November 25, 2022 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Today, I had busy plans. As my niece and nephew were at school and my aunt and uncle at work, Ive decided to do yet again some great walking tours in London.
    So, I jumped on the next train to the city centre and started the day with a tour around Shoreditch's streets to see the latest street art. Last time I did the tour has been in 2018 and things are changing rapidly when it comes to murals. So, I did see a lot of new graffitis and just enjoyed the information about all the new art works.
    I then decided to go to the world's only Vagina museum, but unfortunately, I didn't have a mask with me which was still a requirement for them, so I could just take a glance through the windows and leave with sorrow.
    But the afternoon had another interesting tour to offer me - Rock 'n' Roll in Soho. I haven't been to Soho before, so it was very interesting for me to see and hear the (hi)stories of this part of London.
    After the tour, I connected with our tour guide James for a while until he had to go pick up his son from day care and I had to jump on the train back to my aunt's. There, I was greeted with amazing dinner and cake. I love being at my family.    Read more

  • Michelle EichenbergMy Sweet EnglandTraveler
    Eryk, me, Santa, Lena and Yvonna

    Dishonoured Church

    November 26, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today, I wanted to spend some time with my family as Lena and Eryk (my niece and nephew were home and my aunt Ela wanted to take them to a fair of their church. So, we packed up the kids and Ela's mom Yvonna (my actual aunt, Ela is actually my cousin, but as she is my godmother as well, I've always called her aunt), and made our way to the church.

    Disclaimer: I don't believe in God or anything related to religion, so I'm gonna make a little fun of the church now. Sorry, not sorry.

    Their was a flea market today with people selling their books, christmas decorations, toys etc. etc. to everyone who wanted to. The church however, as they really don't have loads of money, had come up with a business idea. To take a picture of their "very Santa-like" looking Father Christmas, you had to pay money. And... I was never really good in Religion, but, I can remember this story about Jesus, when he saw all the merchants selling their goods in a church, and screamed and shouted at them, destroying their things (violance isn't such a great idol here either). He told them they'd dishonour the place of God and that they should be ashamed of themselves.

    Well... They really should be, though.

    Anyway, Ela payed for us to meet Santa, the kids got some candy, we took a picture and after buying myself some new books (isn't consumerism also seen as bad?) we went to the playground. We did some excersises there and then went home for Ela to cook lunch and for me to play with the kids. As nice as it always is to visit my family, as nice is it, to know, when I come home there will only be my dog and Seb to wait for me - calm and quietness is way underrated    Read more

  • Trip end
    November 27, 2022
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