United Kingdom
Hertfordshire

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    • Day 1,007

      Zu Besuch bei Harry Potters

      May 19, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Vor den Toren Londons besuchen wir die Harry Potter Studios. Dabei handelt es sich nicht nur um verstaubte Filmkulissen sondern um eine Art Freizeitpark für die Harry Potter Gemeinde. Man kann selbst via Greenscreen auf dem Besen reiten, einen feuerspeienden Drachen hautnah erleben und ein riesiges Modell vom Zauberinternat Hogwarts bewundern.
      Nach 5 Stunden in der Harry Potter Welt verlassen wir um 10 Uhr Abends verzaubert den Harry Potter Tempel.
      Wir schlafen das erste Mal im gemieteten Campervan "Buzz Aldrin" auf einem Rastplatz und träumen von Zauberschülern, fliegenden Autos und leider auch von Totessern.
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    • Day 8

      Hotelinfo #8 Bishop's Stortfort

      June 12, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Unsere letzte Nacht auf dieser Reise verbringen wir im Great Hallingbury Manor Hotel. Wir sind etwas enttäuscht, weil weder Bar noch Restaurant offen haben. Dafür passt das ♿ Zimmer wieder super.

      Mit dem Abendessen haben wir nochmal Glück und finden ein interessantes Restaurant, das Pircio.
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    • Day 68

      London Calling

      May 24, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      We made it to London! It took around 2hrs from Madrid to London.
      We were greeted at the airport by Zoe’s mum, Louise, who has been so kind to host us during our short stay in the UK.
      Louise drove us to her place in Harefield, about a 30min drive from Heathrow north-west of London, where we were able to have a much needed shower and get changed.

      We walked around the town which is very lovely and walked to an English pub for a pint in a beer garden in the sun. Daniel enjoyed his beer though he forgot that they wouldn’t serve it cold here! We returned back to Louise’s place for a delicious home-cooked roast dinner with red wine. After talking and enjoying, we went to bed for a much needed rest!
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    • Day 3

      Go Pack Go!

      October 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Der Tag der Tage war gekommen: heute sollten wir Clemens' NFL Mannschaft inkl. MVP aus der letzten Saison Aaron Rodgers live im Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sehen: die Green Bay Packers spielen gegen die New York Giants im 63.000 Mann-Stadion Tottenham Hotspur und wir mittendrin!
      Gestartet haben wir den Tag sehr gemütlich mit herausragendem Frühstück gleich bei uns um die Ecke im "Giraffe". Avocado Toast, Lachs mit Creme Cheese und Pancakes, dazu lecker Kaffee - Clemeva war entzückt und gibt 5 ⭐️.
      Danach gings auf direktem Weg mit Under- und Overground zum Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, das aufgrund der Massen (3,5h vor Spielbeginn!!!) garnicht zu verpassen war.
      Clemens, der bereits seit Wake-Up extrem aufgeregt war, konnte seine Aufgeregtheit kaum mehr zurückhalten - getrübt wurde sie nur kurz durch die Erkenntnis, dass ca. 2.000 Menschen beim NFL Shop anstanden, doch der Life-Hack des Tages rettete das "ich muss unendlich viel Merchandise kaufen"-Bedürfnis: die Lösung hieß online Click-N-Collect , denn da war niemand und innerhalb von wenigen Minuten checkten wir uns Packers Hoodies 😅👌 #profis
      Noch während der Wartezeit stieß Volleyballlegende Stefan Nagy zu uns, nach einem Abstecher zum Foodcourt, gings direkt zum "Cafe unseres Vertrauens" wo Bier direkt aus dem Kühlschrank angeboten wurde.
      1,5h vor Spielbeginn erkundeten wir mal unsere Plätze. Wir stellten fest: unsere Plätze waren legendär und der Großteil der Fans war, wie wir, in Green Bay-Grün gekleidet! In der 2. Reihe auf Packers-Seite konnte unsere View kaum besser sein 🤩 Idris Elba, Icke, Kid Harrington uvm. Promis liefen nur wenige Meter vor uns herum.
      Für Clemens ging heute ein Kindheitstraum in Erfüllung: seit über 20 Jahren ist er Packers Fan und heute sollte er sie das erste Mal live und in Fabe sehen!
      Das Spiel startete gut, die Packers waren in guter Form und in der Halbzeit stand der Score von 20:10 für die Cheeseheads zu Buche (Sidefact: ein Cheesehat kostete sage und schreibe 60£). Hinter uns traschten wir mit einem Californischen Packers Fan, der typischerweise sofort von seinen Erfahrungen aus Aufghanistan berichtete, vor uns saßen Deutsche Packers Fans, die sich ziemlich unbeteiligt kein einziges Mal von ihren Plätzen erhoben und auch der ein oder andere Giants Fan war zu finden, zusammenfasst: alles ziemlich mulit-kulti. Leider war die 2. Hälfte von den immer lauter werdenden "Let's go Giants" Rufen dominiert und alles Buhen und Schreien für die Packers Offense und Defense durch Ultra-Fan Clemens Sturm inkl. internationalem Fernseh-Auftritt brachte nichts. Am Ende gewinnen die New York Giants mit 27:22 die Partie.
      Als Trost gings mit Stefan Nagy and Friends noch nach Soho zum "Frustdrink" und im typischen Londoner Taxi dann zurück ins Hotel - ein episches Erlebnis auch, wenn die Packers nicht gewonnen haben, wird uns immer in Erinnerung bleiben. #letsgopacks
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    • Day 61

      Mid summer day UK

      June 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      My Camino takes me to Essex today to meet our cousin Gordon .... What a blessing to get to meet our fathers nearest relatives at last! More later about my day.

      What an amazing day, firstly my family each took it in turn to wish me a great day, it being a celebratory one in my calander. I was blessed as abundantly from NZ and here in London. Then a mind bogglingly two tubes to get to Theydon Bois, I know it's a funny name. "Get the Picadilly line" my wee sister said "then hop off at Holburn, go to the central line and that will take you to Theydon Bois".

      I let my cousin know and he picked me up from there. His and his lovely wife's Margaret's home is in a place called Abridge on the border of beautiful country with alpacas being farmed just up the road. We had a lot to talk about, his eyes, my eyes have similar characteristics, his arms and some movements very similar to dad's. Gordon wanted to know my story, our story of immigration, how dad knew he had a brother, about us all in the present, now! About all of my siblings he wanted to know.

      Very soon Margaret suggested we get on the road to a restaurant where she'd booked us in for lunch. So it was back to the Queen Victoria in Theydon Bois for a repast. It is a lovely pub restaurant with an outside garden as well with nooks and crannies abounding. The vegan meal was delicious and I even indulged in a dessert of vegan icecream and chocolate caramel slice!!

      All too soon we were back in Abridge and after a cuppa an a wee bit more chat about family, it was time to leave. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Gordon and Margaret and we made plans to meet again possibly in Wales where they have another home in the country.

      My Camino today was about prejudice and making assumptions. On the tube it is so easy to people watch and become involved in a conversation with someone especially as the trip took just over an hour. And so it was today, I watched a family of perhaps Iranian culture, be snubbed by a very blonde woman of around my age. They were a lovely little family and didn't deserve that. I felt very sad for them.

      At another stop a gentleman hopped on board plonking himself on the seat one away from me explaining "Oh it is too hot, and this is the hottest tube on the line," I asked him if he took the tube often and he said he did and was attending to three crisis's today.

      I was thinking of oor Peter and asked him if he was an engineer, "no," says he "I'm a social worker" at that the tube came to a halt and he jumped up and off out the door saying a swift "Goodbye!" Again, my assumptions embarrass me and I couldn't help thinking of the "crisis" that he was to attend.
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    • Day 2

      Warner Bros. Studio Tour

      January 3, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

      Teil 2 des Tages war dann das Highlight und der eigentliche Grund für unseren Kurztrip: Die Warner Bros. Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter.
      Und ich kann sagen: Die Tour ist absolut jeden Cent wert! Absoluter Wahnsinn was alles an Sets, Kostümen und Reliquien nur für die Filme hergestellt wurde. In jeder Minute fühlte man sich in die Kindheit zurückversetzt. Absolute Empfehlung!Read more

    • Day 106

      Harry Potter world!

      July 5, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

      Miles: 3.9 Steps: 10723
      Flights stairs: 4

      When you go to London with a Harry Potter fanatic like Jordan, there is no choice but to visit Warren Bros studios!

      It’s a ways out of town so we had to take the tube to a train, to catch a shuttle bus - but it was worth it. We spent almost 3 1/2 hours there. It isn’t like what they have in the US at Universal - this is a tour of the actual props and sets used in the making of the eight movies, on the actual studios. No rides or anything like that. Pretty special to see how the “magic” was actually made. It was also neat to watch Jordan revert back to a child and just enjoy what she was experiencing. I don’t get to see that side of my adult 23 year old much anymore.Read more

    • Day 3

      Harry Potter Studio Tour

      March 4, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

      Heute waren wir in den Harry Potter Studios und haben da eine Studio Tour gemacht. Es war wie ein riesengroßes Harry Potter Museum. Man konnte sich ganz viele originale Aufbauten angucken (der Speisesaal von Gryffindor, der verbotene Wald, Dumbledores Büro, Gringotts, ...) und es waren ganz viele originale Kostüme und Requisiten ausgestellt. Außerdem wurde jede Menge erklärt, mit welchen Spezialeffekten gearbeitet wurde zum Beispiel. Natürlich gab’s auch ein paar Attraktionen für die Besucher: man hätte zum Beispiel vor einem greenscreen auf einem Besen fliegen können und dann wäre man in einem Video durch London geflogen, aber das hat extra gekostet.
      Insgesamt war es sehr spannend und wir haben viel über die Filme erfahren. Danach sind wir dann wieder zurück nach East Croydon gefahren (was fast zwei Stunden gedauert hat, weil die Studios auf der anderen seite von London sind). Dort waren wir noch in dem Streetfood market und haben etwas gegessen.
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    • Day 15

      Harry Potter Studios

      April 13, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      The boys have been involved with the planning of this trip. It's encouraged them to research our destinations and help come up with plans and itineraries. One activity that we wanted to keep a secret however, was the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. It was Gabba's contribution to our trip, and the boys had no idea....

      The tour wasn't until the afternoon, so we spent the morning strolling around town. We walked up to Hyde Park. Tom found some more squirrels, but was less impressed with the grey variety. We made our way to Marble Arch and then up towards Baker St. A cursory walk by 221B had us deducing that it was Sherlock Holmes' residence. Elementary.

      After a quick bite it was on the train to Watford Junction. As we stepped out of the station and waited for the shuttle bus emblazoned with Harry Potter signage, the penny finally dropped for the boys about where we were heading.

      The tour is pretty impressive. The majority of the films were produced in these studios and the sets have all been recreated using the original set pieces. We made our way into the Grand Dining Hall and watched the lights and smoke show, similar to the pizazz that would have been used when filming the scene when the Weasley's flew their brooms through the Hall. The next room showcased a number of sets, as well as hundreds of genuine props and costumes. The detail in set design was amazing. In the halls of Hogwarts, the oil paintings that adorned the walls were all hand painted and were generally paintings of film crew and their families. Some of the moving pictures on the walls were film crew as well, but to think they had dozens and dozens of these pictures, all requiring their own set, and they may end up on camera for a second. It's pretty impressive.

      The boys enjoyed finding the snitches that were hidden throughout the tour, Sarah found the elusive snitch in the Gringott's Bank. We stopped halfway for a Butter Beer and then continued through the Dursley's house, into the forest, on the Hogwarts Express, up Diagon Alley and finally to the 1:20 scale model of Hogwarts Castle. This model is uber-impressive, the detail is unbelievable. It was used for fly-by scenes and you can almost see miniature Harry, Hermione and Ron walking through the corridors.

      We tiredly got back on the bus and train, back into Euston Station. We were tired but hungry, and it was decided that a good curry would hit the spot. It was too much for poor Fred, who fell asleep at the curry house, however the rest of us managed to eat his share. A tired journey across town eventually had us back in our beds dreaming of witchcraft and wizardry.
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    • Day 20

      End of Week 1 - Cheddington, Berhamsted

      September 2, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Left Cheddington at 7.30 to travel through the Chilterns. Beautiful countryside.
      19 locks later we are at Berkhamsted!!!
      At Berkhamsted ruins of Norman castle where William 1 offered crown of England- Norman conquest of 1066
      Sunday - down 8 locks to Hemel Hempstead
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Hertfordshire, HRT, Heortfordscīr, هارتفوردشير, Hartfordşir, Хартфордшър, Swydd Hertford, هرتفوردشر, הרטפורדשייר, हर्टफ़र्डशायर, ハートフォードシャー, ჰერტფორდშირი, 하트퍼드셔 주, Hertfordiensis comitatus, Hartfordšyras, Hārtfordšīra, हर्टफर्डशायर, ہرٹفورڈشائر, Хартфордшир, ฮาร์ตฟอร์ดเชอร์, Гартфордшир, ہارٹفورڈشائر, הארטפארדשיר, 赫福郡, 赫特福德郡

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