By Noah, student

The golden bells of the enormous Big Ben ring slowly and steadily as if the clock were an old man. The wind waves against my head, trying to blow me down on the floor. I still walk on the stony asphalt on the way to the 1,000-year-old Tower of London.

London is a very historical city, with attractions and monuments everywhere, some “for fun”, and some that show London’s history in detail. There are some parts of London that are almost 1,000 years old. I’d suggest going to London, but taking a lot of money with you, because everything is incredibly expensive. London’s history is dark; for example, at an execution, the one to be killed actually paid the executioner a tip, so he would do it only once and quickly.

I would really recommend doing a tour of London; I rode with the “Big Bus Company.” It’s so much fun sitting in an Open-Air bus and exploring London. You can hop on and off as you like. There is one kind of bus with commentary over headphones (you can set to a myriad of languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English, of course.), the other kind is with a person sitting with a microphone and explaining the upcoming sights.

The London Eye is one of the tallest Ferris wheels in the world. It reaches up to 135 meters (about 440 feet) high and was built in 1999. The wheel takes about half an hour to turn around once (normally, tickets are valid for only one round). There are actually bigger Ferris wheels in the world, but the London Eye is still listed in Guiness Book of World Records. (There are plannings of a 170-meter (560-feet) wheel at the Las Vegas Strip and a 200-meter (660-feet) wheel in Shanghai.) You can see a lot of the city at the highest point of the “flight”, including some of the important buildings as the Big Ben, London County hall, and much more. I’d suggest taking photos way up high, but I would think carefully about buying the souvenir photo, because it’s pretty expensive, like everything in London (10 pounds, about 15 euros or 20 dollars!), and the photo looks a little blurred. But anyway, I would suggest riding on the Eye, and be sure to buy fast-Track tickets if possible, otherwise you queue forever! And take tons of pictures.

Everyone thinks Madame Tussaud’s is a must-go-attraction, and even if you’d think “wax cabinet” sounds boring, it’s not, because it’s more than that: It’s maybe expensive (like everything in London, I already mentioned that), but there are also rides you can go on, and be sure to take a camera with you here, too, just take a little picture of yourself shaking hands with a (wax) superstar!

For those who are very interested in history, visit the Tower of London and Kensington Gardens / Palace. There are models and real “ancient” parts that explain the history of London. What I recommend a little more (because I’m not a history lover) is Kensington Gardens; come there if you just want to stroll through almost untouched nature, amuse yourself on the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, or just lie down on the grass and relax. (Pictured: collage of London images)

If the raindrops outside are unstoppable and you just don’t know what to do, simply visit the Science or Natural History Museum. Most sections are actually free of charge. At the Science Museum you can actually touch, feel, or occasionally smell the “exhibitions”, you can try out things and learn, or visit the simulator ride, “Dinosaur Island”, the watery saliva of the dinosaurs really sprays on your face! I can’t say too much about the Natural History Museum, because I was only there for 1 12 hours. The dinosaur exhibition has some movies, a lot of information, and in the back there is a gigantic T-Rex that turns its head to you.

All in all, London is worth a visit, but take a lot of money with you and choose your hotel carefully, there are rumors that the hotel rating in London is always one star less than advertised. London is a very lively city, and – despite the critics – just say “Go!”, but keep these few things in mind.

JustSayGo Student Stories are travel articles submitted from classrooms around the world. Project Swinea students are from Berlin, Germany.