camden, london...a day of canal walks, the market, and charming hampstead

A lovely day in Camden Borough

...starting with a walk along Regent's Canal

Three weeks ago I spent a lovely London day exploring a part of the city which I didn't know...Camden Borough. I started the morning off with a walk along Regent's Canal, beginning just around the corner from Pancras Station, and heading towards Camden Town.

Along the narrow canal, I loved checking out the many whimsical houseboats, viewing the interesting waterfront architecture, and snapping the cute tunnel paths.

The Regent's Canal walk gets leafier and more colourful the closer you get to Camden Town and the market area.

The street art on tunnel underpasses, shopfronts, and stairwells is fascinating along the walk. Politically motivated (aka. Banksy) or social commentary or just plain artful, I loved the graffiti and took tons of photos.

Banksy's Missile Girl

Since moving to the Rhine over nine years ago, I have become obsessed with boat names. Some are inspiring, beautiful or just funny, and I often wonder about why the family aboard gave that vessel her name. Here, along the canal, it was no different. Promise. Hope. Molly Anna. Little Drifter. Some are homes, some are cafes, and one is even a bookstore.

I met up with a friend along the canal for a delicious Venezualan lunch at Arepas. We ate scrumptious Pernil Arepas and Cachapas (braised pork shoulder, avocado, pico de gallo, spicy mayo, onions and fresh herbs), the first a corn flour cake, the second a pancake version...both excellent, good value and so filling.

Arepas

Hampstead Town

An 8-minute ride on the Northern line from Camden Town and you're in Hampstead Town. This charming community boasts London's deepest underground platform (58 metres), gorgeous lanes and alleyways in every direction, and a very impressive list of affluence and celebrity making their home here.

I decided to check out some little antique shops along the high street. Similar to visiting garage sales or flea markets, antique shops show a side of local life that you don't normally get to see as a tourist. Antique stores hold essentially the junk of the wealthy, those items they don't want or have a use for anymore. I like that...and so I picked up an old tea cup and saucer, probably once owned by a super rich person :) When in Rome...

I took A Lady in London's advice and walked her favourite lanes in Hampstead Town: Church Row, Holly Walk, Flask Walk and Mansfield Place. Perfect recommendation. These take you on a beautiful tour of the residential area, up hills and past quaint (but surely expensive) cottages, boutique hotels and hidden pubs.

Church Row

Hampstead became fashionable in the 1700's due to its healing waters, causing upper class families to flock here. Over the following centuries, many in the intellectual, literary and art communities also made their homes in Hampstead, even though the town couldn't keep up its spa reputation against places like Bath and Cheltenham.

Holly Walk

At the top of Holly Walk you will find nice views over Hampstead's rooftops. You can't see the Heath, but it's close. Hampstead Heath is London's largest ancient parkland, according to Wikipedia, and has a great London lookout point from Parliament Hill.

I always photograph tiles like the one below, which hang above a house's front entrance. You will find these all over Europe, and as far as I understand it, they date back to the middle ages before there were house numbers, to let visitors know who the home's inhabitants were. In this case, did a polo player once live here...although polo came to London at a much later date.

Richard Burton, Aldous Huxley, John Keats, Sigmund Freud, John Constable and George Michael all made Hampstead their home, because of its proximity to London City, but its exclusive village feel. Fun fact, Hampstead has more millionaires than any other area in the UK. Whoa.

Flask Walk

I took my time meandering through the gorgeous lanes, taking photos of the interesting homes here, and enjoying a rare sunny January morning.

Mansfield Place

Then back toward High Street, where cute boutiques, cafes and pubs abound. It's the perfect place for a rest stop...a flat white or a pint, or afternoon tea.

And, this lady above one shop intrigued me. I don't know what she signifies, but the imagination could run wild about what stories this building might be able to tell...if only it could talk.

Then back to the centre of town and the tube station. By early afternoon I was ready to go back to Camden Town to explore the market and have a drink.

Camden Town & Camden Lock Market

Walking from the tube station toward Camden Lock Market feels light years away from the small-town vibe of Hampstead just 10 minutes away. It felt I had landed in 1980's New York or present day Berlin. Cool people of all walks of life are here to be seen. It is colourful and, anything but boring.

The market has a complicated history, and has changed and redefined itself many times over the past few hundred years. Its current state, since 1974 and called Camden Lock Market, boasts 28 million visitors a year! Although the actual Camden lock is not in use anymore, there are 3 dual locks on the canal which runs along the market area.

Camden Market includes the Stables Market, which is a covered series of large 'rooms' which once housed the Pickfords Stables and Horse Hospital dating back to the 1700's. The horses at Pickfords were responsible for pulling the barges up the canals, until the invention of the automobile changed the company into a van and lorry business.

Outside of the market I walked along Chalk Farm Road, looking for a bakery that was on my list to visit and taking many a pic along the way.

Soon enough, I found Luminary Bakery's Chalk Farm location. The staff were lovely, the atmosphere lively, and my scone incredibly good. I really like the story and continued mission of Luminary, which provides training and a supportive workplace for women needing a bit of sunshine in their life. I will be going back there whenever I'm in the city.

Luminary Bakery

And, to close, here is my number 1 tip for new visitors to London: skip the hop on-hop off buses and get an Oyster card and ride the real red double-decker buses! They cost a fraction and get you everywhere you want to go with the exact same view as the tourist buses. And, even if you're not quite sure where you're going, just get on and take in the views of this great city. That's what I do!

If you go:

-first of all, check out A Lady in London's blog for tips, ideas, great photos and guides to everything London. That's what I do. www.aladyinlondon.com

-get an Oyster Card for the tube and bus network. It's so easy to use, easy to load and way cheaper than any other mode of transportation. You'll get the hang of the tube in no time!

-like any city which is popular with tourists, try to find spots for tea and pub lunches and great eats where the locals go. London is expensive at any time so going where the locals go will ensure that you're getting the most for your buck (pound).

freiburg...christmas spirit in the black forest

In Germany's Black Forest, so-called because of its dense, dark pines, you can spend hours or days hiking amongst gnomes and wood fairies, howling wolves and vampires. Surely, none of these things actually exist here, but I don't find it difficult for a minute to imagine they do.

The Black Forest is bordered to the west by the mighty Rhine in Germany's south-west, can wave branches to France and Switzerland, and is a beloved tourist destination for hiking, spa-ing, and cuckoo-clocking. Here is where tradition lives...and is loved.

The Black Forest inpires moments of wandering along pine-scented hiking trails, enjoying cozy, firelit evenings with steaming cups of anything, and relishing sumptuous food with names like Spätzle, Knöpfle, Gugelhupf and of course, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake).

Käse Spätzle (cheese noodles)

But, the Black Forest can also really do Christmas. In its largest city, Freiburg, the advent spirit of twinkle lights and mulled wine, the manger and St. Nick, children singing and adults shopping is a well-lived tradition.

Freiburg is a very old city, and even without the Christmas flair, is a beloved tourist destination for people wanting to explore the Black Forest. Founded in 1120 as a free market town, it is humming with wine connoisseurs and university students, architecture fans and witch-hunters. Well, to be honest, the witch-hunters have long gone, but the fact that there were witches here to be hunted is kind of exciting. Not for the witches who were hunted of course...I digress.

Historical Merchant's Hall

Beginning in the 1200's, and continuing on for centuries, Freiburg was a bustling town of free trade and merchant deals, as buyers and sellers made this the financial hub of the region due to its strategic position between the Mediterranean and North Seas, and its connection to the Rhine and Danube Rivers.

Freiburg Münster - a medieval cathedral

In the heart of the city, is the Freiburg Münster, an imposing medieval gothic cathedral which took over 300 years to build. Can you imagine what a thankless job it was building this, knowing even your grandchildren's children won't be seeing the finished product?

But, it does have one of the most spectacular entrances that I have ever seen. The colours and detail on every figure is awe-inspiring, not to mention the huge double wooden doors which are about two-stories high. In this case, taking their time really paid off for the (many) architects.

The Freiburg Minster has the only German gothic church tower completed in the Middle Ages and still standing today, surviving countless numbers of wars and weather. Impressively, the Minster began as a Romanesque cathedral, but ended up as Gothic.

Another interesting, and whimsical feature of Freiburg's old town is its system of Bächle. These narrow streams flow throughout the pedestrian area, and also date back to the Middle Ages when they were used to feed livestock and put out fires. They have always had fresh water running through them, and I was very happy to hear that they were never used for sewage!

Much of Freiburg's impressive buildings were somehow spared during the WWII bombing raids, including the two commanding city gates, the Schabentor and the older Martinstor. There are wooden beams in the Martinstor that date back to 1202!

Martinstor - one Freiburg's original gates

And it serves as surely one of McDonald's most impressive locations. Sigh.

But, now back to Christmas. I was visiting my dear friend, who moved to Freiburg a year ago, and had heard (from pretty much every German I know) how pretty Freiburg is and how wonderfully dreamy its Christmas market is. Germans are no liars.

I suggest, for anyone wanting to photograph a Christmas market, to go at dusk or just before dusk. That is when the lights are on, but it's not too dark to get the details in the photographs. And, because you should actually enjoy the market, leave the tripod at home.

One wonderful constant at every German Christmas market is glorious Glüwein (hot mulled wine). I love it. Red, white, rosé...it's all perfection.

And on this early December evening, our not-too-few mugs of steaming, sweet, but tart wine helped us to forget that it was pretty darn cold outside.

At many traditional German Christmas markets you will still find locally, handcrafted decorations and ornaments. Sometimes you do have to look hard , and possibly even ask if the items are made in China or Germany, but in Freiburg it was quick and easy to find the real things.

These gorgeous, tiny pewter tree ornaments were so lovely and authentic, made just around the corner, that I had to buy one.

There is also an assortment of great things to eat, including sausages from the region in all kinds of delicious flavours. These make a great treat to bring back home.

But, what we were really excited about was the Christmas market version of Raclette which isn't found at too many German Christmas markets, at least not at any I have been to.

Raclette is actually a Swiss meal (Freiburg is just 70 kms from the Swiss border), and revolves around Racelette cheese. The wheel of this alpine cheese is melted and then scraped onto potatoes and onions, often including various meats and pickles. It is yummy. Bergkäse (alpine cheese) is something you just need to try...it's so full of flavour that you don't really need much more than that.

Pretty much no European Christmas market is complete without a Striezel stand. This cone-shaped sweet bread coated in sugar and cinnamon, or almonds and cocoa, has a different name in practically every country, but the idea is the same. It's delish.

As the evening grew darker the warm glow of the lights blanketed the cobblestoned streets of the old town and the atmosphere was festive and joyful. Okay, maybe it was the glüwein warming the thousands of revellers, but hey, we were all out together enjoying the fact that it's Christmastime...a time to be together, to give of each other and be thankful for the most important gifts.

Some people have a harder time than others being joyful in a crowd, but I'm sure the Santa hat helps.

And so that no one loses sight of the real reason most of us are celebrating Christmas, the German markets pretty much always have a large nativity scene set up. This one in Freiburg was almost life-size and so pretty, but I had to really fight the urge to jump in and cover up baby Jesus. A real baby would've been screaming his brains out on that cold night. Maybe Jesus wouldn't have.

So, in these pre-Christmas weeks, I want to wish you wonderful moments with cherished friends and family. I will spend these days trying to visit more markets, one of my favourite things to do at this time of year, while appreciating the many blessings that I am surrounded by. Cheers, my friends!