Attention all products of the military! Overseas may not be as bad as you think. Living in Europe is a blessing.

Some of the most famous and talked-about countries in the world are just a short drive, ferry, flight or train ride away. Countless dreams of visiting these amazing places are coming true. A majority of the Seven Wonders of the World are closer than we ever thought they could be living in America. Along with major monuments such as the Louvre, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I know I left some big ones out, but there are so many I cannot name them all. To have a point of focus here, let’s talk about one city in particular: London. Home of many tourist attractions such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, London is a must visit when living in Europe. 

Walking through the streets of London is a purely immersive experience. Truly not a moment of peace in that busy city, whether it’s a bright red double-decker bus, a bustling, brightly lit fish and chips shop, or a high-traffic subway entrance, also known as “the tube,” something is always going on.

If you’re inexperienced with driving on the left side of the road, fasten your seatbelt and take a deep breath because it is a riveting but terrifying experience for the first time. If you decide not to partake in this new experience, the tubes are very easy to navigate and if you run into trouble ask the nearest person.

As an American living in Germany, being in London was very refreshing because everyone there understood what we were saying and could even respond back… in English! Although Germany is truly a breathtaking country the people are not the easiest to get help from. Whether it is due to the language barrier, cultural differences or running into the wrong people, asking for help in Germany can be challenging.

In London getting someone’s assistance was much easier.

My family and I planned a four day trip jam-packed with activities, fun things to do, and sights to see. On day one, we woke up bright and early ready to get on the road. It was about four-thirty in the morning when our car rolled out of the driveway with the navigation set to the port where our ferry would meet us and take us across the English Channel.

When we got to the port we quickly went through French customs, but had a different experience once it was time to go through the British customs. Once they triple checked all of our passports and faces matched up and one short check as to what was in our car we were free to go, but were quickly stopped to wait for our ferry. After sitting for 20 minutes, being let onto the ferry, and grabbing only the things we absolutely needed from our car, we were free to roam the ferry.

Our priority was food, and we ate at the restaurant on the ferry. We ate breakfast and then I fell asleep on one of the couches. When I awoke we were ten minutes away from the port and needed to get our stuff together and wait for them to tell us to go back to our cars. We went through the worrisome process of driving on the left side of the road for the first time and quickly found our way to our hotel. We took a short breather in the hotel room before leaving to walk around near our hotel.

We saw Big Ben from afar and took some photos in front of the London Eye before sitting down to dinner at a small store called Ned’s Noodles. It wasn’t exactly fine dining but we were all starving and it was what was closest to us. We walked back to the hotel and got a much needed night of rest in preparation for our exciting plans for the next day.

Rise and shine! We woke up at about nine o’clock the next morning and got ready. We quickly shuffled down to the hotel’s restaurant to grab a bite of breakfast before heading to my personal favorite part of the trip; LEGOLAND Windsor.

As we arrived, my six year old brother went from groaning about the hour-long drive to being impatient wanting to get out of the car right away to enjoy his surprise. As we walked toward the park, anticipation rose and we couldn’t decide what to do or where to go first. We made our way to the pirate-themed section of the park where we rode a large pirate ship ride that went back and forth at high speeds and reached large heights. After riding at least four more times we made our way to the Ninjago section where we did a virtual reality type ride and took pictures with a Lloyd figure.

We went to a knight-themed section of the park and rode two dragon-themed rides before going to a pasta and pizza place for lunch. We ate and laughed as we talked about the events that had happened so far before quickly going to Miniland with all of the LEGO structures of famous cities, towns and monuments. We rode one more racing themed ride before stopping by the gift shop and grabbing a LEGO set then making our way to our car and heading to our next stop.

We parked the car back at our hotel and then made our way back to the tube station. We took a tube to Picadilly station where we hopped off and walked to our next destination. When walking up you could clearly see the illuminated M&M sign brightening the corner the store sits in. We walked into a Jungle of M&M apparel, giant M&M figurines, and packages and packages of M&M candies.

My family and I walked around and each of us chose one thing to get along with some M&Ms. I chose a brown hoodie with the M&M logo and slogan on it; M&M, melts in your mouth, not your hand. After checking out we went to an Indian restaurant called Maharaja and ate dinner. It was some of the best customer service I’ve ever experienced and the food was amazing. We made our way back to our hotel and got a good night’s rest because we needed to be up early the next morning.

We woke up bright and early on day three and hurried down to the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast before scurrying to the tube station. When we got off the tube we walked out to very busy streets which I was not at all expecting.

We hurried to the gates of Buckingham Palace in order to try and get a good view of the Changing of the Guard Ceremony. There were hundreds of people there and I couldn’t see much of anything throughout the ceremony but it was a good experience to have had.

Afterward we made our way to Westminster Abbey which is definitely a sight to see. If you think the outside is beautiful you should see the inside, it is simply breathtaking. Thousands of people lie in graves making up the floor, some having special spaces just for their grave. Monarchs, scientists and poets that lived hundreds of years ago are part of that group. The detail and coloration in the stained glass, murals and carvings in the stone walls is nothing like I have ever even imagined.

Afterward we took some pictures with Big Ben before making our way to the Borough Market for lunch. My sister and I ate tacos and the rest of my family ate at a mac & cheese restaurant. There were so many people and it was so loud and hot, I could barely hear or focus on my own thoughts. After the market we went back to the hotel for a while where we all fell into a much needed sleep.

When we woke up it was dinner time and we decided to eat the long awaited meal of the trip; fish and chips. I am not the biggest fan of fish so it didn’t exactly sound appetizing to me but when in London. We took a short tube ride to get to a highly rated fish and chips restaurant. When we sat down we ordered our food and all of us except for my sister got the fried cod and chips, my sister had the grilled salmon. While fish would never be my first choice of food it was not that bad. The fish and chips is a staple of London which is why I think I enjoyed it more than I usually would. After we ate we stopped for ice cream before making our way to Tower Bridge, one of the most famous monuments in the world. It was so pretty at night, with the lights highlighting the beautifully detailed architecture. After seeing the Tower Bridge we went back to the hotel room and got some rest in preparation for leaving the next day.

The next morning my sister and I slept through breakfast so our parents took us to a little cafe before we had to get on the road and head to the dock and catch our ferry. The busy streets of London made it take much longer than anticipated so we had to reschedule to a later ferry.

Once again I fell asleep, but not before getting to see the infamous White Cliffs of Dover. It wasn’t until we drove off of the ferry that it really hit me that our trip was over. London was an amazing experience, one that I never would’ve thought I’d get to have. Although moving, and saying goodbye to your whole life can be hard, I’m grateful for my military connection and the wonderful experiences it gives to me.

Editors Note: Reagan M. is a student writer in Dr. Wiedemer’s class at Spangdahlem Middle School (SY 24-25).