didi hamann bridge

This is the Didi Hamann Bridge. It was named after Dietmar Hamann who was the last player to score a goal in old Wembley during the World Cup Qualifiers game German - England in 2000.

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

no footballs in wembley!

I do understand that umbrellas are not needed in Wembley. After all there is a roof which is only leaking in a few places. But why are footballs forbidden in a football stadium?

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

wembley week (7)

And again but now finished: Thursday's arch.

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

wembley week (6)

Making the way to the current Wembley as promised. Thanks to the iconographic traffic signs the arch is already visible from the North Circular.

Sorry for these pictures appearing online with a few days delay.

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

the arch one

That's the famous arch during construction. And no, contrary what the newspapers make you believe it's not holding the roof up.

sport at heart

At that point we were only a candidate city. These days the diggers are already out!

wembley week (3)

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

welcome to a new wembley

Thats still during construction. I went out there yesterday and will put on a few pictures of the finished thing later this week. But that much already: It's quite disappointing (at least from the outside)

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

wembley week (1)

Right. Chelsea got the FA Cup. I am sure there were big celebrations going on up at Wembley and down at Stamford Bridge but I decided to not go this year and just go next year.

More importantly this was the official opening of the new Wembley. And I think that's well worth a week of Wembley only. I already posted two (one, two) pictures taken at the construction site in March 2005 (that shows how long I am already in London, time to move on really...) but back then I was one of the people who didn't believe it would ever finish. For the week starting today I will dig out a few pictures of the construction site and will cycle out there today to snap a few shots of what it looks like since it's finished. At least the cranes should be gone...

Today's picture is still from back then. I was fascinated about the stadium being basically in the back yard of some of the houses in Wembley. I am also fascinated by the ability of Wembley people to find their house when they come home from week because they look all the same.

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

no frisbees

Not much to say on that one. We've got Hyde Park and we've got private parks. And I should mention that Frisbee is only one manufacturer of Ultimate disks and I am wondering if other types of Ultimate disks are allowed in this garden.

This photo is linked on the Daily London Map.

archway to college

About the picture: I can take four different routes to cycle to college.
1. Main road, side road, main road
2. Main road, main road, main road
3. Main road, side road, side road
4. Main road, main road, side road

Number 2 is certainly the fastest and 15 minutes is realistic. But I prefer number 4 because that is the least energy consuming because 2 has a lot of traffic lights on the last stretch where you have to accelerate and break all the time. That's why I pass through this archway pretty much every day (on the way back I usually take 4 because if it's not rush hour the traffic lights seem to work in a different pattern.

About the car: In that archway someone whose choice of car demonstrates no respect for other road users parks their vehicle. Not only are chances to get serious injury after being hit by such a car much higher than with more appropriate cars but they also emit more pollution hence contributing to climate change (which - I am convinced - causes the shitty weather we currently have) but also increases my chances to get lung cancer or develop asthma every time I am stuck in a queue of cars because some un-proportionally wide Land Rover (or Q7 or Cayenne for a change) blocks the way the other cars usually leave for cyclists.

This photo is also linked on the Daily London Map.

orange

Orange - the future is bright.

I am not proud owner of an Orange pay as you go card. I won't need it for anything but sending a text message containing the four letters FILM to 241 to get 2 4 1 cinema tickets on any Wednesday.

Dear German readers: Even though the German word Prepaid sounds very English I must disappoint you. It's called pay as you go. And Handy is mobile in English. Just as a reminder...

This post is also on the Daily London Map.

taps

This is only partly London related, more UK in general I believe. Why why why do people here have taps like this in their houses??? Two reasons why I hate them:

1. It's hot and cold and you can't mix them before they come out. So either you freeze your hands while washing them or you burn them.
2. They are one inch from the side of the sink. So actually you can't wash your hands because you can't possibly fit them under the tap!


Zwei Gruende warum englische Wasserhaehne Mist sind:

1. Es gibt heiss und kalt aber keine Moeglichkeit die beiden zu mischen bevor sie aus dem Wasserhahn kommen. Also erfriert man entweder seine Haende oder verbrennt sie.
2. Die Wasserhaehne sind einen halben Zentimeter vom Rand des Waschbeckens. Man kann also seine Haende sowieso nicht waschen, weil sie nicht unter den Hahn passen!

puzzle pub

The puzzle pub - a pub where everyone is puzzling all the time.

the brixton man

There is a story that goes with this picture. One day I ventured into one of the darker parts of Brixton (and in Brixton even the bright corners are quite dark). After having despatched a wrecked DC motor I decided to take a few photos of the nice area on my way back to the tube station. This house happens to be near a bus stop where the average Brixton person is waiting for the bus. And because he is bored he spits after you when you walk away with a nice photo of his house on your memory stick. Not very nice, that Brixton man...

Find this picture on the new Daily London Map.

Zu diesem Bild gehoert eine Story. Eines Tages begab ich mich in eine der dunkleren Ecken Brixtons (und in Brixton sind schon die hellen Ecken ziemlich dunkel). Nachdem ich erfolgreich einen Gleichstrom Motor zugestellt hatte beschloss ich auf dem Rueckweg zur Ubahn ein paar Photos der netten Gegend zu schiessen. Dieses Haus liegt zufaellig in der Naehe einer Bushaltestelle wo der durchschnittliche Brixtoner auf seinen Bus wartet. Und weil er nix zu tun hat spuckt er einem hinterher, wenn man mit Photo auf dem Memery Stick von dannen zieht. Gar nicht nett, dieser Brixtoner. Ich war dann allerdings auch nie wieder dort, in Brixton.

Dieses Bild gibts auch auf der brandneuen Daily London Landkarte.

guards off track

Überlingen/Stockach
Guards off track

Police was rather puzzled when they discovered a group of twelve race cyclists, who illegally cycled along the B31 (new), a Kraftfahrstrasse*, towards Stockach. The cyclists were participants of the "Iron Guardsman Challenge", a charity challenge of the Welsh Guards, members of the guard of Buckingham Palace in London. The soldiers who are members of a unit based in Bosnia are planning to cross the Channel from Calais to Dover in canoes once they finished their pedaling. Yesterday, however, the bikes where put into the support vehicle and the journey was completed in a legal way. Comment of an involved police man: "We should consider ourselves lucky that the guys didn't introduce driving on the left on the B 31!"

* Kraftfahrstrasse = Road dedicated to motorised traffic. All autobahns are Kraftfahrstrassen but also some less wide and fast roads (usually with at least three lanes). B31 (new) is the name of such a road with three lanes and a speed limit of 120 km/h (roughly 80 mph).

the finest polish food

Unrelated to the picture: Just been watching the Eurovision Song Contest. Terry Wogan is a very good commentator. I support his call for NATO assistance against Balkan and Soviet block voting :D

For the non-European readers: Every year all European and a few middle eastern countries hold a song contest with one delegate from each country performing and then every country voting by phone poll for who they think was best. So far in theory. In practice however Scandinavians, the former Soviet republics and the Balkan countries tend to vote for their neighbours. The UK did surprisingly well this year though being second last ahead of Ireland!

Find this photo on the new Daily London Map.

flower car

Allright, I admit that it is my finger that ended up in the bottom right corner. But I had my mobile (or cell phone as I will soon have to call it) new at that point and didn't know where to put my fingers when taking a photo.

Find this photo on the Daily London Map.

stories about northerners

For today's photo I had to venture a bit further than the M25 (which is the motorway ring road around London). This is actually taken in Chester's industrial estate. It's not actually industrial, you get plumbers and bedroom stores and the dump where KC works and lots of MOT places and also an Aldi. And that Aldi has a car park and one day I came from a run along the river Dee and there was a horse sort of parked in front of Aldi. Now to me as a Londoner that looks odd. But my friend who worked at McDonald's before becoming Batsie's super-intern over the summer told me that in Manchester police quite frequently uses the drive-in with horses. Must be a thing these Northerners do...

Für das heutige Foto bin ich ein wenig weiter vom vertrauten London fortgeschritten als blos zur M25 (der Ringautobahn um London). Das Bild ist nämlich im Industriegebiet von Chester entstanden. Dort gibt es wenig Industrie aber Heizungsinstallateure und Bettengeschaefte und die Muellhalde wo KC arbeitet und TÜV anbietende Werkstätten und eben einen Aldi. Und der Aldi hat nen Parkplatz. Und als ich eines Tages von einer Laufrunde entlang der Dee zurückkam, war da eben ein Pferd geparkt. Das war für mich als Londoner schon erstaunlich. Aber mein Bekannter, der bevor er Batsies Superpraktikant wurde bei McDonald's gejobbt hat, teilte mir mit, dass in Manchester die Polizei immer auf Pferden das Drive-in benutzt. Es handelt sich dabei also um eine Angewohnheit der Northerners (wie wir alle, die nördlich von Wembley wohnen, abfällig nennen).

window cleaner building

On the river cruise they tell you that this house was built by two window cleaners...

Angeblich wurde dieses Haus von zwei Fensterputzern gebaut.

3 in 1

From right to left:
- City Hall - Mayor Ken's (not quite so new anymore) home
- Tower Bridge - we've covered that one
- More London Riverside - been there yesterday

even more london

This is also a little more London, but close to the river. I would actually say this place is a little less London than most other places. It's basically a bunch of high but not very high glassy buildings near the City Hall and Tower Bridge. They are home to Ernst & Young, a bunch of other lesser known companies and a Marks and Spencer (for food) if my memory serves me right. That's it. More London.

more london place

Basically, this place is just a little more London than all other places in London.

Also dieser Platz ist einfach ein wenig mehr London als alle anderen Orte in London.

tate, bridge, paul

View: Tate Modern -> St Pauls. Millenium Bridge (wobbly).

Blick: Tate Modern -> St Pauls. Millenium Bridge (wacklig).

pavement blockers

These thingys can be found coming off Westminster Bridge towards the Houses of Parliament. What are they?

Diese Dinger findet man, wenn man von der Westminster Bridge richtung Big Ben laeuft. Was sind das?

sheep

theme day part 2 - edgeware road

To continue with yesterday's spoilt theme day: This photo is taken in London but it certainly doesn't look as if it was. The newsagent is taken on Edgeware Road, a very Arabic - mostly Lebanese - area I enjoyed living in for two years before I moved to where I live now.

Those who read this blog for longer might have noticed that yesterday or so it became half a year old. In the world of daily photo blogging this is quite an achievement! Nevertheless I want to use this sort-of-birthday for announcing that this blog will come to an end around at the end of June when I'm leaving London for the summer. I will be back later on in the year but probably won't continue blogging daily pictures. So stay tuned until then and enjoy the last two months of the best London pictures on the net!

theme day - today we are in dublin

So it's theme day again. Unfortunately, this month there seem to be two themes. Some think, we are posting a photo of a city not ours. Other interpreted it that way: "The idea is not to post a photo of you last vacation in Venice of Mumbay(!), but to show something in your city that could make the visitors think they are on the wrong blog! Good luck!"

My solution: Today a picture taken during my trip to Dublin last summer. You are free to use the comments for your philosophically challenging interpretations of the sculpture which can be found near the hostel I stayed in. And tomorrow a picture of London that looks like it is somewhere else. Below the people who also take part in the monthly theme day - everyone in their own way.

Der monatliche Thementag ist mal wieder da und keiner weiß so richtig was los ist. Es gibt diesmal zwei sehr unterschiedliche Interpretationen des Themas. Einmal: Wir posten ein Bild aus einer anderen Stadt. Und außerdem (wesentlich subtil cleverer): Wir posten ein Bild, das so aussieht, als sei es aus einer anderen Stadt, ist es aber nicht. Meine Lösung: Heute ein Bild aus Dublin und morgen eins aus London.

Und hier wie immer die Liste der anderen Teilnehmer am Thementag:

Monte Carlo, Monaco -
Rome, Italy -
Singapore, Singapore -
Tenerife, Spain -
Rotterdam, Netherlands -
London, UK -
Montréal (QC), Canada -
Melbourne, Australia -
Naples (FL), USA -
Bastia, France -
Hong Kong, China -
Mazatlan, Mexico -
Buenos Aeres, Argentina -
Manila, Philippines -
Arradon, France -
Madison (WI), USA -
Evry, France -
Seoul, Korea -
Shanghai, China -
Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia -
Sequim (WA), USA -
Singapore, Singapore -
Budapest, Hungary -
Baziège, France -
Hamburg, Germany -
Toruń, Poland -
Nelson, New Zealand -
Madison (WI), USA -
Vantaa, Finland -
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Mainz, Germany -
Dubai, UAE -
Saint Paul (MN), USA -
Cork, Ireland -
Stockholm, Sweden -
Menton, France -
Tel Aviv, Israel -
Albuquerque (NM), USA -
Kitakami, Japan -
Stayton (OR), USA -
Szentes, Hungary -
Stavanger, Norway -
Grenoble, France -
Villigen, Switzerland -
Paris, France -
Hyde, UK -
Moscow, Russia -
Joplin (MO), USA -
Jakarta, Indonesia -
Greenville (SC), USA -
Cape Town, South Africa -
Asheville (NC), USA -
Seattle (WA), USA -
Kyoto, Japan -
Tokyo, Japan -
Madrid, Spain -
Auckland, New Zealand -
Oulu, Finland -
Lubbock (TX), USA -
Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina -
Baton Rouge (LA), USA -
Sydney, Australia -
Maple Ridge (BC), Canada -
Vancouver, Canada -
Seattle (WA), USA -
Selma (AL), USA -
Chandler (AZ), USA -
Sharon (CT), USA -
Manila, Philippines -
Lyon, France -
New York City (NY), USA -
Los Angeles (CA), USA -
Brookville (OH), USA -
Hayle, UK -
Wailea (HI), USA -
Saarbrücken, Germany -
San Diego (CA), USA -
Boston (MA), USA -
Saint Louis (MO), USA -
Cypress (TX), USA -
Anderson (SC), USA -
Torino, Italy