the end, yet again

On Friday, I submitted an grant application to extend my stay in London for a few more months. I'm not sure how optimistic to be about the outcome but my happiness doesn't hinge on it either. Living in London is a bit like being on drugs. I've done this for nearly five years now, and it's time to move on. It's also time to move on in life, and leaving London is a requirement for that.

I know that I will miss London terribly. First in a series of related posts that tries to preserve memories and moods for later, here are a few of the things that make London special for me:

• Free art and cheap music – London is notorious for its high cost of living, but that's not quite deserved. Outside housing, which is positively ridiculous, prices are moderate. Art is outright cheap. Public museums are free. The Tates charge for their special exhibitions, but with an annual pass, the cost comes down considerably. Completely free are the hundreds of galleries all over the city. They sell expensive artwork but show them to anyone that dares to enter their slightly intimidating spaces, frequently with bouncer-like doormen or unmarked bells to ring. Another treasure trove are auction houses that have public viewings before every auction.
  On the stage, the situation is almost as good. The selection is huge, with quality to match. Free cultural events, festivals and celebrations are staged almost every weekend. Classical music is incredible value, with the cheapest seats going for less than a tenner.
• Diversity – Not much in London is one of a kind. There's usually a wide variety. The culture is so incredibly varied, there's always something for everyone. Whether it's Italian poetry from the 13th century or west Laotian card games, you'll find someone to share your passion with.
  Around three hundred languages are spoken in the streets of London, and that's before tourists are taken into account. No matter where I go on vacation, whatever food inspires me there, I can buy it here. And if I don't like it in tins, I can go to a regional restaurant that will cook it up for me. The world is at home here, and I love it.
• Friendly cops and underground staff – Cops in central London are two-legged tourist informations as much as guarantors of public safety. Members of the station staff often help hesitant tourists in front of ticket machines with the ticket purchase, without prompting. Both conspire to make London a friendly place.
• Public transport – At any time of the day or the night, I can get anywhere I want, reasonably quickly and in good comfort, though these two were long inversely correlated. The tube is quick but often madly crowded. Buses are slow but have great views from the top deck. Trains travel is quick and comfortable at the same time but available only in outer London and during the day.
• Canals, towpaths and past industrial glory – There is so much royal history in London, so many memories of kings and queens, so many bright lights, gold and glitter, that it's easy to overlook the grime, rust and decay that testify to a parallel past. The industrial revolution changed the face of the city as much as that of the country, and while many of these changes have been superseded by relentless progress, the remaining brownfield sites are only slowly regenerated and the canals are here to stay.
  The connection between peaceful canals and rotting industry might appear incongruous but it is close. The canals were built for industrial transport, for getting goods from the factories in Birmingham and Manchester down to the port of London. I got my first taste of the Grand Union canal near Camden Town but soon ventured further afield, along the River Lea and near Brentford. The Thames itself also offers great post-industrial walks, in North Greenwich for example or back to town from the Docklands.
• Tides in the river – Even without remnants of industrial glory, the Thames is an amazing river. Its character changes with the moon in a twelve-and-a-half-hour cycle. At low tide, there's but a trickle. At high tide, overflow threatens riverside walks and turns dirt paths into bogs of heavy black mud. It boggles the mind to come to the same place at the same hour of the day a few days later and find it transformed. Ever-changing vistas beyond an ever-changing river were the only thing that kept me sane during lonely runs in preparation for my marathons.
• Central London – The area of Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, China Town and Covent Garden is full of tourist traps. There are precious few good restaurants there, only few decent coffee shops and not a single pub worth visiting, but I still like to go there every now and then. The energy and the buzz that suffuse London are focused there. Faces shine with excitement and anticipation, tourists gape, laugh and take photographs, lights blink and music blares. At the end of a tough week, this is a concentrated does of positive energy that's priceless.

In all likelihood, I'll be gone from London before summer. My dad and a friend from college have (independently) realized what that means. It's their last chance for a combination visit, seeing me and enjoying London. March is thus fully booked at Hotel Andreas. Then I'm on Easter break. When I'm back towards the middle of April, the end will have already begun.