South side of the Thames. HMS Belfast and the Borough's Market

On Monday we decided to take a look at the south side of the Thames and visit the HMS Belfast and the famous Borough's Market. We hadn't really tried the closest overground train station to our apartment, "Imperial Wharf", having depended on the Fulham Broadway underground station up to this point. We left our apartment and headed toward the river and literally 100 yards behind the apartment complex is Imperial Wharf. Pretty darn convenient!

Now the difference we are finding between the overground trains and the underground trains is that they seem to serve different areas, so no matter what there will be a bit of dealing with transfers when riding the overground to connecting underground stations, but they always seem to be set up close enough to each other that it's usually no more problem than walking up a couple of sets of stairs and down a long tiled hall, or crossing a street to find the next station. Pretty easy, and the signage is usually spot on. The main thing is to take the time to figure out where you need to go, and we are both starting to recognize the different major stations and parts of the city so all and all it's getting easier every time we ride the transit.

To get to the Borough's Market we needed to take the overground train from Imperial Wharf to Clapham Junction, and the get off and walk to the Clapham underground station. Then we needed to take the underground from Clapham to the Waterloo station and then change platforms at Waterloo and take the "Jubilee" eastbound line two stops to the London Bridge station and voila, you're there! Sounds a tad bit confusing but in reality, using our City Mapper app, the station signage, and station maps it's really pretty straight forward. The big thing is not to panic and rush and make a mistake. There's ALWAYS another train so no worries.

Having successfully navigated that route we stepped out of the London Bridge Station and right across the road was the Borough Market. Borough Market has existed in one form or another for over a thousand years, and today is best known for the open stalls selling unbelievably tasty street foods and the numerous shops selling high end meats, cheeses and baked goods.

Unfortunately we had eaten Special K (more later about the European Special K wheat cereal and how we LOVE it!) and raspberries for breakfast and we were not hungry. We bought some wonderful looking Baklava from a Turkish treat stall and a piece of Cheese Cake for later and perused the stalls for a potential takeaway dinner later. It sure smelled good!

Southwark Cathedral, just to the north of the Borough Market

We used the Citimapper app to find our way towards the HMS Belfast. We walked out onto the London bridge and then crossed underneath it to walk along the Thames waterfront snapping pics along the way.

London is pretty darn photogenic, and it's amazing what a difference each side  of the Thames makes to the photographs.

Looking north across the Thames at the Sky Garden, on the top floor of the tallest building.

The HMS Belfast, a British Navy WW2 Light Cruiser

The HMS Belfast was one of the first ships of the line during the D-Day Invasion and was critical in the bombardment of the German coastal installations.

The tour of the HMS Belfast is pretty interactive. No shuffling along here. There are ladders that you have to go up and down constantly, and there are also lots of tripping and head banging hazards. It's interesting and there are lots of wax figures of crew posed in weirdly cheery expressions doing all kinds of things.

Ok so he isn't so cheery but most were...

Quite the haircut

David's Nephew Charlie had visited the ship years before and really grew attached to these guys. He often says how much he enjoyed being close to them and how lifelike they looked.

Sleeping so peaceful like in his canvas hammock.

They also had lots of recorded sounds that played depending on the scene you were looking at. Lots of moaning and dental drill sounds at this one.

After our self tour came to an end we disembarked the Belfast and headed back towards the Borough Market to pick something up for dinner. We decided on a couple of pieces of wonderful Cheesy cheesy bread from a Croatian stand and some beef Bere-bere from an Ethiopian Stand.

The Shard from the Borough Market

Along with the sweet treats we had purchased earlier we were fully prepared for a wonderful dinner and headed back towards the London Bridge station for our journey home.