Tag: london

I Biked In London!!!!

My flight to Amsterdam was at 3-30 PM on Thursday, so I had time in the morning to visit my colleague in our London office. It was an unofficial visit, but we had things to discuss, and so he booked a room, and we talked for several hours straight. When we were done, there was still time until lunch, and my co-worker asked me whether I would like to go for a bike ride. He told me later I looked completely startled, and rightly so! I do not bike in Downtown Chicago, because I do not feel it safe (except if I venture there early in the morning on a weekend). But in London?!… However, I knew that he was a biker and he biked to work, and he reminded me that he had a foldable bike, and he said we could rent a city bike and that he could give me his helmet, so I decided to get out of my comfort zone.

I am extremely thankful to him for making this suggestion. Also, since I didn’t feel comfortable on a city e-bike, he suggested I take his bike, and he took a city one. Obviously, I was following him closely, but he was great in waiting for me and showing directions, especially because going on the wrong side of the road added to my discomfort.

The pictures below are the ones I took during this bike ride and the ones he took, including the one from atop his shoulder.

If somebody had told me two hours earlier I was about to do this, I would never have believed them!

Hotel Durrants

Here are some pictures from Hotel Durrants in London. It’s a “victorian-style hotel” which I mostly chose because of it’s proximity to the conference venue (and an option of cancelling until almost the last minute).

As I mentioned, breakfast was included, but it was not a buffet, which left me wondering what exactly was included :). As I mentioned, the first morning I just ate the fastest thing, but for my second morning I wanted to have a proper no-rush breakfast.

As you can imagine, I loved the setting. However, when it was “no rush”, it was indeed no rush. Twenty-five minutes. I know better to order an English breakfast when in England, at least you know what you get. However, this time, since I was low on protein, I decided to order an egg whites omelet. That was what took 20_ minutes, and also, when they brought an omelet, there was no toast with it, which I totally expected. Since I was afraid it will take twenty minutes again:), I decided to compensate in the office where I was heading anyway.

Below are the drawing rooms on the ground floor of the hotel.

Visiting Our London Office

I had a connection in London on my way to Dublin, and when I was planning my trip, I decided to make it a day in the office. I exchanged my tickets so that I arrive in London at 9-10 and leave at 8-50 PM.

It would be all good if not for the tube strike right on that day! But it was too late to make any changes! And in any case, I do not regret making this stop, although it entailed two two-and-a-half-hour rides from/to Heathrow. I spent about five hours in the office, met a lot of people with whom I work closely together, answered their questions, and solved half of the world ‘s problems! I loved the London office:

The office is smaller, so they do not cater, and everybody places their food orders, and then orders are delivered by noon. Since I was not there in the morning, I had to look for the sandwich supplies in the fridge. Overall, it was a little bit hungry day: I ate breakfast in the Finnair lounge at 6-30 Helsinki time, and next time I had some food at noon of London time! And then – at 7-30 PM in Heathrow!

Montcalm Royal

The hotel I stayed in was fancy:). And surprisingly, less expensive than many other hotels close by. I remember what Vlad taught me about the quality and level of service when he worked at Peninsula, so I recognized the level :). Interestingly, it was Peninsula Plus quality of service for half the price. The staff was exceptional. The room was great. The rooftop cafe where we had breakfast was above and beyond.

Just one funny thing I wanted to mention. The room lights, conditioner, and heating were managed from this cool panel, and there were no regular switches (except for by the bed).

Imagine how I felt when the morning of the conference I woke up, and could not “wake up” this screen! after several attempts, the following message appeared:

In London

I only stayed in London for two days, mainly at the conference, but the same as five years ago, it was great! Now for the second time, no rain all the time I stayed.

Last time, we went with Vlad, which meant that I didn’t have to worry about getting around. This time, I was a little bit nervous about how I will get around, even with Google maps, but everything turned out fine. Mostly because of exceptionally friendly people. Each time I would start to slow down and look at my phone, and then around me, somebody would ask me where I needed to go and help me get back on my route. It was truly amazing! Also, whenever I would emerge from yet another passage in the tube, somebody would ask me where I needed to go, and if that was the wrong train, they would not only tell me where to go to get on the right one but looked back to make sure I actually made all the left and right turns!

loved the hotel I stayed in (I will show the pictures in a separate post), and I enjoyed the conference, met many of my co-workers in person, met many people in general, and had a great time! I wish I had had time to do more things in London, but I hope it wasn’t the last time!

Postgres London 2022

I had too many things happening in the past several days and the most important one was my presentation at Postgres London 2022.

In yet another attempt to separate my personal and professional life, I am pasting here a link rather than reblogging. The post can be found here.