Evening Boat Trip on the Thames

Among the impressive experiences of a short business trip to London was an evening boat trip with dinner on the Thames. Neither the culinary nor the musical experience were the highlights – although the solo entertainer gained more approval with increasing wine consumption and his Elvis act was almost a parody – but rather the new and unusual perspectives on the well-known postcard motifs – from Big Ben to the Tower Bridge, London Eye, Millennium Dome, and more recently “The Shard”, the 310 m high, pyramid-shaped skyscraper – in the twilight and under nocturnal illumination.

The tour started right by Parliament with Big Ben in the Westminster district and lasted approximately 3 hours, covering the route to the Thames Barrier and back. Our small group had a lot of fun, and the English colleagues brought the city closer to the guests through personal anecdotes; facts and figures about the sights are better read in guidebooks, and I wouldn’t shine as a tour guide in my own hometown either. Thus, business trips very often offer the opportunity for new perspectives and places that one wouldn’t experience in the same way on private trips.