London – Further education

Welcome to Great Britain! London Design Festival is calling! This year’s training course takes us to London, the Mecca of design. Not only does the London Design Festival itself beckon, but also museums, exhibitions, shops, installations, traditions and much more. 7.40 a.m. on Thursday sees us boarding our flight to London Heathrow. Equipped with our Oyster cards, we will first take the Piccadilly Line towards Hyde Park to drop off our luggage in the 4- and 6-bed rooms of our hostel. Immediately afterwards, we will explore the Victoria & Albert Museum, which offers exciting exhibitions ranging from ceramic design to interior design and light installations. For the afternoon, Dani has organised a street art tour through Shoreditch for us. Our tour guide Dave enthusiastically explains the various works of art and tells funny anecdotes about artists such as Banksy, Ben Wilson and Roa. Afterwards, we enjoy some authentic London fish and chips. But the highlight of the day was probably our visit to the musical 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal. Tap dancing, colourful costumes and brilliant singing enchanted us. Our dear Kim had reserved wonderful restaurants for us in London to get the day off to the best start. So on Friday morning, we enjoy our avocado toast, orange juice and tea at Muriel’s Kitchen. On a walk through the city together, we explore tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Tate Modern, where we can enjoy modern and contemporary art as well as a breathtaking view of London. In the evening, we take classic English cabs to another highlight of our trip: Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant. Simply delicious! Saturday starts with pancakes and lattes at the cosy Farmgirl café in Chelsea. The London Design Biennale draws us to Somerset House, where we explore impressive exhibitions from around the world. Afterwards, we have some free time, during which most of our group heads to Camden Market. With its collection of different markets and shops, everyone can find a souvenir or gift to take home. In the evening, we discover a cosy Italian restaurant near our hotel and then round off the evening with a pint of ale in a pub.Sunday greets us with rain, so we hurry straight to Deliciously Ella for breakfast. After porridge and vegan hot chocolate, we take the iconic red double-decker bus to the Design Museum. There, we explore the Azzedine Alaïa haute couture exhibition and are thrilled by the extraordinary fabrics and elegant cuts. The permanent exhibition Designer-Maker-User is also excitingly structured and displays over 1,000 design objects through the ages.
At 4 p.m., we set off for the airport and, after a slight delay, arrive back in Stuttgart at 11 p.m. After four days full of design and art, we are inspired, motivated and grateful for this fantastic training opportunity! A big thank you goes above all to Priska and Alexander for the perfect organisation in advance! 

Karin Zacharias