I like to explore new places by foot, and last week while trekking to a certain destination, I decided to cut across Hyde Park to get some respite from the zooming Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Ferraris that go muscling around central London. Once I got to the perimeter however I saw that I wouldn’t be able to traverse the park’s diagonal. A large portion of the green space was mysteriously cordoned off by a long white wall. Just beyond the barrier it looked like big happenings were afoot. “Winter Wonderland” said the sign in front of me…opening soon!
Since I’m new, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to experiencing a true British Christmas. I am a sucker for holiday stuff though, so I went online to see when this winter carnival would open to the public. Memories of an excellent trip to the Budapest Christmas market knocked about my brain, and I wondered how Britons might accent theirs. Beefeater ornaments for sale? A double decker booze bus? Mulled wine? Dickensian Christmas scenes? The sky was the limit!
And so, on a blustering cold Saturday that was in fact yesterday, a group of us Yanks set out to discover what the culture of Christmas was all about. Here’s a photo essay of our trip:
We bypassed the proper coffee and went straight for hot stuff of a different variety. It was *really* cold that that afternoon, and little cups of hot chocolate and mulled wine at £4.50 a pop were the order of the day. Drinks in hand, we roamed about and tried to nurse our warmish beverages as we set foot on newly-fallen holiday terrain. No, there wasn’t any snow on the ground– instead freshly-laid black plastic floorboar. Festive.
Winter Wonderland, at least at first, seemed to do a fair job at keeping their Ikea-ish assembled rides somewhat in line with the Winter Wonderland theme. Sipping our drinks, we were largely content to ignore the blatant commercial grab. We get that this is all part of the game. I mean, it wasn’t SUPER Christmassy, but at least they were making an effort to be in the spirit of the season. Kinda…
Did someone spike my mulled wine, or is this just really extra weird…and hypnotic.I won’t lie, walking by so many misfit toys and being swept up in the atmosphere did make me feel how I must have felt as a kid seeing the midway’s lights and colors for the first time. Confused and oddly compelled by the mystique…
As the temperature remained frosty and we resolved not to go on any of the rides, we started to lose steam on our expedition. Maybe it’s because we’re adults and have lost a certain element of wonder. Maybe not. All I know is that all of sudden, just as we were about to take off for an authentic British pub, that’s when we walked into our desired activity:
Once inside, our happy factor went up exponentially– and it wasn’t just because we were now on a slow moving platform that had scowling “elves” tending bar at the center, either. It was actually a nice warm place where we could silently judge our fellow revelers as everyone moved in stationary yet clockwise symphony.
Once we stepped down from the carousel bar, we were largely desensitized to the weirdness of everything going on around us. The falafel stand, the skeleton playing a violin, and yes even a pirate ship, all seemed to have their rightful place in Hyde Park:
By this stage we were well over the sounds of a cover band that was now playing the Kings of Leon Christmas ballad “Use Somebody“. We decided to make a break for actual London, and take our chances in the glitz and commercial glam that was strung up a few blocks over in Mayfair. As we made our way to the exit, we passed a German looking mirror maze sorta thing (see up above). Much like the Christmas Corn and falafel stands, there were no eager children waiting to go in. Instead, they were instinctively walking away. As we got closer, it quickly became obvious why this was probably the case:
Yup, nothing like a little old fashioned nightmare fuel for the trip home. Even though it is not yet Thanksgiving, I can now safely say that it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And Pirates of the Caribbean. And The House on Haunted Hill. And whatever else.
All in all, I’d say it was completely awesome.