26th January 2026
Two cups of coffee in and I’m almost ready to really start my day. My first task, after breakfast, will be to find an extra suitcase just in case I run out of space. It’s a close call but I’m sure it will all work out just fine. Partially because I brought an extra backpack, and have an expandable backpack. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a new suitcase in general. Both of the ones I brought have seen better days. The smaller one definitely has a crack in it already.
Breakfast options on the buffet included the basic English breakfast foods: beans, eggs, sausage, bacon. I skipped three full English breakfast and opted for a combination that excluded the unclean meats but included a double shot of espresso and a croissant. They had small packets of Marmite which I thought I’d try on the croissant. Interesting choice but I preferred it on the hash browns.
I found a suitable replacement suitcase, repacked my bags, checked out of my room, stored my bags, and headed for the Underground. I thought I was doing well but ended up at the wrong station at first. Not a problem. There was a very helpful lady who pointed me in the right direction. Good thing I gave myself plenty of extra time to get place.
… 9:15am …
I rode the Piccadilly Line of the Tube eastwards towards Central London, getting off at Leicester Square. By the way, the terms Tube and Underground are sometimes used interchangeably to describe the subway train system in London. Leicester Square is where you can find London’s Chinatown as well as the theatre district. Compared to NYC the area is quaint, but moderately busy on a cold day in January. Since I was nearly two hours early I decided to walk around a little … and of course find a place for a cup of coffee.
After going around the block I found a nice Danish bakery on a corner. One of those places with comfortable chairs, delicious coffee drinks, and tasty pastries where you could sit for a long time and stay out of the drizzle and fog on a cold day. Unfortunately I finished my flat white and chocolate swirl pastry and had no excuse to sit there any longer. I walked around for a while, seeing if there were any interesting tourist attractions. My map showed a statue of Peter Rabbit, but I couldn’t find it. If I would have looked harder and walked further I might have seen Batman and Mr. Bean.
… 11:00am …
Almost exactly on time, Denise and Gerhard emerged from the Hippodrome exit of the Tube just as they said they would. I’d met both of them before, probably at the Feast in Llandudno but maybe sometime before then. I know I’ve read various articles that Gerhard has written for different UCG publications. He has a long history of serving in the Church of God beginning when he was young, having moved to the USA as a teenager. He’s not originally from the UK and in fact still has his German accent even though he’s lived here most of his life at this point. Denise is a London native but she’s traveled to many different countries in her life so far.
With no better ideas of where to go so I could repack my suitcase and we could visit for a while, we headed to my new favorite Danish bakery just around the corner. To flat white was just as good the second time, but the company was much better. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, reminiscing about Church history, travels, the differences between the UK and the USA, and just telling stories. Eventually I had to head back to the airport so I finally said my goodbyes and, now carrying a load of glasses (and the anti-malaria tablets Denise tracked down for me, I backtracked my way onto the Tube and headed back to my hotel to grab my bags. I definitely ended up throwing away the small suitcase that was damaged more than I thought it was. No need to keep it around and try to limp through airports with it if I don’t have to.
… 4:30pm …
I just finished a pleasant meal at the airport after having made my way from one terminal to another. It was too early to drop my bags off for my next flight so I opted for a sit down meal rather than grabbing something I’d have to carry around with me. This gave me a chance to begin taking the first of my daily tablets before entering Malawi. This one I’m supposed to take with food at about the same time each day starting a day or two before I travel and continuing for a week afterwards. Soon it will be time to make my way through more security lines and then wait for the departure of the nearly 8 hour flight to Addis Ababa. I’ll have to try and find some of that delicious Ethiopian coffee on my layover before the 4 hour flight to Lilongwe tomorrow morning.
-Lewis VanAusdle
Leave a Reply