Canada, St. John's, Newfoundland

 In July 2024 I set off on a cruise to Canada and Greenland on Fred Olsen's Bolette. After 5 days at sea, our first stop was St. John's, Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador form the most easterly province of Canada. St. John’s is the capital and situated on the southeast of the island of Newfoundland.

Because of Newfoundland’s island location, it has its own unique time zone, ½ hour different than the rest of Atlantic Canada. It is the easternmost city in North America and also the oldest. 

When we arrived at the port, a Newfoundland dog was there to greet us. It was wearing the Newfoundland tartan -

In a nearby park is a memorial to Newfoundland and Labrador dogs - though sadly I didn't see any real Labradors.

St. John's is a hilly town with a mix of colourful wooden houses, brick churches and colonial buildings. 

The main street was closed to traffic, to enable cruise ship passengers to walk safely.

The Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist -

National War memorial -

Mid morning fog in the bay -

Jelly Bean row -

Anglican cathedral of St John -

After lunch I decided to walk up Signal Hill, This is the hill on the left of The Narrows -

 One of the oldest buildings in St John's, having survived the great fire in 1892 -

Still quite a way to go!

View from The Queen's Battery Barracks -

Looking across The Narrows. Cape Spear can just be seen (under the yellow arrow) - this is the easternmost point of North America. There is a fog bank behind and when we sailed out that evening there was no sign of Cape Spear cos of the fog.

This is a zoom shot of Cape Spear and the 1836 lighthouse can be seen =

The top of Signal Hill, Cabot Tower. It is free to go up the tower.

Sailing out through The Narrows at 7.45 pm - when we had entered in the morning it was thick fog and we saw nothing. As we went out into the bay we sailed into a fog bank.

Surprisingly there was a nice sunset back over the mainland, with fog on the right of the photo -

Dutch Church, City of London

I'd never heard of the Dutch Church in the City of London. It was whilst I was up the viewing platform on the 58th floor of Horizon 22 building and looking at my map to identify buildings, that I noticed the Dutch Church marked on the map. So I decided to have a look as it is nearby.

The church is located in Austin Friars, on the site of a 13th-century Augustinian friary of the same name.

The friary existed until it was destroyed during the London Blitz in 1940. The Augustinian order is part of the Roman Catholic church. In 1538 the friary was dissolved under the order of Thomas Cromwell. He was a supporter of the English Reformation, when the Church of England broke away from the Catholic Church. It then became the first official nonconformist chapel in England. Nonconformists were Protestant Christians who did not "conform" to the governance and usages of the state church in England. The minister was Polish-born Jan Łaski.

According to Wikipedia : "His congregation was based in Frisia, which is now divided between Germany and the Netherlands; this connection gave the church its modern name of the Dutch Church and the Dutch language is still used there for services. The rest of the church was turned into a storehouse for corn, coal and wine, with the monuments sold for £100 and the lead stripped from the roof. The choir, tower and transepts were demolished in 1600 and in 1862 a fire destroyed the rest of the church. The reconstructed building was destroyed in the Blitz during the Second World War and was rebuilt again between 1950 and 1956."

Today Austin Friars is a busy mostly pedestrian thoroughfare. The church, at No 7, is quite plain to look at from the outside, but got Grade-II listing in 1998. There is a food stall right outside the church with tables and chairs on the other side of the entrance.

Unfortunately the sun was shining on this board for the Nederlandse Kerk, which gives the times of the Sunday service - 11 am, the Minister's name and that it is open to visitors Mon - Fri. 

The main church is empty of pews, but a photo on Wikipedia shows the pews in place.

Small spiral staircase up to the organ -

This Wikipedia page says "With the founding of the church dating to 1550, it is the oldest Dutch-language Protestant church in the world, and as such is known in The Netherlands as the mother church of all Dutch reformed churches.".

Horizon 22 viewing platform, London

London's highest viewing platform! It is even higher than the viewing platform in The Shard. The Shard observation deck is located between the 68th and 72nd floors and the View from the Shard is at 224 m whereas the Horizon platform is at 254 m (info from Ian Visits). The total height of The Shard is 309 m.

The Horizon 22 viewing platform opened in Sept 2023 and is located at 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London, immediately next to The Lookout at No 8 Bishopsgate. I visited The Lookout immediately before going to Horizon 22. 

I didn't have a ticket but was able to get one on arrival - tickets are free. After a security check, an express lift whisks you up to the 58th floor. It takes 41 seconds and I didn't notice my ears pop, unlike in the slower lift in The Lookout.

The lift opens onto the upper level and you go down stairs to the main  viewing deck. This is large and there is even a small cafe and toilets. 

The Walkie-Talkie Sky Gardens -

As it was getting more hazy I didn't take many photos, as the views were essentially the same as from The Lookout. 

Whilst looking at my map to try and identify buildings, I noticed The Dutch Church was nearby, and as I had never heard of it before, I decided to go and have a look. So after using the unisex toilet

I took the fast lift back down to terra firma and headed off to the Dutch Church.

**

See my blog of The Lookout.

See 22 Bishopsgate website.

The Lookout - 50 floors up in London

The Lookout is one of two new viewing platforms in London, they are conveniently located in adjacent buildings. And they are both free. One is The Lookout, the other is Horizon 22.

The Lookout is located on floor 50 of No 8 Bishopsgate, in the City of London. It opened in August 2023. I booked a ticket online the evening before my visit.

View of the 2 skyscrapers -

Horizon 22 is on the left, The Lookout on the right -

The entrance is well marked -

After a security check you take the lift up to the 50th floor. The lift was quite slow, and my ears popped 2 or 3 times on the way up.

As the lift doors open you look straight over to the view. The floor to ceiling glass windows give an amazing panorama -

The tall tower here is Tower 42, aka The Natwest Tower, 183 m -

Tower of London & Tower Bridge

The Walkie-Talkie and the Shard. The walkie-talkie is actually the nickname for 20 Fenchurch Street, which is 38 storeys and 160 m. A three-floor "sky garden" was opened in January 2015 and was Central London's highest garden. The Shard is the tallest building in the UK at 309 m with 72 storeys -

Unfortunately it was a bit hazy in the distance. Looking south, with the Crystal Palace and Beulah Hill transmitter towers -

Horizon 22 building

The viewing platform is on two sides on the southwest corner of the building, so you can essentially see from Wembley Arch in the northwest right round to the southeast with the Thames disappearing into the distance. It is nice and simple with just a few seats.

Having admired the wonderful views, I wanted to go to Horizon 22 next door, to see what that was like............. see my blog.