Premier Inn guarantees a good night (or you get your money back) and that is definitely what I had. The bed was comfortable and big. We went to breakfast – our highlight of every stay at a Premier Inn hotel.
In my everyday life I don't care much about eating meat products but that changes when I cross the British border. Sausages and black pudding accompanied by scrambled eggs, baked beans and pancakes (ok, we are more on the American side here...) - is there anything better?
Premier Inn breakfast
The waiter showed us the breakfast buffet. He told us that everything was all-you-can-eat but added that we shouldn't eat too much, unless we wanted to look like him. We had a nice chat with him. He didn't liked Cambridge too much but thought the old town was worth visiting.
Cambridge
Full and ready for the day we left the hotel for our first activity, a free walking tour. The tour gave us a good overview of the city and its history but didn't give us access to the colleges.
King's College Cambridge
Sadly our guide, a student from York, seemed to be a little tired and slack. Maybe the heatwave bothered him, too.
The Eagle Cambridge
The other thing we had planned to do in Cambridge was punting or, to be more correct to be punted... As you can tell by the city's name Cambridge is located on the River Cam.
The River Cam
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat used on small rivers like the Cam. The punt is navigated by a punter by pushing against the river bed with a long pole.
Punts on the river Cam
You can buy punting tickets for a certain day but not for a certain time (at least not at the punting company we chose). Punting is the tourist activity in Cambridge. Therefore the river was quite busy and we had to wait for an hour to get on a punt. The experience was worth the wait. It was relaxing to spend the hot midday on the water.
The Bridge of Sighs
Bridges over river Cam
In addition it was fun to see who was a professional punter and who was not. Punts bumped into each other and here and there you could see people go overboard. The punters from 'Let's Go Punting' were very helpful and it was no problem for them to help me to get on and off the boat.
Punt
The Bridge of Sighs
To get back to London in time we wandered back to the hotel, got our luggage and made our way to train station. There were problems with the contact wire and because of that there were no services to King's Cross, were we needed to go. We took a train to Livepool Street Station instead. From there we would take the tube to King's Cross. In the evening sun we rumbled over burnt English fields. The landscape reminded me of my semester abroad in Western Australia.
Our first hotel in London was the hub by Premier Inn King's Cross. I had never stayed at this brand of the Premier Inn family and was looking forward to testing it. The hotel was conveniently located five minutes away from the station.
Self check-in hub by Premier Inn London King's Cross
Our room was clean, modern and offered everything you need on a city trip for a good price.
Bed hub by Premier Inn London King's Cross
Detailed view of the bed
Accessible room hub by Premier Inn London King's Cross
Accessible bathroom hub by Premier Inn London King's Cross
Shower chair hub by Premier Inn London King's Cross
We ended our day at Dishoom a popular Indian restaurant on the recently redeveloped Granary Square. Inside it was noisy and humid and it definitely had a colonial feel.
Dishoom King's Cross
We had kabab and paneer with naan bread and raita.
Variety of dishes at Dishoom King's Cross
If you go there you should try one of the sharbats or the nimbu pani, a refreshing drink with a slight salty note. Dishoom was definitely a good spot to enjoy a hot summer night in London. Contine here.
Nimbu Pani at Dishoom King's Cross
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