Here was my route:

The first section of my run was from Hampstead to Highgate, an uphill section I’ve run many times before. The best part of Highgate is actually the rails to trails path that starts there and ends in Finsbury Park. I just happened to discover this cool trail on one of my previous long runs.  It’s definitely a great escape from the city and only a few miles from central London.

The map of the Parkland Walk (above)

I’m headed to Finsbury Park. It’s a clear, cold day on the path. (above)

After about 2 1/2 miles on the trail you end up in Finsbury Park. Below are a few pictures of the park. During the summer they have boat rentals on the lake and they have a giant playground. It might be worth a visit later this year.

When I tried figuring out my route I couldn’t find a scenic way to get from Finsbury Park to the next scenic part of my run,  Regent’s Canal. I decided on the shortest route, which appeared to be a road called Caledonian Rd. I had heard of it before but I had never been on it. It’s an interesting yet non descript place, I doubt I’ll make it a regular running route, but here a few of the highlights:

This is a grade listed building, so they can’t tear it down. They spend LOTS of money keeping the front wall up while renovating. This is right next to the Caledonian Rd. Tube Station.

The only other lasting impression of Caledonian Rd. is that they really love their American food!! They obviously love New Jersey fried chicken and Dallas burgers.

Finally after several miles of urban sprawl, I ended up back at Regent’s Canal. This is the first time I’ve seen the canal frozen.

From there it was about 3 more miles until I reached Regents Park and then exited the canal near St. Johns Wood.  As I got to the final turn towards our nanny’s flat I had to stop and take a picture for all those Beatles fan.  This is the intersection on Abbey Road where the Beatles shot their album cover.  There are usually many gawking tourists here trying to recreate the album cover and it really annoys the locals and taxi drivers.

Finally after 12 miles I arrived at our nanny’s house and picked up the boys. They evidently had a great time. Below Kevin is rock climbing on their wall and Ryan is making a fort out of their sofa!

The snow started right around dusk. About an hour after the boys went to bed, this is what it looked like on our street.

In the morning, this was the view from our front porch. The boys were excited to eat breakfast and head outside.

The first stop was our back garden. Ryan still isn’t quite sure he like the white stuff. He wasn’t feeling well either and after about 5 minutes outside, he was ready to go in to the warm flat.  Kevin however was ready to stay outside and make a snowman. Above is the result, bagels for ears, oranges for eyes, and apple wedge for a nose, and a blue painted piece of paper for a mouth.

After a little warming up inside, we headed back out before lunch to play in the front of the house. Ryan refused to wear gloves!  Kevin had a great time climbing on a mountain of snow and having Dad lob snow bombs at him.

After a while, it was time to come in for lunch…and some hot chocolate!!

He hides all of these creations behind Dad’s coffee pot on the corner of the kitchen counter. It’s an out of the way spot he hope Ryan won’t find.  He hides them there because he is worried (rightfully so) that Ryan is going to break them.

Today I pulled them all out. There’s no more room for my coffee pot!!

Here is a little map of the run.

This entry is a little tour of London from pictures I took on my long Sunday run. The first stop was Sigmund Freud’s home near Swiss Cottage. He lived here the last year of his life after escaping the Nazi occupation of Vienna. He died one year later of cancer.

The next stop was Primrose Hill on the way down to Regent’s Park.  I stopped to snap a picture of the London Fog from the top of Primrose Hill.

On my way down the hill I ran into my friend Joyce who is training for the London Marathon. We had a chance to catch up while we ran 2 miles on the Regent’s Canal from the London Zoo to Camden Lock.  Below are pictures of the Camden Town Markets and Camden Lock along the canal.

Regent’s Canal has been one of my favourite long run locations. It’s only 2 miles from our flat and it’s a quiet escape from the buzz of the city. Some parts aren’t that scenic, but on a Sunday morning you are guaranteed to find some nice, quiet stretches to run.

The canal was built in the early 19th century as one of the many project put forth by the Prince Regent and his architect, John Nash.

One reason for bringing my phone along (which allowed me to document the run with pictures) was that I have never run past the Islington Tunnel before. Usually when I get to this 1000yd long tunnel I turn around and it makes a nice 10 mile run out and back from our flat.

Today I continued over ground to the other end of the tunnel and hopped back on the tow path.  I continued for 2 more miles, past Victoria Park.  At this point I was very close to the 2012 Olympic Park. That will be topic of my next post.

I hit the 9 mile mark on my run just as I approached the appropriately named Mile End Tube station.  I hopped on the tube for 30 minute ride back home!

When we first moved to London, Heather and I both made a list of the top 10 places we might like to visit while we were living in Europe. Copenhagen made our list.  Now, we’ve been in London for a year already and we are running out of time to visit all the places we’d like to. This trip ended up being a solo trip for me.  Heather is heading out on a 10 day business trip next week and offered to give me a weekend away from the boys to regain my sanity before the boys and I hang out together for 10 days without Mom.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed wandering aimlessly around Copenhagen, discovering the city on my own time.  The first thing I noticed was that the Danish are the first people I’ve run into who seriously don’t seem to mind or even notice that it’s cold. I assume it’s because the weather is always that way and they are used to it. I wandered down a major shopping street on Friday evening when it was below 0F and there were tons of people out shopping and hanging out on the street, not even dressed appropriately for the cold.  Compare that to London, where everyone breaks out their winter parkas as soon as the temperature dips below 50F.

The trip to Copenhagen from London is straightforward, like reaching many cities in Europe. There are direct flights from Heathrow to Copenhagen, which take about 1:30. The arrival terminal has a distinct Scandinavian feel, wood floors, modern, minimalist furniture. I took the Metro for a 15 minute ride and I was in the heart of Copenhagen, Kongens Nytorv (Kings New Square). By mid afternoon, I was in my hotel room in the Nyhavn area of Copenhagen.

I started my official site seeing on Saturday morning with a nice 6 mile run from the hotel around the lakes.  It was a great way to see the city. I managed to see the Royal Danish Guard Fife and Drum band practicing early in the morning. It was a very cold morning, while running around the lakes I saw several swans breaking the ice as they tried to swim along. I had read that a lap around the lakes was a popular running location and they were right. I definitely wasn’t the only crazy person out running at 8AM on a Saturday in freezing conditions.

The other highlight of Saturday was my discovery of the Christiansborg Palace and the ruins underneath which are open to the public. I discovered this while walking towards the History Museum, also worth a look for a quick lesson in Danish history.  The ruins are accessible from the cellar of the palace and it is a very well put together exhibit describing how the original castle was built by Bishop Absalon in 1167.  They also point out that the current palace is the 3rd Christiansborg Palace, the first two having burned to the ground over the past several hundred years. Both burning due to malfunctioning wood burning stoves.

I started my 2nd and last day in Copenhagen with another run. This time my goal was to see the “little mermaid” statue, which is ranked as the top tourist attraction in Copenhagen. I had started walking towards the statue late on Saturday but decided I wouldn’t make it before it got dark. I decided it would make a nice run destination.

My other big find on my 2nd run was the Kastellet, an old fortress shaped like a pentagram.  I noticed a number of people running on the ramparts and decided to check it out. It made for an excellent run (in the light snowfall).

My final site seeing was a canal boat cruise before heading to the airport for the flight home. Here are few photos from the cruise, including the new Opera House.