An Empty City is Eerie Magic

[Wind blowing] I've been inside, locked down for... eight months at this point. And, while I'm naturally an indoor sort of person, you can get too much of a good thing. So, I bought this bike for allowed outdoor exercise and to do some exploration to bring back a bit of novelty into my same-y life. But I've been quarantined from COVID so strictly that I'm a bit apprehensive about going outside. [Oh hello, swan] But spring and summer have already passed me by. I'm not going to miss autumn too. So let's head out into this brief and beautiful season and see what pandemic London is like.

[Pensive electronic music, Mindthings plays "Shine"] [Pensive electronic music, Mindthings plays "Shine"] [Cars passing] This dragon and the one across the street mark the boundary between London and the City of London. There are ten more dragons that guard the borders that are copies of these two originals, and there is a unique thirteenth dragon that we can find by going down that little street.

[Hopeful electronic music, Sindrandi plays "Nuna"] There he is! Sir Spiky Wings. [Hopeful electronic music, Sindrandi plays "Nuna"] I see that London has made a bunch of changes to the roads and bridges to be more bike friendly during the pandemic. It's great! I hope they keep some of these changes. [Hopeful electronic music, Sindrandi plays "Nuna"]

[Bike fumbling] Woah ... ughhh. Yeah, I am going that way, okay. [Wind blowing] I've never seen the Tower of London so quiet. I'm used to being here when it's just packed. On form field trips, I always volunteered for the job of shepherding students to the Tower of London because the British teachers were well over it, but not me. Because of this national lockdown, the Tower has had to let go of some of the Yeomen Warders, who are the famous guards of the Tower and who also live in the Tower and give amazing tours of the Tower. It's just tragic. But, if you can't sell tickets and you can't open the gift shop, what can you do?

I guess, when this pandemic is over, if you come to London, visit the Tower! Take the Yeoman tour. Keep an eye out for the ravens. I wasn't sure how far I'd go, so I brought supplies. My plan this morning was just to get to the Tower and then return to the safety of home, but I may never get to see the city like this again, so I'm going to keep pushing.

[Serene electronic music, Amaranth Cove plays "Balance"] Looks like a couple of shops are open. I'm not going to enter an enclosed space, but, good luck to you little cafes! [Serene electronic music, Amaranth Cove plays "Balance"] Wow, that was great! I'd never seen that little passage before. No stopping now. On to the Docklands.

[Wind blowing] Ugh Oooph Phew [Breathing heavily] Oh my God, it's heavy. [Ethereal electronic music, Joseph Beg plays "Losing Awareness"] Okay, little rest break. [Equipment thuds] I know the cause is a global catastrophe, but the result, this feeling of being in an empty city if you're the right kind of person, it's ethereal solitude. I'm going to stay here, recharge, and then I can't not continue onward.

[Wind blowing] This building at the southern tip of the Docklands is one of my favorite buildings in the whole of London! It's heartbreakingly missed, and if we go around back, you can see there's a matching one on the other side of the river. And connecting the two is a tunnel from 1899 that's still operational. Once you're here, crossing is irresistible.

[Breathing heavily] If the elevator is broken on the other end I'm gonna really regret this. [Footsteps on metal] clang, clang There should be red and blue pages down here. [Footsteps on metal] clang, clang (Elevator) Doors closing. (Elevator) Ground floor. (Grey) Here we are. And going around back again, that's where we started!

[Wind blowing] It has been a long time since I've been to Greenwich, but now that I'm here I might as well make it to The Observatory. Oh wow! Okay, so a long Past Grey once taught lessons as part of his teacher training in the National Maritime Museum. He was not very good at teaching then. I'm sorry, National Maritime Museum. Ugh. Oooph.

[Dogs barking] Well, I made it. [Whimsical electronic music, John Abbot plays "City Phases"] I'm just in time for sunset on the way home. That's where we were earlier. Boy, there are definitely starting to be too many people around for my comfort level though.

[Wind blowing] Looking good, Barad-dur! Uh-oh, it's starting to rain. Good thing I brought my shell. Oooh, so shiny! Okay, I'm starting to get pretty wet. Uhh, I need to go inside, and I'm just wondering [out of morbid curiosity] if the big market around the corner is open. I probably shouldn't look if it is open, but I can't stop myself from looking.

[Ominous electronic music, Remy Bourgeois plays "Closing it all"] [Ominous electronic music, Remy Bourgeois plays "Closing it all"] It's beautiful on the south bank, but I've found where all the people are. Way too many people getting way too close. It's a bit overwhelming. I need to get home. I need to decontaminate. I love these cargo ships. I wonder where they go. Okay. I got to get moving.

[Dreamy electronic music, Lu-Ni plays "Mejor Amigo (Instrumental)"] [Horse foot falls clomping] Please tell me I got it. That's the gate I pointed to this morning. Eww! Woah. They don't call it Horse Guards for nothing. [Dreamy electronic music, Lu-Ni plays "Mejor Amigo (Instrumental)"] Barad-dur and the market way back there. Almost home, almost safe. [Dreamy electronic music, Lu-Ni plays "Mejor Amigo (Instrumental)"]