studying history where it was made

Nowadays Hastings is a popular seaside resort in East Sussex, the South-East of Great Britian. You will find an amusement park for children, gaming arcades and a lively old town with cramped souvenir shops and cafés. But if you lift your head you will see the ruins of a castle standing proudly on a steep hill, reminding you that the city is steeped in history. In fact, there is one important event of English history that took place near this town almost a thousand years ago: the Battle of Hastings (1066).

After visiting the city last weekend I did some research on the Battle of Hastings and I will try to summarize what happened.

In January 1066, King Edward III had died. He left no heirs and there were no strict rules as to who was to become the new king in such a case. There were four people who claimed to be a worthy new king:

• Edgar the Atheling
• Harald Hardrada, a Viking king
• Harold Godwinson
• William, Duke of Normandy

Harold Godwinson

Harold did not have royal origins, but he was popular among the citizens and the Witan, a council of wise men, decided that he should be the new king. William was a distant relative of the deceased king Edward. Allegedly Edward and Harold had promised to make him king of England, which would make Harold's claim illegal.

In September, Harald the Viking king tried to invade England and claim the throne for himself. His men were defeated by Harold's army in the Battle of Stamford Bridge in the North-East of what is now Great Britian.

At the same time, the Normans under the command of Duke William invaded the South of the island. There was no one to stop them as the military was busy in the North-East. Harold's men raced back to the South to fight the Norman invasion. The Saxons (Harold's army) built a massive shield wall and at first it seemed that they would win, but the Normans played a trick on them: they pretended to retreat, which caused the Saxons to give up their formation and chase after the invaders. Now the Normans could easily attack the Saxons and eventually won the battle. According to a legend, Harold was killed by an arrow in his eye, but the evidence is not clear.

Some of the information known about the Battle of Hastings today comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidery that shows battle scenes. On this embroidery we can see a man with an arrow in his eye who was believed to be Harold. Newer interpretations suppose that it was another soldier, as people standing are usually survivors, while people lying on the ground are those killed in battle.

I love London

Over the last one or two weeks there were a lot of hellos and goodbyes - many people left, but new ones arrived, and I did not have the time to write a new blog post. I also spent one weekend in London with my roommate, and I want to tell you about this wonderful weekend and my new favourite spot in London, Camden Market:

Saturday was mainly spent on travelling to London. We took the National Express bus because it was only half the price compared to the train, but it also took twice as long. We wanted to go directly to our hotel, but unfortunately the tube we were in was stuck because of a broken signal. It was a slightly disturbing experience, and unfortunately only the beginning of a streak of bad luck regarding public transport.

Two hours too late, we finally arrived at the Warner Brother studios outside of London - after a very relaxed train assistant had charged us £4.50 for who knows what...I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan, but the studios were very interesting because they offer an insight into the world of movie-making. It was astonishing to see how many of the sets had been built in real life instead of being computer-generated, and how many hours of work there are behind each and every one of them. After browsing through the souvenir shop, we cancelled our plans of going to a club because we were both too tired and wanted to rest our feet.

The next day we set out for Camden Market - and public transport messed up our plans once again. First, we stopped inside a tunnel a second time, but luckily only for a short time because we had to let another train pass. Then we could not change to the line we had planned because its trains did not stop at that particular station on that particular day...

After finally escaping the maze of the London Underground, we were greeted by a crowd of people bustling through the streets in Camden. The shopkeepers were only just setting up their displays for the day, but the place was already crowded with tourists and locals alike. It is very tempting to buy something at the next best stand, but I advise you to stroll further and always try to negotiate - eventually you will find what you like at a reasonable price. The market unbelievably big, so many only follow the main road in order not to get lost. They definitely miss out on something! In the very last corner of the market, we found a tiny shop that sells home-made mini cupcakes that looked almost too beautiful to eat. All the sales huts and many walls around Camden Market are covered in artistic graffiti that are far from being vandalism. Do not miss the part called Horse Market, where the architecture is wonderful and you can find many stands that sell exotic dishes at a low price.

If you come to London, the Camden Market is a must-see, not only if you like shopping. Take your time to stroll through this lively and multicultural place and dare to step away from the main street in order to explore its hidden treasures.