I love coming to Kings Cross office in the morning and having coffee on the terrace with a view. I call it my morning meditation. I take a cup of latte, a bottle of water and head out.
It's quiet here at this time of the day. Too early still for the majority of this office's residents to come in. On the other hand it's too late for the commuters' crowd down below at Kings Cross, so the street below doesn't look like typical London rushing flow of people, but rather like a leisurely bunch enjoying the morning in the modern district being rebuilt in style.
London is hit by another heat wave again, so I immediately feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and squint against the bright sunlight. I put the coffee onto the parapet, inhale and exhale deeply as yoga teachers taught me years ago, to relax and "reset".
First I look around, enjoying the diverse landscape with UFO-shaped dome of Kings Cross railway station in front of me, intense greenery of Saint Pancras and Fitzrovia behind it, London Eye to the west and imagining the river somewhere behind it. To the east there is contour of the City in the morning haze and barely visible Canary Wharf farther behind. Shard sticks out next to the lower but still prominent St Paul's dome. I take it all in, along with the vast blue sky above all of that with feathers of white clouds spread over it here and there.
Being above the buildings it feels like being on top of a small mountain and looking at a panorama.
I breath in and out again, open my eyes and, recharged and with Kings Cross and Central London now inside me, ready to dive into work.
It's quiet here at this time of the day. Too early still for the majority of this office's residents to come in. On the other hand it's too late for the commuters' crowd down below at Kings Cross, so the street below doesn't look like typical London rushing flow of people, but rather like a leisurely bunch enjoying the morning in the modern district being rebuilt in style.
London is hit by another heat wave again, so I immediately feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and squint against the bright sunlight. I put the coffee onto the parapet, inhale and exhale deeply as yoga teachers taught me years ago, to relax and "reset".
First I look around, enjoying the diverse landscape with UFO-shaped dome of Kings Cross railway station in front of me, intense greenery of Saint Pancras and Fitzrovia behind it, London Eye to the west and imagining the river somewhere behind it. To the east there is contour of the City in the morning haze and barely visible Canary Wharf farther behind. Shard sticks out next to the lower but still prominent St Paul's dome. I take it all in, along with the vast blue sky above all of that with feathers of white clouds spread over it here and there.
Being above the buildings it feels like being on top of a small mountain and looking at a panorama.
I close my eyes, take a sip of morning coffee and focus on taste. Not too hot, not too cold with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon - great start of the day.
Without opening my eyes I shift my attention to sounds, which are as diverse as the view. I know there is a construction site close-by to the east side - for many months sounds of drilling and banging dominate the soundscape of Kings Cross surroundings. There is another construction on the west side, but farther and smaller - the sounds are muffled and rare.
In spite of Kings Cross being the major transport hub, it's not too loud. There are sounds of cars honking and accelerating at the crossroad, distant beeping of the pedestrian traffic lights, but other than that, it is relatively quiet. From time to time on top of all that there are shrieks of gulls gliding over the city.
I breath in and out again, open my eyes and, recharged and with Kings Cross and Central London now inside me, ready to dive into work.
