York

After I woke up, I went to the laundry and took a buffet breakfast in the youth hostel. There were not many types of food available, but their taste was quite good, and the most important-- hot enough--warming up your body in a cold autumn. Time spent on laundry as well as distance between hostel and town center were both longer than expected, so it was already after nine when I arrived at City Wall. Luckily the town area of York was quite small indeed, and places that looks to be far on the map could be reached within several minutes of walk. However, not sure of what ceremony the local government held, York Minster was "engaged". Based on the assessment by the police, they expected it won't be re-opened until 2 or 3 pm in the afternoon. I had no choice but visit other places first. Comparing to Hong Kong, York is only a town. But who would know this town in Northeast England possesses a long history and was once a strategic city in military? Also, since York experieced so much changes, streets and buildings demonstrates styles from different eras, even street names reflect the thousand-year history.

I went south along the main street and soon came to Jorvik Centre. I got into this underground museum and explore the "Vikings journey". First travelled on a "time machine " and arrived at 1000 years ago with other visitors, then got onto an "time car", hanging around the " Vikings Village". It's interesting to see that "York" is actually derived from "Jorvik", a Vikings langugae at the old times, reflecting its close relationship with Northern European. There's an anthropology exhibition at the exit of "Vikings village", where you can test your relationship with Vikings, and result showed that the possibility that my ancestors were Vikings was 50%. lol

I passed the market and stopped at Fairfox House. Built with bricks, Fairfox House was a typical house in the Victoria times. Since the owner was a lady, all decoration inside the house was soft, showing tenderness and elegance of the women at the time.

Later I returned to the market and bought a Panini for my lunch, before visiting Cliffords Tower. After climibing up stairs for a few minutes, I arrived at its entrance. It's so hard to imagine the unsheltered tower once served for military purposes and there was a bridge connecting the Castle Museum, so Cliffords Tower was the last defence of the castle. The tower also lies on the highest point in the whole York City. Climbing up the winding staircase, I reached the top of the tower where I saw the whole city--fresh grass covered the city and river flows across like a blue ribbon, with chocolate factories, which had been in fashion for a time, at the far end.

Next I visited York Castle, which was only stepps away. The castle summarised York history, displaying interior design models, fashion and things used in daily lives of during the past days. They really widened my horizon. At the lowest level of the castle was a jail, which gave the coldest feeling yet the true picture to the visitors.

I walked at the director of the river bank, and went aboard for a boat trip. Although the weather was cold, I insisted on getting to the upper level for a better view. A pity that summer was over, or it should be the best activity in the afternoon after hours of walk. I tried to listen to the introduction of the buildings by the guide, but my eyes were soon lured to the sheeps on the grass. Man it's my first time to see real sheeps outside zoo!! They looked so warm and lovely. The boat started to return when it came to a marine's club, and I left the boat at the York Minster stop about 15 mins later.

It's only about 10 mins walk from the pier to York Minister. Nevertheless, there was so many vistors and I was in the last batch. Wow, so lucky, or I would have missed one of the oldest church in England~~It witnessed the development of York City, which is a must-visit for history-lovers. after centuries of repairs and extension, York Minster grew from a chapel to a cathedral. Nowadays, it still holds assembly on Sundays, and large scale events from local govenement are still conducted in this old church. There was a museum at the basement level, showcasing its history of development, foundation stones of centuries ago, even things used in rituals.

I hanged around the City Wall for a while after I left York Minster, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset in this historical city. Then I got a seat in a pub and ordered a homemade York Pudding and a pint of beer for dinner. I was worried that a pie wouldn't be enough, but when it came with vegetable and fries, it became "so much". With the pint of beer, I was in fact having a double-size comparing with my dinner in Hong Kong. I first finished the vegetables, which was a bit disappointing-- peas were fine, but carrots were a bit overcooked. Fries and the pie changed my view though. French fries was just perfect with timing--bit cracky with rich potato. York Pudding, no doubt, was the most delicious food in my dinner. Beef dices in self-made sauce (according to TV programme lately, the sauce should be made with beef and stout) and pastry, which was rich in butter taste, formed a perfect match. Also the dinner only costed around eight pounds, definitely worth eating even if my weight goes up after the trip!!

Sky turned dark after dinner, so I took a bus and returned to my hostel.

---

Part of trip: 2007 Europe Trip

---