I left Liverpool in the early morn and took a train to the walled city of York, home once to Constantine's father, Constantine himself, the Vikings, Richard III and many other historical, literary and religious individuals. York in incredible. I spent hours wandering through the small alleyways and little shops, walking on the ramparts of the walled cities, peeking into towers and getting myself lost on a sunny day.
Of course you can't go to York without hitting up the Minster and it was another beautiful cathedral. My favorite parts are included here. First, below, there are statues largely decorated and detailed of all the kings between William the Conqueror and Henry VIII. However, if you look closely, they don't look very regal- they actually look pretty silly.
The in the Chapter House, where the monks would meet, there were little heads decorating the walls. There were about 100 altogether and so small that they could easily be looked over. If you're ever there, DON'T! Take a good look at each of them. Some are smiling, some are sticking their tongues out, one guys has three heads, another guy is making a grotesque expression, this poor fellow has his eyes pecked out by a bird. They are incredible!
I needed to circle the city after leaving the Minster so I climbed up to the walls, peeked into the Richard III Museum (more about him, read the Shakespeare play or just listen to the Reduced Shakespeare Company's song "Dem Kings") and then wandered the ramparts and looking out over the city of York both in and out of the walls.
Most of my time in York was jstu spent wandering the cities. I popped into a little church called St. Helen's, after the mother of Constantine and its small simplicity was so different from the gradeur of the Minster. There was also a beautiful little exhibit on the UN Declaration of Human Rights were 30 artists illustrated what they thought each article of the Declaration meant to them.
I also stopped at their outdoor market and bought some gloves that turn into mittens. Score.
I climbed up the last remaining tower of the old York Castle, went to the Northern Regimental Museum where the guy working there brought out two sabres for me to look at and wield (pretty awesome), meandered about the darkening streets and then sat on a bench and watched movies on my ipod until the Ghost Tour (more on that later). By the time I walked home the rain had lightly started and would be a sign for how the following day would go.
The next morning was wet, wet, wet, wet, wet! But I grabbed my handy umbrella and headed down to the train station. I walked along the Dame Judi Dench Riverwalk and was so hot by the time I arrived (I was walking quickly to make sure I didnt' miss my train) that I just HAD to get an iced coffee. The barista man was waaaayyyy too cheerful and upbeat for 8:00 AM but it was catching and I watched the British countryside drown in rain on the train ride up.
The first thing that you see when you pull into station is the huge Cathedral as well as the castle where the University of Durham is housed. The train station is up on the top of a hill on one side of the River Wear and the Cathedral/Castle is on the other side so I had to trek down to the river, cross one of the many bridges and then trek back up, stopping in some of the little shops of the various streets.
I made my way eventually up the cobbled streets to a city square with a statue of Neptune in the middle. I'm not sure of where Neptune came into play but there he was with his triton and I think he had a tail.... so maybe not Neptune. Who knows. There was also a beautiful little church called St. Nicholas which looked very old on the outside but on the inside was just like a contemporary church, with cushy chairs, carpets, a little cafe. I ended up chatting for a few minutes with a very nice man there who gave me some recommendations of what else to see in Durham.
I stopped in at Durham's version of a covered market, did not buy a single book and then headed up to the Cathedral. Bill Bryson, one of my favorite authors, "unhesitatingly gives Durham my vote for best Cathedral on earth." And he was right. It was absolutely magnificent from the outside to the inside.
From the first thing you see entering into the cathedral to the tiny little details inside, everything is incredible and super-sized. The door knocker on the front door has been around since the patron saint of Durham- St. Cuthbert- and was used when people were needing to find asylum in the church. And because St. Cuthbert had died on March 20, there was a celebration in the cathedral and I got in for free. Score!
Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed in the cathedral but I did manage to sneak one of the tomb of the Venerable Bede. I walked through the Cloisters, visited the Monk's Dorms which is now a library (a long, wooden floor room elevated up from the ground) and spent a long time wandering through the nooks and crannies of the Cathedral. There were many little chapels each dedicated to a special sort of prayer or to a certain saint, there were a lot of really interesting wooden sculptures and of course, the glorious stained-glass windows (including the large flower window at the front of the church) and the high arching ceilings. I dont' know why it was but Durham just seemed to have this magnificent and hugeness to it and despite York Minster being larger, Durham had a more profound presence.
Upon leaving the Cathedral, I walked around town for a little while longer, helped a guy carry his three huge suitcases up all the stairs to the train station (my good deed of the day), headed back to York, wandered through town, went to the art museum for a bit and then trekked to the hostel and back to gather my things. The train ride home was long... almost four and a half hours and two of those were spent sitting in front of loud, drunk, obnoxious sports fans who kept singing Elvis tunes for some reason. Back at Oxford, I was hoping for some clear skies but it was just as rainy as up north but I made it home by ten and all in all, was in good spirits!
Of course you can't go to York without hitting up the Minster and it was another beautiful cathedral. My favorite parts are included here. First, below, there are statues largely decorated and detailed of all the kings between William the Conqueror and Henry VIII. However, if you look closely, they don't look very regal- they actually look pretty silly.
The in the Chapter House, where the monks would meet, there were little heads decorating the walls. There were about 100 altogether and so small that they could easily be looked over. If you're ever there, DON'T! Take a good look at each of them. Some are smiling, some are sticking their tongues out, one guys has three heads, another guy is making a grotesque expression, this poor fellow has his eyes pecked out by a bird. They are incredible!
I needed to circle the city after leaving the Minster so I climbed up to the walls, peeked into the Richard III Museum (more about him, read the Shakespeare play or just listen to the Reduced Shakespeare Company's song "Dem Kings") and then wandered the ramparts and looking out over the city of York both in and out of the walls.
Most of my time in York was jstu spent wandering the cities. I popped into a little church called St. Helen's, after the mother of Constantine and its small simplicity was so different from the gradeur of the Minster. There was also a beautiful little exhibit on the UN Declaration of Human Rights were 30 artists illustrated what they thought each article of the Declaration meant to them.
I also stopped at their outdoor market and bought some gloves that turn into mittens. Score.
I climbed up the last remaining tower of the old York Castle, went to the Northern Regimental Museum where the guy working there brought out two sabres for me to look at and wield (pretty awesome), meandered about the darkening streets and then sat on a bench and watched movies on my ipod until the Ghost Tour (more on that later). By the time I walked home the rain had lightly started and would be a sign for how the following day would go.
The next morning was wet, wet, wet, wet, wet! But I grabbed my handy umbrella and headed down to the train station. I walked along the Dame Judi Dench Riverwalk and was so hot by the time I arrived (I was walking quickly to make sure I didnt' miss my train) that I just HAD to get an iced coffee. The barista man was waaaayyyy too cheerful and upbeat for 8:00 AM but it was catching and I watched the British countryside drown in rain on the train ride up.
The first thing that you see when you pull into station is the huge Cathedral as well as the castle where the University of Durham is housed. The train station is up on the top of a hill on one side of the River Wear and the Cathedral/Castle is on the other side so I had to trek down to the river, cross one of the many bridges and then trek back up, stopping in some of the little shops of the various streets.
I made my way eventually up the cobbled streets to a city square with a statue of Neptune in the middle. I'm not sure of where Neptune came into play but there he was with his triton and I think he had a tail.... so maybe not Neptune. Who knows. There was also a beautiful little church called St. Nicholas which looked very old on the outside but on the inside was just like a contemporary church, with cushy chairs, carpets, a little cafe. I ended up chatting for a few minutes with a very nice man there who gave me some recommendations of what else to see in Durham.
I stopped in at Durham's version of a covered market, did not buy a single book and then headed up to the Cathedral. Bill Bryson, one of my favorite authors, "unhesitatingly gives Durham my vote for best Cathedral on earth." And he was right. It was absolutely magnificent from the outside to the inside.
From the first thing you see entering into the cathedral to the tiny little details inside, everything is incredible and super-sized. The door knocker on the front door has been around since the patron saint of Durham- St. Cuthbert- and was used when people were needing to find asylum in the church. And because St. Cuthbert had died on March 20, there was a celebration in the cathedral and I got in for free. Score!
Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed in the cathedral but I did manage to sneak one of the tomb of the Venerable Bede. I walked through the Cloisters, visited the Monk's Dorms which is now a library (a long, wooden floor room elevated up from the ground) and spent a long time wandering through the nooks and crannies of the Cathedral. There were many little chapels each dedicated to a special sort of prayer or to a certain saint, there were a lot of really interesting wooden sculptures and of course, the glorious stained-glass windows (including the large flower window at the front of the church) and the high arching ceilings. I dont' know why it was but Durham just seemed to have this magnificent and hugeness to it and despite York Minster being larger, Durham had a more profound presence.
Upon leaving the Cathedral, I walked around town for a little while longer, helped a guy carry his three huge suitcases up all the stairs to the train station (my good deed of the day), headed back to York, wandered through town, went to the art museum for a bit and then trekked to the hostel and back to gather my things. The train ride home was long... almost four and a half hours and two of those were spent sitting in front of loud, drunk, obnoxious sports fans who kept singing Elvis tunes for some reason. Back at Oxford, I was hoping for some clear skies but it was just as rainy as up north but I made it home by ten and all in all, was in good spirits!
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