YORK

A cold but great day in Northern England

I once read in my UK travel guide that if you only have the chance to explore one city in the North of England, you should definitely spend one day in York.

The city is not only surrounded by a wall but also by two rivers. These are the river Ouse and the river Foss which confluence in York.

Because the city has been existing throughout two millenia it has so much to offer. Only one example is York Minister which is the cathedral of the city.

York Minister is one of the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe and the Archbishop of York has his seat there.

By the way, the title "minister" derives from churches which were established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches. 

We did not go inside (you have to pay a lot to get inside) but we took a look at the cathedral from outside and it really looked stunning.

Somehow it reminded me of the Cathedral of Cologne, although it is at the same time very different from it.

 

We strolled around the city and saw the Castle which is situated on a green hill. Strange enough, close to the green hill there is a carpark which seemed very unnusual. It appeared to us that there is a mixture between the old historic bits and the modern aspects of the city which was really interesting for us to see.

Close to the Castle we came across some ducks which were strolling over the street. They were so cute!!

 

 

 

 

After our small walk, we decided to have lunch in an organic restaurant which was not really cheap but very tasty. It was called "Goji" and I can really recommend it.

They had all kinds of food on offer and we tried a lot before we decided what to have.

Moreover, we tried very traditional fudge in a small fudge shop. The shop assistants got our attention as he waved, smiled and indicated that we should come inside and try their specially produced fudge.

I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of fudge, but this shop sold really tasty fudge. They had flavours like Sea-Salted Caramel (my all time favourite) or Walnut-Maple Fudge and we shared a big piece for the proud price of £7.

 

Sadly, we did not have too much time. I would have like to go to the Jorvik Viking Centre, but because we had only time from 2-6 pm we decided not to go into a museum because it can take a whole day. I decided that I would love to come again and then I want to visit the Jorvik Centre. I heard it is really interesting and that you can spend a whole day in a big musuem like this.

 

Therefore, we just strolled around the beautiful streets and absorbed the atmosphere. My favourite part of York was called "The Shambles". This street is famous for its antique style. Moreover, in 2012 the residents of York welcomed the Olympic torch on its way from York to London in this beautiful street.

 

The street was also rated as one of the most picturesque streets in Britain.

Furthermore, special about the cobbled street is that the roofs almost touch each other in the middle. The Shambles were also mentioned in the Domesday book which is over 900 years old and therefore it is known to be York's oldest street and European's best preserved Medieval street.

The atmosphere around the cobbled street was really special and I would definitely recommend a visit in York!

If you go, stay longer than half a day because there is so much to see. Furthermore, they have so many nice shops and independent cafés, restaurants, pubs etc. so a weekend trip to York would be perfect for visiting the North of England!