York

We spent last weekend in Yorkshire. The city of York was really amazing. There are loads of great museums, shops, and markets set among some amazing architectural gems. York combines modernity and antiquity in a very intriguing way.

The kids loved this merry-go-round right next to Clifford’s Tower, a 13th century fortification.

After revolving rapidly for several minutes, we went into the adjacent York Castle Museum, which has some amazing historical recreations from Britain’s past. Among other things, the ladies had a chance to try on some Victorian undergarments.

We also spent some time wandering around York Minister. The majestic arches and towers of the cathedral truly inspire awe. I recently read Ken Follet’s The Pillars of the Earth, a historical novel about building cathedrals. While I can’t unreservedly recommend the book, it did give me a new perspective on the process that must have occurred here.

I took quite a few photos of the interior as well, but somehow they don’t capture the soaring nature of the building. You can’t help but look to the heavens.

The stained glass was incredible.

We happened to coincide with a choral service. The sound of the organ filling the church was quite amazing.

We returned to York on Monday morning for more. The Jorvik Viking Museum was very interesting. We went through a recreation of York as a Viking city complete with actors in costume. There was also a fascinating display of bones and a discussion of the types of archaeological details they can reveal. Some it was quite graphic – one skeleton in particular displayed a number of wounds, any one of which would presumably have been fatal. River is especially interested in archaeology these days, so our visit was apropos.

There are lots of other interesting things to see and do in York and we are hoping we will get another opportunity to visit again before too long.