By far, my favorite city from the entire trip was York. The small city had the perfect balance between religiosity and city life while embracing its deep history. The walk from the hotel to York Minster on the first day sold the beautiful place; we walked through Shambles on our way to the church, which gave the warm feel of a modern but quaint town with a bustling shopping scene. There were jewelry stores, restaurants, fruit markets, butchers, and much more built into the narrow streets. When we arrived at the church, the seemingly endless rows of shops stopped and opened up to a beautiful, medieval cathedral. The interior of the building was even more magnificent than the exterior; the tall ceilings, elaborate architecture, and exquisite stained-glass windows captivated all its visitors. Every single part of the interior had its own history from the plaques on the walls commemorating fallen British soldiers to the elaborate window designs, and the additions to the original church. Just when you think you’ve seen everything you can see within the church, you are once again invigorated by the idea of climbing the tower and touring the remains of an even older church below. Standing outside the church in the southern plaza was truly a humbling experience. On one side of you stands a spectacular cathedral that dates back to the Romans and on the other side stands a vibrant town with tons of shops and restaurants.
Also in York stands the Jorvik Viking Center, which is based on an archeological dig of a Viking town from down the road. The artifacts in the Viking village provided an idea of what life was like for the Vikings such as what they ate, jobs they may have had, their leisure activities, and more. The museum curators built a ride based on their findings. Realistic animatronics demonstrate activities done by the Vikings, the props are accurate to those found by the archeologists, and even the smell found in the Viking outhouse was duplicated. Out of all the artifacts the museum contained, the second most interesting was the skeleton of the woman that one of the animatronics was based on. The woman had joint and bone issues which were demonstrated by the animatronics limp and use of a cane. The most interesting artifact was the largest piece of fossilized human poop because while being very silly, provides vital information on Vikings’ diet.
York was a prominent city in the Roman Empire, which is demonstrated by the statue of Constantine the Great outside of York Cathedral to commemorate his crowning in that very spot. The Roman city of York had great walls built around it which today are covered by Medieval walls, but sections of the Roman Walls are still visible. Walking along these walls was truly an amazing experience for not only historical reasons but also touristy reasons as the view from the walls was beautiful. You truly gain an understanding of what it was like to live in the past by walking these walls.
In addition to the beautiful views of the walls around the city, Clifford’s Tower stood on a hill above all other structures, besides York Minster of course. The Tower has a long history; it was first used as a Norman Castle, was the site of a massacre of Jewish people, was rebuilt due to the aforementioned massacre, served as storage and a jail, and even served as a battle site during the English Civil War. The most interesting thing about this castle, though, is the loo. The toilet, built for the king at the time, had a flushing feature using rainwater, which predates the invention of flushing by three centuries. One sat on a wooden seat (since removed) and did your business down what my group and I liked to call the poop chute. The rainwater flushed it down the side of the castle onto the hill below.
Overall, York was the most interesting city on the trip. It combines old and new while never losing the cozy feeling of a small town. The deep history and layout of the city truly solidified its place in my heart.
