6/16 The Jorvik Center

What most people do not know is that York was really a Viking city, and its original name was Jorvik, with the "J" pronounced as "Y."   In the 1970s and early 1980s, an excavation was conducted that resulted in thousands of artifacts from the 1,000 year-old Viking town, as well as evidence of walls of that city and the previous Roman town here. 

While this building in the middle of York may not look very impressive, it was built over the excavation and houses many of the artifacts discovered.  It has been developed into a reconstruction of the Viking city with models depicting Viking life.  You ride in a little suspended Disney-like car through a recreation of the Viking city and then walk through a display of some of the artifacts.  

After entering the building, you enter a room where a staff members points out the various items under the glass floor that were preserved during the archeological dig.   

You then line up and get into little cars holding about 6 people each.  They keep slowly moving through the reconstruction, shown in the next few photos. 

 

 

  

 

 

Then, out of the moving vehicles and entry into a series of rooms with artifacts.  

The whole thing took only about an hour, and I did ask if there were other Viking museums in the area, and i was told there were not.  In any case, on Wednesday, I am headed to the York Museum to see what is there. 
 

6/15 Adventures in Getting to the City of York

I was in York briefly three years ago, and even rented a car there, but I had really not planned to spend much time there. So all I had time for was a day's worth of walking around and visiting the minster before heading to a hotel on the outside of town, and I ended up spending the next day visiting the home and veterinary practice of James Harriott.  I knew there was a lot to see in this town, including a Viking museum, railroad museum, and a very vibrant city center.  So this trip, I planned for a full five days here. 

I have a lot of plans for visiting several areas of England and Wales on this trip that requires a car, but I did not want a car in London, nor do I need a car in York.  So, while I will be renting a car at the end of my stay in York, I do not want to worry about parking one while I am here.  For that reason, I decided to take a fast train here from London, normally about a 3-hour comfortable trip.  

However, on this trip, British Rail decided that today, being a Sunday, was a perfect day to perform maintenance on a large chunk of track.  This means instead of hopping on a regular long-distance train, and riding the entire distance with bathrooms and food on the train, we had to take a local train to one town, transfer to special buses provided by the train companies, and then switch back to a train for the last part of our journal, which was now an almost five hour trip.  This also involved lugging my two small but heavy suitcases from station to train, to bus, to another train, and finally to York.  It also meant standing in long lines as nearly everyone traveling north on this day had the same problems. 

This is the line in St. Pancras Station:

And the line for all of us to transfer from the train to a bus: 

 

 

At least I got the front seat on the bus, but that was a bit scary as I winced every time the bus came to close to another vehicle or turned sharply and almost hit the curb and light poles: 

 

 

It was an hour long ride, but better once we got on the freeway.  

OK, finally made it to York station and took a taxi to my hotel.  However, he could not drop me directly at the hotel because what I did not realize when I booked it was that almost all of the small streets in the center of the city are closed to vehicle traffic from 10 am to 8 pm every day.  This meant a block walk to the hotel.  Except the driver dropped me off near Judge's Lodging Hotel and Restaurant, which was about three blocks from my actual hotel, Judge's Court Hotel!!!  Another hike hauling my luggage was not what I wanted to do at the end of a long day, but on I went. 

This is why they say that travel is an adventure!   

Anyway, when I chose this hotel, I knew it was in the center of town and a bit quirky, but I decided I liked its location near the market and lots of shops, so I gave it a try. 

The hard part was finding the entrance.  I walked past it a couple of times before I found it. Basically, the entrance is just a doorway to this strange building in the center of the block. 

FYI - The hotel description calls this entrance a "snickelway," so I looked it up.  Check out an explanation here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snickelways_of_York 

 

This little building is tucked away in a strange place because it was built in 1720, long before the building on either side of it, or even the building on the street in front of it.  It served for many years as a residence for judge's who would arrive for a few weeks or months twice each year to try cases.  It is famous as being the residence of the judge who tried a famous outlaw and horse-thief in 1740 and sentenced him to hanging.  

If you are looking for a Marriott or a Hilton, you will not be happy with this place!  But TripAdvisor lists this as a 4-Star hotel and describes it as a "little gem".  It does have 15 rooms, surprisingly. 

 

Anyway, they gave me a real key to my ground-floor room, and I was happy to know that someone was in the office area of the entrance 24 hours a day.  They also were able to provide me with some ice for my Coke!  

Here is my room.  The bed was a bit too firm, but the bedding was very nice and it was very clean.   

 

 

The bathroom is pretty typical of British hotels, but it was down two small steps, so not very handicap friendly.  But the shower did have two types of shower heads--just a bit tricky controls--and it did have a heated towel rack.   

Tomorrow, I will post about my walking around the central city and my visit to the nearby viking museum.  

 

 

6/14 Oxford Street, London

The roughly two miles of Oxford Street is one of the most famous shopping areas in London.  On or near Oxford Street are Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason, and Liberty London.  Plus you will find dozens of UK clothing, shoe, electronics, and just about every other kind of store you can imagine.  Also, it is always packed with crowds, no matter the day or time of year.  Consider what Times Square would look like if it were two miles long???

I made a trip there to look for a new pair of shoes, and probably went into a dozen stores before finding a pair.  Also found an IKEA, which I had never seen there before, so stopped in to buy a small paring knife for cutting cheese and fruit for snacks while I am traveling.  

One thing I have always found interesting about London is how very old buildings can be found next to much more modern buildings.  The good news is that not all the grand department stores have failed or moved to shopping malls in the suburbs! 

Here are some random photos I took:   

And finally, a big warning:  DO NOT STAND TOO CLOSE TO A CURB AS BIG BUSES COME VERY CLOSE.  ALSO, BICYCLISTS AND SCOOTER RIDERS ARE ALSO A HAZARD, SO LOOK BOTH WAYS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE CROSSING ANY LONDON STREET!

6/14 Mudlarking Exhibit at London Museum at Docklands, London

There used to be two Museums of London, but the one in London has been shut down for a couple of years as they expand.  The other location has been in the Docklands near Canary Wharf.  The Docklands were originally known as the Port of London, and the East India Company had docks and buildings there where they received the products they imported from around the world.  

"Mudlarking" is something that has been done along the banks of the Thames River for several centuries.  Basically, people have put on boots and walked along the edges of the river in low tide to find things that have fallen into or been thrown into the river over the centuries.  In past centuries mudlarking was done to find items that could be sold to increase income of someone who was very poor.  In more recent times, mudlarkers are required to obtain a permit and to notify the government if anything that is above a certain value or antiquity is found. 

When I looked up events in the London museum while I was going to be in London, I found this exhibit, so bought tickets and took the subway to the museum today.  I had been there about 10 years ago, and was shocked to see the development that had taken place in the area!!  It has become a huge high-rise office building and shopping area!  Wow!

  

 

 

None of this was here 10 years ago, and they are still building!!! 

 

 

 

These are the original building of the West India Company.  

 

 

 

The London Museum is in the historical building and is in the center of this photo.   

 

 

And the exhibit itself.

 

 

 

 

Some gold rings of varying ages.  

 

 

 A helmet that was probably ceremonial, not worn in battle!

 

 

One of the more famous objects found: 

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least, as the saying goes, are some false teeth!! 

It was a tiring day because of all the walking required getting from and to the Tube stations.  

6/13 All Hallows by the Tower, Oldest Church in London

This is the oldest surviving church in London and one of my favorite places!  It is located very near the Tower of London and across the street from Seething Lane, which is often mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys.  Pepys was a young man who was secretary of the Navy.  He is well known as having written a detailed diary about his life in London from 1660 to 1671, and from which we learn much about London during those years.  He lived only a couple of blocks from here, and in 1666, he wrote about climbing the tower of this church to view the Great Fire of London.  

During this period, many of the buildings in London were made of wood with thatch roofs, and the fronts hung over the streets, causing them to be very prone to fire.  After climbing the tower, Pepys notified King Charles and his brother, the Duke of York, that the fire seemed to be almost unstoppable, so he got permission to use Navy sailors to bomb nearby wooden homes, and thus stopped the fire from going farther. 

If you take the Tube to Tower Hill, the closest station to the Tower of London, and you look around, you will find this spire about a block away. 

 

 

As I got ready to enter the church, i saw a family of tourists reading this sign and trying to decide whether to go inside or not.  I told them it had a crypt from Medieval times, and they had to go in to see the basement crypt and Roman floor.  They were a bit concerned that they would not be welcomed, but I told them it was a museum, as well as a church, and everyone is welcomed.  Later the one lady who spoke English thanked me for encouraging them to come in.  As the sign says, "All Welcome."

 

 

My first stop was to immediately go down the steps into the crypt!  This posted sign about the Roman floor shows that there was some kind of building here when the Romans founded Londinium 2,000 year ago!

 

 

A bit more history.  Thanks for Pepys and the British Navy sailors, the church was saved from the Great Fire, but it got heavily bombed in WWII.  Basically, only the outer walls were left standing.  They had to replace inner walls and replace the ceiling as it was before the war.

 

However, during the bombing, much of the plaster was blown off the remaining walls, and damage was done to the floor and basement.  In removing the rubble, they discovered the older church and many of the architectural stones and crypt rooms.  These were restored and the artifacts have been put on display here.  

 

 

Several small rooms which were likely originally burial chambers but were empty of bodies have become small chapels and quiet prayer places.  

 

 

This was just a dark corridor blocked by a heavy iron gate, but I used the flash on my camera and stuck the lens through the bars and discovered this!  Wonder where it goes? 

 

 

More of the crypt basement.  

 

 

One of the artifacts with some advice about work. 

 

 

This is a columbarium, or a place where ashes of people are stored in sealed niches.  It is still used for burials.   

 

 

Another side room that deadends. 

 

 

I went back upstairs to the more modern church and got a private tour by one of the volunteer ladies because the church was not busy.  This is an ancient baptismal font carved entirely of oak.  It is still used today.  Note that there is a chain coming out of the heavy carving.  It is pulled up to the ceiling so the font can be used.  

 

Note about famous people associated with this church:  William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was baptized here in 1644.  John Quincy Adams was married in this church in 1797, and Albert Schweitzer played the organ here!!  Check out this historical summary for more information:  https://www.ahbtt.org.uk/visit/historyeducation/

 

 

This medieval wall was discovered after the WWII bombing when plaster fell off of it.  Notice that the Medieval builders reused Roman floor tiles for the arch.   

 

 This is the crows nest from one of Shackleton's ships.  Check out this page for more details:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sir-ernest-shackleton-s-crows-nest

 

 

This center part of the church was the part that had to be completely rebuilt, but they used the drawings and photos of the original to make it as close to the original as possible.   

This strange shell canopy over the pulpit is modern and was added to reflect the voices of the speakers so they do not need electronic amplifiers. 

 

 

These next two photos show how the inner parts of the outside walls of the church were blackened by the WWII bombing.  

 

 

A modern organ replaced the one destroyed in WWII.