Welcome back for another exciting adventure! And this week, like the title, we are talking about some trains. While you are all bundled up in 2 feet of snow, I'm soaking up the sun in 50 degree weather. Of course, everyone here thinks that is bone chillin' cold. To me, that's April weather!
With all my academic assignments out of the way for awhile, I was able to do some traveling. This past Saturday, I booked a train for York. It's about a 2 hour trip from Liverpool Northeast in the country. Immediately as my train left Liverpool, and warm weather, we plunged into snow and freezing temperatures. I made it to York and immediately felt as if I was walking through the streets of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. The city centre is exactly as you would picture Harry potter with the narrow cobblestone streets, the big,looming window shops and people bustling about.
My first stop in York was the York Minster Cathedral, the gem of the city. Dating back to the Romans, the Cathedral has stood as a symbol of the changing history of the city. It's absolutely beautiful inside and is huge. They had an exhibition on Anne Frank in the church because it is Holocaust Remembrance week. They even allowed you to walk to the top of the tower of the cathedral which I did. It cost extra and they made me read a bunch of warning papers because it was over 300 narrow, winding, steep steps up to the top. They took us up in a group of 30. Before we went up, they warned us again about the how physically demanding the climb was and that there was only one spot where the room enough for people to pass each other and turn back. It was a one way path up. So we began our ascent and saying the steps were narrow is an understatement. The passageway was so narrow that I struggled at times to walk through because my bookbag was too wide. The "turn back" landing was about a quarter of the way up. As I made it to the landing I saw a couple of people huffing and puffing telling us to just pass them because they couldn't do it. We were almost at the top when a lady 4 people ahead of me falls onto her husband crying " I can't do it, just carry me. I can't go on." Her weight, and her's husbands narrow step, cause him to fall on the person behind him and then a domino effect started. We all were being held up by the person behind us because this lady couldn't go on. We began chanting " you are almost there, you can do it" over and over in hopes that this lady would be rejuvenated to finish the task. The whole stairwell echoed with " you can do it!!!!!!!!" She finally mustered up enough strength to crawl up the rest of the steps on her hands and knees.
The view from the top were absolutely beautiful. You had a 360 degree of everything in York and beyond. They had a reference map that pointed out sights you could see. One of them was Edinburgh way off in the distance. Looking at the city from up there I could see how different York and other cities are compared to Liverpool. Liverpool is a much more "modern" city built more like a city in America. York is a definitely a more English looking city. As I began to descend down the staircase, I took a count of how many of the 30 made it to the top. 13.
The rest of my time at the Cathedral was spent listening to an architectural lecture of the building and going through the history exhibit under the cathedral. There was this one Japanese girl who asked if I'd take her picture which I agreed. The exhibit was interesting because you got to see the different layers of stone each occupant of the land placed including The Romans, and the Normans.
With all my academic assignments out of the way for awhile, I was able to do some traveling. This past Saturday, I booked a train for York. It's about a 2 hour trip from Liverpool Northeast in the country. Immediately as my train left Liverpool, and warm weather, we plunged into snow and freezing temperatures. I made it to York and immediately felt as if I was walking through the streets of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. The city centre is exactly as you would picture Harry potter with the narrow cobblestone streets, the big,looming window shops and people bustling about.
My first stop in York was the York Minster Cathedral, the gem of the city. Dating back to the Romans, the Cathedral has stood as a symbol of the changing history of the city. It's absolutely beautiful inside and is huge. They had an exhibition on Anne Frank in the church because it is Holocaust Remembrance week. They even allowed you to walk to the top of the tower of the cathedral which I did. It cost extra and they made me read a bunch of warning papers because it was over 300 narrow, winding, steep steps up to the top. They took us up in a group of 30. Before we went up, they warned us again about the how physically demanding the climb was and that there was only one spot where the room enough for people to pass each other and turn back. It was a one way path up. So we began our ascent and saying the steps were narrow is an understatement. The passageway was so narrow that I struggled at times to walk through because my bookbag was too wide. The "turn back" landing was about a quarter of the way up. As I made it to the landing I saw a couple of people huffing and puffing telling us to just pass them because they couldn't do it. We were almost at the top when a lady 4 people ahead of me falls onto her husband crying " I can't do it, just carry me. I can't go on." Her weight, and her's husbands narrow step, cause him to fall on the person behind him and then a domino effect started. We all were being held up by the person behind us because this lady couldn't go on. We began chanting " you are almost there, you can do it" over and over in hopes that this lady would be rejuvenated to finish the task. The whole stairwell echoed with " you can do it!!!!!!!!" She finally mustered up enough strength to crawl up the rest of the steps on her hands and knees.
The view from the top were absolutely beautiful. You had a 360 degree of everything in York and beyond. They had a reference map that pointed out sights you could see. One of them was Edinburgh way off in the distance. Looking at the city from up there I could see how different York and other cities are compared to Liverpool. Liverpool is a much more "modern" city built more like a city in America. York is a definitely a more English looking city. As I began to descend down the staircase, I took a count of how many of the 30 made it to the top. 13.
The rest of my time at the Cathedral was spent listening to an architectural lecture of the building and going through the history exhibit under the cathedral. There was this one Japanese girl who asked if I'd take her picture which I agreed. The exhibit was interesting because you got to see the different layers of stone each occupant of the land placed including The Romans, and the Normans.
As I left the Cathedral, I noticed that the line to get into the Cathedral was out the door, down the street, and around the corner. I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I headed to the other side of town to see the Cold War Bunker of York. Well that was the plan until I came up to the gate and saw the sign " Closed due to weather." An underground bunker closed because of snow? I headed to the York Art gallery which was nearby...."Closed due to weather." The Roman wall city tour..."Closed due to weather." With my third strike, I decided to walk around the city and just take in the atmosphere. I soon realized that every other attraction in York, that was open, had lines out the door. There was a Viking museum I thought about going but decided against it when the wait line was about 2 hours. As I was taking pictures of the York Castle, I heard someone say " Excuse me, can you take picture?" I turned around and it was the same Japanese girl from the Cathedral. I obliged again.
The latter half of my afternoon was spent in the National Railroad Museum. I didn't think I'd spend a lot of time in there but I did. It was a really fascinating museum filled with engines, coaches, and rail cars from Britain's past. They had a whole depot full of Royal Coaches. Each car used by a King or Queen was left intact with the exact furniture that they had used. They had every coach all the way back to Queen Victoria and her Aunt. I enjoyed looking into each car and see how the furniture styles and technology changed from one to another. I watched a science presentation on how trains move with regards to Newton's laws of motion. They turned a steam engine on with parts of it open so you could see how the steam moves and all the mechanics working together.
The museum just opened a new exhibit the day before. Being the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's death on January 30th, they put on a limited exhibit showcasing the funeral train that took his casket from London to where he is buried. The train was named "Winston Churchill" prior to his death and was a fitting engine to carry him home. They also had the coach car that the casket road in and it was left untouched since the moment his casket left the car. That was really cool to see and they also showed film of the funeral in it's entirety. Boy did Prince Charles look young!
They had a section of trains devoted to trains that were inspirations for Thomas the Tank Engine. They had a couple of trains that looked exactly like the illustrations Thomas, Percy, Mavis, Henry and Toby. They didn't have the Thomas faces on them, of course, but it was cool to see that these fictional trains were designed from real, working engines. The final depot they had for viewing was their warehouse of train items. It was a big building filled with all kinds of stuff train British trains in history. Tea cups, signs, furniture, models, lights, carpet, they had everything stacked on shelves waiting to be restored. We were allowed to walk around, pick up and look at everything that was dated and cataloged. It was here that, while taking a picture of a train, I heard the words "excuse me, can you take picture?" I turned around and sure enough it was the exact same Japanese girl asking for a picture. When it happened at the castle I thought it was just a mere coincidence. 3 times in one day. Am I being followed? Should I be concerned? Anyways I took her picture for the 3rd and last time. Or at least I hope so. For I know she'll show up in Wales next Saturday....
The museum just opened a new exhibit the day before. Being the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's death on January 30th, they put on a limited exhibit showcasing the funeral train that took his casket from London to where he is buried. The train was named "Winston Churchill" prior to his death and was a fitting engine to carry him home. They also had the coach car that the casket road in and it was left untouched since the moment his casket left the car. That was really cool to see and they also showed film of the funeral in it's entirety. Boy did Prince Charles look young!
They had a section of trains devoted to trains that were inspirations for Thomas the Tank Engine. They had a couple of trains that looked exactly like the illustrations Thomas, Percy, Mavis, Henry and Toby. They didn't have the Thomas faces on them, of course, but it was cool to see that these fictional trains were designed from real, working engines. The final depot they had for viewing was their warehouse of train items. It was a big building filled with all kinds of stuff train British trains in history. Tea cups, signs, furniture, models, lights, carpet, they had everything stacked on shelves waiting to be restored. We were allowed to walk around, pick up and look at everything that was dated and cataloged. It was here that, while taking a picture of a train, I heard the words "excuse me, can you take picture?" I turned around and sure enough it was the exact same Japanese girl asking for a picture. When it happened at the castle I thought it was just a mere coincidence. 3 times in one day. Am I being followed? Should I be concerned? Anyways I took her picture for the 3rd and last time. Or at least I hope so. For I know she'll show up in Wales next Saturday....
And that was my trip to York. A bit disappointing in that half the things I wanted to see were closed but it was a really good trip. I'm looking into a trip to Wales on Saturday although nothing is confirmed yet. I just hope the weather is a bit warmer. I can't wait to travel in the warm Spring.
Mark's Musings:
ADD Weather: I know I've mentioned the weather a couple of times before, but it is really strange here. I've never seen weather change so quickly and so drastically. I was walking to my grocery store with 50 degree weather, clear blue skies and sunshine on Friday. Before I went to the first aisle of the store, the sky turned pitch black, downpour hail and lightening. Then within 20 seconds it was snow. Then sunshine and blue skies. Then heavy rain. Then overcast. It's so bizarre. Within minutes the weather here will change a thousand times and so drastically. Just think of how the weather is during a whole day. It's unbelievable.Even as I write this paragraph, this paragraph only, It has hailed, snowed, and now it's clear blue skies.
Trivia! 4 people answered and 3 take the prize. Survey says: John Williams. As of 2014, Williams has 49 Oscar nominations with 5 wins. That's unbelievable!
This weeks trivia is a bit tricky:
Mark's Musings:
ADD Weather: I know I've mentioned the weather a couple of times before, but it is really strange here. I've never seen weather change so quickly and so drastically. I was walking to my grocery store with 50 degree weather, clear blue skies and sunshine on Friday. Before I went to the first aisle of the store, the sky turned pitch black, downpour hail and lightening. Then within 20 seconds it was snow. Then sunshine and blue skies. Then heavy rain. Then overcast. It's so bizarre. Within minutes the weather here will change a thousand times and so drastically. Just think of how the weather is during a whole day. It's unbelievable.Even as I write this paragraph, this paragraph only, It has hailed, snowed, and now it's clear blue skies.
Trivia! 4 people answered and 3 take the prize. Survey says: John Williams. As of 2014, Williams has 49 Oscar nominations with 5 wins. That's unbelievable!
This weeks trivia is a bit tricky:
That's going to do it this week FAB fans. I'll be back reporting on what Wales has in store for me. Until then....
Peace & Love,
Mark
Peace & Love,
Mark