Headed North to Jorvik (York)

Today we are finally headed to York.  I have been looking forward to this for some time.  Our plan is to get to York today and do a quick walk about.  Then on Saturday check out the Jorvik Museum, the Minster, and the rest of York.  Saturday afternoon we are planning to head up to Whitby which is a village on the coast with great fish and chips.  Finally on Sunday we head back to St. Albans after breakfast.  That is the plan, we will see how it goes!

We got an early start leaving in the early afternoon to avoid some of the traffic.  Like most major cities in the US the Friday traffic heading out of town can tie up the motorways for hours.  Peter had his new GPS with the traffic alerts from the cell phone towers to break in on this trip which we hoped would take us around the worst of it.  It is 157 miles from St. Albans to York but with traffic we expected it to take 5+ hours.

The drive north was a great experience.  The UK version of rest area is kind of a combination rest area/truck stop in the US and they are quite frequent.  Each has petrol, food, and plenty of parking.  As we headed north the countryside started to have more hills and valleys.  It was quite beautiful, very green.

At Nottingham apparently is a large intersection of different motorways and can sometimes take more than an hour to get through.  The GPS took us off the highway, through some back roads and then back on the motorway.  In less then 15 minutes we were past.

We arrived in York in slightly under 4 hours, so excellent time and checked into our hotel.  I was anxious to get out and start exploring.  Just around the corner from our hotel was a section of the old city wall.  York is one of the few cities in England that still has most of it's old city wall nearly intact.  Most of the gatehouses are still standing as well. 

Having grown up playing D&D, as well as reading fantasy fiction, I have always been in love with Castles, City Walls, etc.  It was amazing to actually stand on one of these fortifications.  The battlements were higher then I expected.  In most films they only come up to chest height, but I could stand behind them and be fully covered.  I looked out and while not as high as I expected I could see how difficult it would have been to attack the walls.  I imaged patrolling them, looking out for barbarian raiders with the town safe behind the walls. 

We walked over most of the walls, even climbing through a couple of the gatehouses.  If I had done only this it would have made the trip worthwhile.  There was even more to do the next day.  While we were out exploring we checked on when the Jorvik Viking Center opened as well as a quick look at the York Minster.

We ate dinner at a carvery, which was quite good.  Still haven't found that horrible English food I keep hearing about.

Northerners ...

My dad had recommended that if I got the chance I should head to York.  He said with my love of history it was a "must see".  It was founded in 74 AD by the Romans and after the Romans left England it was taken over by the Vikings for a long period as well.  Needless to say this has given it a diverse and rich history.

I mentioned York to Peter, and it turns out he grew up there so offered to show me around.  I had also learned that just like in the US there are "Northerners" and "Southerners" in the UK.  There is quite a bit of disdain by both parties of the other.  Primarily the Northerners think the Southerners are "soft".

The Coaty McCoaterson story I think captures some of this :).

We are taking a half day this Friday and heading north, I can't wait!

There are good burgers in St. Albans

I took the burger judge (aka Peter) over to The Snug for a burger.  I had been warned by many people to not have a hamburger while over here as I would be very disappointed. 

I was in The Snug for cocktails (they have 2 for 1 on all their cocktails during happy hour).  Most people know my love for anything with fruit juice and alcohol.  I ran into one of the owners who had lived over in Canada for a time.  We were discussing the warning I had received and he insisted they had "good" burgers.  So I took the risk and ordered one.  I thought it was quite good, not the best but above average.

I wasn't sure though if perhaps it had been so long since I had had a hamburger that I needed a second opinion.  Peter had just returned from the US where he had some hamburgers so I felt his palate would be neutral.  We headed over and each had another hamburger.  My opinion was validated, they do indeed have good hamburgers.

So if your over visiting St. Albans and have a hankering for a decent burger check out The Snug.