Climbing our way slowly to the top!

Top of the Minster
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Our first morning in Manchester began with only a minor catastrophe. Stacy started the morning out by cutting her finger while slicing her bagel, and then almost fainted at the sight of her own blood. But, a good thing for everyone is that the day went much smoother following that incident. We all met Martin and his wife Anna in the lobby of our hotel at 8:40 in the morning. Martin is a professor at Manchester Metropolitan University and has taught at SDSU in the past and both have friends in Minnesota and South Dakota. Martin and Anna brought us on a day trip to York. Before going to the train station Martin walked us by some of the historic sites that are located around our hotel and told us about them. He explained that many of the streets were made of cobblestone to provide better traction for the horses that were used years ago for transportation and transport. He also explained that most of the buildings surrounding our hotel used to be warehouses for fabrics. He provided us with some interesting information.

Are we there yet?
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We then continued on to the train station for the short hour and a half train ride to York. Once we arrived in York we walked to the York Minster. The Minster is the largest gothic cathedral located in Northern Europe. The first thing we did at the Minster was to climb the 273 steep and narrow, spiraling stairs to the top of the tower. We definitely got a good workout climbing all those stairs. We only had to stop to take a couple quick breathers before we reached the top. From the top of the tower we could see a beautiful expansive view of York; it was wonderful and there were a lot of pictures taken from up there. The trip down the stairs wasn’t very much fun either. A few complaints could be heard about people being dizzy.

Martin and Anna - our tour guides
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We then went down into the Undercroft. The Undercroft contains both treasures and crypts. Many treasures were found underneath the building of the Minster during a recent construction project. During this project they also found the remains of many people. The main floor of the Minster is full of beautiful stained glass windows. When you walk around this floor you see many tombs of former bishops and archbishops. A church service took place part of the time we were at the Minster.

After the Minster our group separated to have lunch and walk around and do some site seeing on our own in York. A lot of the afternoon for the girls involved walking around York and going into the many little shops that are located there. Some of us walked to the York Castle museum; the building itself was quite beautiful. By the time we had done all of this it was time to go back to the train station and meet up with the rest of the group so we could go back to Manchester.

By the time we all got back from Manchester there were many tired people so it was a pretty uneventful evening. Overall it was an interesting day, and we learned a lot about the history of York. It was great that Martin and Anna came with us because they told us interesting stories and advised us regarding which sites were worth seeing. If you are ever in Manchester I would suggest a day trip to York; even if you aren’t interested in all the sites there is plenty of shopping to keep you busy!

Sandra