So… My Exchange in Durham took a rather different end than I had imagined. Above all, it was an early end. I have made it back home just in time before everything was locked down – and me locked inside my flat with my entire family… But before I start writing about my daily quarantine life here in Zurich, I wanna tell you about my beautiful trip to York last week!
Getting There…
If you plan on travelling from Durham to York, you can do so for about £12.- with a 16-25 Railcard (Roundtrip). I recommend using the trainline app, as you will get an overview of the different prices and best connections. York is about 45 minutes from Durham and the landscape is really nice. So try to put your phone aside and enjoy the view on your way there!
Things to see or not to see
York is a very beautiful city with a massive amount of history. Overall I recommend that you go see whatever you’re interested in. I have found that entries to museums and castles and minsters are quite pricey, so I figured I’d let you guys know what’s worth spending your money on and what you might wanna leave out when you go there.
After I arrived in York I went straight to the Jorvik Viking Museum. York is a city built by Vikings, many of them Danes or Scandinavians who travelled to North England. The museum gives you a really nice overview and picture of what the Viking’s daily life must have looked like. Similar to Madame Tussauds or Disneyland (‘It’s a small world’ – a song that I’ll never get out of my head), it has a ride where you get to travel through ancient York. Overall though, I got the feeling that the museum is perhaps more interesting to kids and young teenagers, as it doesn’t offer much historic depth. But that’s just my opinion 🙂
Definitely a must-see is York’s Minster. It reminded me a bit of the Duomo in Milan – just waaaaay less crowded. I spent almost 2.5 hours in there without even realising it. I recommend paying extra to go up the tower, as the view up there is fantastic. You may be exhausted (as you will see from my selfie below), but it’s also fun to balance your way up the tiny staircase.
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View over York -
I’ve definitely seen better times, hahahaha -
View from the front-gate -
The view on the way up to the tower
A third thing to see is Clifford’s Tower. Today, the tower is a ruin and partially nature’s victim. But nevertheless, it is still impressive and definitely worth a visit. I recommend going there when it’s not raining, as there’s no roof and it can get very (!) windy.
Completely for free is a stroll through town. You will pass many cute buildings and shops wherever you go. Close to the Minster are the Shambles, which you can see below. The street may be rather short, but there were at least 4 different Harry Potter stores!
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In case you’d need a space to park yor broom -
The famous shambles -
A cute little pub close to the train station
That’s it for now. I will write quite a few blogs throughout the next few weeks though and let you know about the current situation with my Exchange and some tips about how to be productive during quarantine. And in case I come up with a good plan I’ll write a blog called: ‘How to stay sane with your family around you 24/7’. But till I will figure that one out it might take a while 😉
Your Fanny 🙂
The Durham Exchange 