Hello everybody! It's time to share another one of my adventures!
So a few weekends ago I decided last minute to take a trip to York with the International Society on campus. Some of the other U of I kids were going and I thought it would be fun to get out of Manchester for a day! The trip was taking place during the Jorvik Viking Festival, which added to the appeal, because how could a viking festival NOT be entertaining.
View from the bus!
The bus ride was about 2 hours long and I was definitely ready to stretch my legs when we got there. Once we got to York, my friend Jorge, his friend Pablo, and I made our way to the festival. We found an area with story telling, lessons about weapons and general viking-ness. We listened to some of the speakers and explored the area for a while. It was an interesting crowd to say the least.
This little guy was helping his dad tell stories about Loki and Thor. He was pretty freaking cute!
We learned all about viking tools and various weapons from this guy. He was quite the expert and had an array of items to show us, including combs made with horn and bone, and cups made from horns as well.
This man was telling us all about the history of the vikings and all of their myths and legends. It was really impressive how much all of these people knew about these topics since, I'm assuming, they do have lives outside of the Jorvich Viking Festival.
We moved along to the viking market next. They had anything and everything you would need to become a full time viking.. Horns for drinking and stylish hats (as pictured below), swords and axes, full viking outfits and jewelry. As I said, just about anything viking related, they had it.
After the Viking Market we went to the York market, which was slightly more normal. There were food vendors, flower stands, and people selling various random things. There was a fudge stand that had more flavors of fudge than I even thought possible, and a woman selling teddy bears made out of alpaca fleece. They were SO SOFT. I actually think those teddy bears were the softest things I have ever felt. We stopped and got lunch at a German BBQ stand, I just got a bratwurst but it was probably the best brat I've ever eaten (so good that I ate one for dinner too..). The market was really cool and it was pretty much in the middle of York so it was surrounded by all the shops and cafes.
Next up was the March on the Wall. All of the vikings gathered and marched across York to where the "battle" would take place later on in the day. There was a large group waiting to take pictures with people (because they had the best costumes), and I couldn't pass up that opportunity! How many chances do you get to take a picture with a viking?!
All of the vikings lined up for their march. Some costumes were definitely better than others but these people were dedicated. The march was full of yelling and horn blowing (in true viking fashion, I would assume).
After their march the vikings took to the battlefield. They reenacted a battle while the most dramatic announcer in the world gave us a play by play of what was going on (over the music from Lord of the Rings). The highlight of the battle for me was when these two guys were dueling it out and were so intense that one of them actually knocked over a metal barrier surrounding some electrical equipment. It was one of the funniest things I've seen… He took a while to get up and I thought it was hilarious, he however, probably did not. He was fine though and went on to die a warriors death in battle.
After the intense battle was over, we headed to the gift shop to warm up a bit and meet up with one of our other friends. Her bus driver had gotten lost on the way so she had gotten their later than us, and it took us a while to meet up. After all of us were reunited, and I had made a few purchases for my niece and nephew in the gift shop, the group decided to go to the York Dungeon. The Dungeon was like an interactive tour of the bloody history of York. I tend to hate those kinds of things and it was too expensive for me, so I sat that one out and decided to go get some hot chocolate and do some people watching. I warmed up and explored some York's shops while I was waiting for them. I really liked York, it is smaller and more quaint than Manchester but still a fun place to be.
Some chocolate eggs from a VERY crowded tea room
Once they were done with their creepy tour we all met up again, had some dinner, and made our way back to the buses. After getting lost and having to ask for directions a few times.. we found our way back to our bus. Getting kind of lost seems to be a common trend in the life of a study abroad student. But we always find our way eventually!
I had a really good time on this little excursion and I am really glad I decided to go last minute. It was my first day trip to somewhere else in England and it made me really excited to get to explore more of the country. I also got to connect with my viking roots, haha!
Until my next adventure,
Hannah
