UK Fun Stay and All the Places We Go: York and the Christmas Market

While in Flixton at Orchard Lodge, Chuck and I had the opportunity to visit York. Lucinda arranged for their dog walker, Alex, to have Rosie and Inga for the day so we could wander to our hearts' content and we did. We took the Park and Ride to secure parking for our rental since Frankie was at the point of demise. It's a good thing we did - parking spaces are difficult to find and are expensive. York is a walled city at the convergence of the Ouse and Foss Rivers, famous for the York Minster with medieval stained glass and two working bell towers. It reminded me so much of Nuremberg or Rothenberg with its narrow cobblestone streets and open air markets. Chuck and I had a wonderful time wandering the streets after we had taken our final ride on the York Hop On Hop Off bus. We also visited Clifford's Tower from which we had far reaching views of the city.

However, we visited York one day too early. The Christmas Market opened the next day. That meant that we had to go back. When Andrew and Lucinda came home from their holiday, we spent the next day in the crowd enjoying every minute of the festivities. It was very much like the Christkindlmarkts we attended every year we spent in Germany so long ago. So much fun! We had some mulled cider and gluwein (hot mulled wine that was served in Germany during the Christmas season especially at the Christkindlmarkts). There was also a store dedicated to all things Christmas: Kathe Wolhfahrt. The one I remember vividly is the store in Rothenberg. It was magical and so is the one in York. Chuck and I ventured into the store on our first visit to York and it's a good thing we did. When we went back to York on Saturday, there was a line around the building and only a very few customers were allowed in at a time. The cobblestone streets were very crowded, but it was a blast!