Hey folks!
With today's dramatic caption I want to introduce my current 'hometown' to you. My description boldly states that I'm currently living in the UK so I thought why not provide you with some pictures of the beautiful historic city that is York? (Also, what better way is there to procrastinate than to blog?)
First of all, a picture of me and some of my precious flatmates- I love you so much guys, you can't even imagine... (stolen from Stephanie's facebook, sorry!)
Next up is a slightly surreal photo of our very own campus lake. These days it's either frozen or looks like a brown puddle, so this is definitely more beautiful.
Strolling through The Shambles with my flatmates. Some houses there are from the 14th century and they look as if they've been taken right out of the set of Harry Potter. It is also said that J.K. Rowling got the inspiration for the Diagon Alley from this site.
Would you expect that this regal entrance houses the best place for hot chocolate in York? I definitely didn't but I was proved wrong after I stepped over the treshold. When you're in York, definitely go to the "York Cocoa House" and try their "Quite Dark" chocolate, it's glorious.
Another must-see when you're in York is the beautiful Gothic Minster. It's actually the second largest cathedral in Europe and I can well see why- it's huge. The whole complex also houses a garden and a beautiful ancient library.
Another characteristic feature of York's architecture are the numerous city gates and little gatehouses. In some parts of the city you can actually walk on the old city walls which is fun and exciting, plus it gives you a nice view.
This, however, is by far my favourite place in the city- the ruins of St Mary's Abbey. I go there every so often, even if it's just to drink coffee and stroll around the majestic remains of the church. There's a certain atmosphere lingering around the whole site which draws me in every time...
Also, for those interested in archeology there is a large excavation site showing how the buildings were disposed when they were still there.
Not only is York the home of numerous lovely buildings and streets, it's also situated in the middle of a breath-taking landscape. Can you imagine that this meadow is right behind campus?
Moving away from serene architecture and landscape, let's take a look at my humble residence. This was from my flatmate Aileen's and my birthday party, in the background you see me trying to open a bottle of champagne without injuring anyone. In the end, the cork flew right out of the window so I'm glad we took safety precautions.
Another shot from my birthday party- casually showing off my tattoo while holding a bottle of wine. Probably I liked the design?
The party crowd-it was a fun night with lots of food, drinks and shenanigans.
From the more secular aspects of life, back to the ethereal beauty of architecture. Often when you're just casually strolling through the city, suddenly a church you've never seen before pops up in front of you. This is paradise for an architecture lover like me, I tell you...
Now on to something more spooky- apparently there are quite a few restless souls roaming around York, hence the numerous ghost tours. This picture was taken in the most haunted pub in the city which also has the best pub food around. It's called "The Golden Fleece" and there are more-or-less friendly skeletons all over the place.
Remember when I talked about walking on the city walls? Here we go!
One would maybe not expect it, but the walls are really high! I felt slightly nauseous looking down from all the way up there, but the view was definitely worth it.
Casual pre-Christmas outing with my flatmates (almost all of them). There's a lovely pub called "The Charles" near our college, so we often go there for dinner and to catch up on each other's lives.
Here's the campus lake at night- truly magical, isn't it?
However, York is not only about studying, partying and living la vida loca. The university has a lot of cultural events, mostly organised by students, as this wonderful exhibition which was curated by one of my coursemates and friends. I was clearly fascinated by it, as you can see.
Adding to the cultural part of life, York also has a really exciting history! It was first established as a Roman city, then conquered by Vikings and then finally by the English. Currently there's a Viking festival taking place and yesterday I went there with one of my flatmates.
We had the chance to see an epic battle re-enactment completely with weapons and armour from the Viking period and we got really into the spirit of a fierce Viking battle.
"For there can be only one with glorious hair!"
I hope this post was entertaining at all. See ya next time!
