After writing my last blog post yesterday I got ready and left the hostel around 10 AM.
At the train station, I was apprehensive about loading my bicycle onto the train. I worried that something might get damaged or that it might take me too long to load the bike and delay the train. There is something wrong with me if I keep thinking like that.
Of course, everything went smoothly. There was another cyclist that came on so he moved my bike to the hook next to his. An hour later when I was getting off the train, the cyclist was able to move his bike so I can get my bike out. Everyone was so helpful as people handed my panniers when I got off the train at York. My fear was over and I just don’t know why I worry about the future when I have no control of it beforehand. Such is the human condition.
My hostel is called Safestay York Micklegate and it’s near to the train station. I dropped off my bike and panniers there, but check-in isn’t until 3 PM. I had Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles at the Red Chili Restaurant. Asian restaurants are common in the UK, as with other ethnic places, which I like.
After my meal, I had some spare time before 3 PM and decided to walk to the National Railway Museum. It’s the largest railway museum in the world apparently.
Guess who I saw when I was walking there? Robbie, the world traveler I had met in Newcastle a couple of nights ago. I was surprised to him, but he wasn’t surprised to see me because I had told him I was going to be in York, which I had completely forgotten about.
Robbie told me a little about the museum and was disappointed that the Flying Scotsman train wasn’t there. The Flying Scotsman was a famous steam powered train that went over 100 mph. Something I didn’t know.
Inside the museum there were all kinds of trains. There was even a Japanese bullet train, the only one outside of Japan. There was also an early Eurostar train that went from London to Paris. This museum reminded me of the train museum in Sacramento, California, but has more things to see.
Around 3:30 PM, I walked back to the hostel and checked in. I didn’t do much for the rest of the day because I felt so tired.
I did purchase a ferry ride from Hull to Rotterdam on August 6. The website failed to accept both of my credit cards so I had to pay through PayPal. One thing to note about PayPal is that they charge an unfavorable currency exchange rate so always pay in the local currency to a credit card that’s linked to PayPal. Visa or Mastercard has better exchange rates and you’ll save money doing it this way. My ticket was a bit expensive at £269, which is US$358.15. That’s more than the flight cost from Halifax to Edinburgh.
It’s raining this morning, but it’ll stop in the afternoon. I plan to walk around York later. Since I’ll be staying here for two more nights I have plenty of time. I was planning to take a day trip to Leeds or Manchester, maybe I don’t want to do that since my mood is a little down. I guess I’ll have to see.
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| Worrying about loading my bike onto the train |
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| A street in York |
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| Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles |
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| Me and Robbie |
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| Inside the National Railway Museum |
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| George Stephenson, the inventor of the first train |
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| More trains |
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| A model of the Flying Scotsman |
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| A real train leaving the York train station. |
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| An open shop inside the museum |
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| An elevated view of the main museum floor |
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| One of the first Japanese bullet trains |
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| The Eurostar train |
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| Replica of the first train called Rocket |
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| A British made Chinese train |
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| Noticing the details: the bottle cap is attached to the bottle so it's easier to recycle everything. Why can't that happen in the US? |
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| More British snacks |
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