Nott What You'd Expected...

Longest Post Ever (4 of 5... almost there)

DAY 4: ARRIVAL AT HARRY POTTER CASTLE


First rule of Harry Potter Castle: don't call it Harry Potter Castle. If there's one way to piss of a Duke, a historian, a St.Cloud State employee, an Englishmen in general, it's to reduce about 2000 years of culture and history into "mere celluloid"(direct quote from Kristine, our tourguide for our two days) and attempt to relate the Alnwick Castle to some crappy 20th century children's literary figure.....

Ouch.

We spent the first night hanging out, bonding as i called it. The trip was a great chance to get to know group members better. The way we were turned loose on the town, able to explore or just hang out, we were able to learn about each other as well as how we fit into the group. Who tells boring stories, who is willing to lead, who will sit back and watch things happen. Dr. Lerstrom (Interpersonal Communications) would be proud of my observations....We talked about biggest fears, worst ways to die, family history, broken bones and other childhood stories.
The best quote of the night? Talking about being left locked out of his house for 2 hrs in the blustery cold of Minnesota, Aaron was asked by Kate (the dessert fan of the group...32 sweet teeth): "Did you get anything out of deal? I mean, like cupcakes or something, for being left out in the cold for so long?"
"Well, I got a house key...."
Classic.


For a little bit of backstory, St. Cloud State U in St. Cloud, MN allowed us to rent some rooms for 3 nights while we explored the Far North of England. The Castle is still in use, as both a residence and a tourist attraction. The Duke of Northumberland who lives there is the richest person in the UK. More pounds than the queen. Seriouisly. in 2006, Fortune Magazine estimates he will earn 300 million pounds (maybe thats 'will be worth') whereas the Queen will be worth roughly 270. The man owns 8 golf courses, 120 thousand acres, 9 thousand sheep, and all the land you can see from the castle. and more. His bloodline can be traced back to the Percy family, and the castle was built in 1095 about 30 years after the Normans overthrew the Anglo Saxxons.

We woke up the next day to a cold breakfast and a tour of the outside of the castle. Following our tour, Kristine's husband took us on a double-decker open-canopy bus for a tour of Alnwick itself. It was freezing, but his voice was as soothing as it was deeply British.

We were then taken to a monestary on the Duke's property that dated about 150 years after the Castle was built, in the 1240s, where it stood until King Henry VIII was named head of the Church of England in 1536 and he had all Catholic monestaries stripped of their wealth.














After visiting the priory, we headed to Holy Island, or as it's also known, Lindisfarne. Holy Island is unique in its geographical properties. It sits a few hundred meters off of the eastern coast of England, in the North Sea. Depending on the tides, it is either an extension of the island or an island in and of itself. Every year, cars get stuck out in the straight road between the two as the tides roll in, and are forced to run for saftey in a few outposts along the way.

The island has a permanent population around 120, and tourism and fishing remain its main business. Kristine at one point said "The lobsters are sent to London for the gastronomic delights of the people in london"....

WE ate crab sandwiches and seafood-smelling water at a very 'authentic' pub overlooking the coast, and headed to Lindisfarne monestary. The ruins were of an 1150
redecoration of an old AngloSaxxon monestary that stood before it. The columns stood in almost perfect resemblance to Durham's huge, chevron-emblazoned edifices from the day before. The tales of St. Cuthbert run wild here, as he is the patron saint of Northumberland, and his bones and remians were carried over the area for over 100 years in a common story....

The arches and basic structure were so starkly red against the pale landscape and rolling fog that again, it almost looked unreal. like a movie set.


A castle dramatically placed on the rising land of the island, originally placed as a gun emplacement by King Henry in the 1500s, was remodeled in the late 19th and early 20th century by a rich London man who used the house as a summer home. It was designed to be a 'mock castle', and the garden was famously designed by Gertrude Jekyl (pronounced Jee-kuhl, as Jekyl and Hyde had just come out, and she was embarassed at the negative connotation)














We toured the castle and garden before leaving. Danny, our busdriver, bought the gang some really terrible fudge after hearing Ana talk about Ian the wonderful fudge guy that she met in York. Nice effort?














We then stopped by Burburgh Castle, a breathtaking view of a castle built almost within a cliff and in view of the North Sea Coast...













For dinner we stopped at Copperfields and dined on authentic steak and kidney pie, mince and onion pie, and corned beef pie, along with jacket potatoes and tea. For dessert, apple crumble and custard. Amazing.

Tommy, the owner of Copperfields, turns out to be the only person on the European continent to support President Bush. Go figure.

Again, instead of exploring what turned out to be a kindof creepy nightlife, we 'bonded' in our rooms.

posted by Kevin @ 12:48 AM