Cambridge

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! I hope that you have been enjoying my weekly updates. Writing them has been good for me. It forces me to sit down at the end of every week and think about my experiences and the best ways of sharing them with my family and friends. (And apparently some strangers as well, since I have been getting hits from places where I don't know anyone!) I listen to a weekly podcast called "Pop Culture Happy Hour." At the end of every episode, the four participants do a segment they call "What's Making Us Happy this Week." I've come to think of "News from London" as my own version of that segment.

What's really making me happy this week is that six days from today, my wife Angela will be joining me for a two-week visit! We have a great trip to Scotland planned, so you can look forward to pictures from that in the coming weeks. The other thing making me happy this week is a day trip that I took to Cambridge, a medieval town and home to the world-famous Cambridge University, founded in 1284. A little over five years ago I spent a month in Oxford and fell in love with it. Ever since then I have wanted to visit Cambridge so I could compare these two university towns. I fear that last week's post may have been too much of a history lesson for some of my readers, so I'll try to be more of a tour guide this week.

If you did a Google image search for Cambridge, what you would most likely get are pictures of King's College, one of the thirty-one independent colleges that make up the university. Its most striking feature is the gothic chapel begun by Henry VI in 1446. The War of the Roses slowed its construction and it wasn't completed until 1515 under Henry VIII. In a nation of beautiful historic churches, this one really stands out.

King's College Chapel from the main courtyard.

This picture of the pipe organ gives you some idea of the chapel's interior.  The design of the ceiling is called fan vaulting. 

Compared to Corpus Christi, King's college is a newcomer to Cambridge. Work on Corpus Christi College began in 1352. Standing in its inner court you can almost imagine that you are one of its medieval students.

The inner court at Corpus Christi College. Although it has been modified somewhat over the years, it retains a 14th century look.

For bragging rights on the accomplishments of its alumni, Trinity College is the winner. Its graduates include two kings, six prime ministers, and no fewer than 30 Nobel Prize winners! Isaac Newton was both a student and a professor here. There is still an apple tree outside the window of what used to be his office. It is said to be a descendent of the one that, according to legend, inspired his work on gravity.

The main gate of Trinity College. The statue is Henry VIII, who founded the college in 1546. He endowed it with land confiscated from the Catholic Church during the English Reformation. He once held a scepter, but it was taken by students as a prank. A window cleaner placed a broken chair leg in the scepter's place.

While I'm on the subject of Scientific discovery, this is the Old Cavendish Laboratory, where DNA was discovered. (They don't mess around with minor discoveries at Cambridge.)

The Cam river was once important for trade and transport. Now it adds to the beauty of the town. Many of the colleges have their "backs" along its banks.

Punting (pushing a flat-bottomed boat with a long pole) on the Cam is popular with students and tourists. It's a great way to see the "backs" of several of the colleges. This shot is behind King's College. 

A view of the Cam from the Magdalene Street Bridge in the center of town. 

After a morning of touring Cambridge and its colleges, I was ready to have lunch and a pint. As I do every time I visit someplace new, I had already found out where the best historic pubs in Cambridge are. I settled on The Eagle, a pub with 15th century roots that has an interesting recent history as well.

The Eagle Pub, Cambridge, getting busy for Saturday lunch.

The Eagle was a favorite of both the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Corps during World War II. They left their mark on its ceiling. 

I'll finish this week with a couple more of my favorite shots.

One of the many narrow and picturesque lanes that make Cambridge such an interesting place, but can also make it difficult to navigate.

The King's College Chapel dominating the Cambridge skyline.

I had a great time in Cambridge, but I have to say, as a medieval university town, I like Oxford better. Cambridge is beautiful, but I think that the concentration of older buildings in the center of Oxford give it a more historic feel. It may just be that I was able to spend a month in Oxford and developed a real appreciation for it. I've been trying to convince the students in my Roman Britain class that we should spend a day in Oxford later in the semester. If that happens, I'll devote a post to it, so you can decide for yourself. Thanks for reading "News from London." Have a great week!

Cheers!