Cambridge

Day trips out of London have been the theme of my last week and a half! Yesterday (Tuesday) I met my friend Beth (remember her from the Oxford post?) at another college village... Cambridge! Obviously it is world-famous of its university, where infamous people such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and even Prince Charles attended. Typical of a college town, it is busy with bikers, bookshops, residence halls, and pubs. It is a VERY historical town, and after a 2-hour walking tour, I learned many fascinating facts. I wish I could share them all, but I'll highlight a few here...

First, the Holy Sepulchre is one of only 4 round churches in London. It was built in about 1130 by the Normans, and though most churches in Western Europe are cross shaped, the round shape such as this one is though to celebrate the resurrection. (Like Constantine's chruch in Jerusalem on the site of Jesus' tomb and resurrection.)

Just as Beth and I climbed the tower of St. Mary's Chruch in Oxford, we climbed the tower of St. Mary's in Cambridge!

It had a similar narrow, steep stairwell up to the top, and the view was a beautiful... Here you're looking at Michaelhouse Centre, and off in the distance you can see the steeple of Holy Trinity Church.

In order to prevent anyone from falling over the edges of the tower, they'd put up this screen. However, there were cut out "windows" in the screen to view through. Here Beth has got her whole head through the window in effort to get the best photograph's angle!

Towards the West we could see Kings College and Chaple (right) and Clare College and Universtiy Library (left).

Down below to the East we saw the market place's bright colored tents.

Looking down over the streets to the South, you can see the quaintness of this village and the "Beatrix Potter" likeness of the buildings (as pointed out to us by a local).

We went in a couple of the colleges to look around. This one is St. John's College... and WHATEVER you do - DO NOT walk on the grass. This is a privledge reserved only for the Senior students.

This college has been in existance since the late 13th century. There are bits of history in every area of each college in Cambridge... from the windows and towers, to the courtyards and gates. It is absolutely brimming with history! At the back of St. John's College is the "other" Bridge of Sighs that I mentioned in my Oxford post (refer to it for more info!).

Hallway in St. John's.

This is the Cavendish Laboratory (pronounced luh-boar-uh-tory by the English). This is the science lab where neutrons and electrons and the DNA double helix formation were discovered, and even where the first atom was slit!

This tall square tower (attached to a small church) is the oldest building in Cambridge. It was built by the normans and is estimated to be 1,000 years old!

A student who attends Oxford University (which means your a member of one of the many colleges in this town) will walk through 3 important gates during his/her time at school. The first is the Gate of Humility, to remind them (of course) to be humble. The second is the Gate of Virtue... again an obvious but important reminder. The third is this one below: The Gate of Honor - Only students who graduate will get to walk through this one.

On my way to King's College and Cathedral, I noticed this "proper pram!" It isn't exactly practical, but if traditional, proper English is what you're going for - this is the perfect stroller. Hey all those moms out there - how would you like to try out this thing on the city streets?

The side entrance of King's Cathedral:

The fanned vault (ceiling) of the churhc... an AMAZING design made up of thousands of tiny stones!

A candle in the Quire facing the alter:

Beautiful spring blossons out front of the cathedral:

Another bridge over the River Cam with punters taking a tranquil ride...

The Mathematical bridge... the myth is that this was first built without nails of any sort, but unforutnately it broke (go figure!) and they re-built it using the same architectural design. After further research I found that the orginal (as well as this one), did have bolts linking the various joints together, but the key is that it was designed in such a way that the truss joints transmit the stress of holding each other up onto each other, rather than on the bolt that joins them. Also, the arch shape is achieved without bending any of the wood... all straight pieces were used...interesting!

Bikes... bikes, everywhere! Here is one I thought particular charming - many of them have wicker baskets like this one. I suppose you've got to have some way to get your shopping home from the market without having to carry it on your back!

All in all... another great English village!