One month and lots of badgering later, I am finally posting pictures from my day trip to Cambridge
After my 9am International Organizations class, I met up with Divya to catch a train to Cambridge. She is also a LSE General Course student from Case Western Reserve University. (I’ve been told by the General Course Dean that this year has the most students from CWRU at LSE EVER! Go CWRU).
Cambridge University is situated in a beautiful town of (you guessed it) Cambridge. Wandering around the bike-friendly town, we soaked in the atmosphere figuratively and literally as we got soaked by the constant drizzle (or as Brits say “constant spitting”).
The University is comprised of 31 colleges which are scattered around the city. The oldest few are situated right on the River Cam. After the train ride, we wandered around the town and stumbled upon Downing College of Cambridge University. The panoramic photo above shows the central green space around which the buildings are structured. The selfie also includes the “heraldic shield” of Downing College.
Making our way to center of Cambridge to the River Cam, we passed markets, grabbed lunch, and did a bit of window shopping at bookstores.
While most universities give tours by walking, Cambridge University’s tour consists of punting in which tourists pay to take ride around the river Cam and learn about the University. Cambridge students also do this recreationally. Divya and I picked both the worst and best day to come to Cambridge because the awful weather gave us an amazing discount on punting. It also meant that we were only one of three boats on the river instead of the usual 5 million boats. While on the boat, we did not mind the weather one bit because the punting company was kind enough to provide blankets and umbrellas.
As the punting guide pushed off the docks, he mentioned that University five years ago celebrated its 800th anniversary. To compare, this is more than triple the age of The United States (Founded in 1776, US is 238 years old). It’s honestly so easy to forget how young the United States truly is comparatively.
The punting tour was absolutely beautiful. The autumn leaves colors made all the sights even more beautiful. The punting guide pointed out all the different colleges within Cambridge University that were set on the river. Each architecture is reflective either of the college founder or the time period. The King’s College (last picture) was founded by King Henry VI to Henry VIII and whose architecture reflects probably the regality of the Kings and the time period.
Although all the pictures are beautiful, there were a few ugly buildings that were made in the 1960s/1970s, which I decided not to take pictures of. The entire punting ride was about 75 minutes of beautiful scenery, while I learned about Cambridge history with other fellow tourists. It was completely worth it.
Other Information:
- If you’re wondering what punting is: check out this wiki page.
- At King’s College, students did not have to take final exams to earn their BA from its founding in 1441 to 1850. I’m jealous.
- Clare’s College was founded by Lady Elizabeth de Clare, who gained money after being widowed. She donated money to found the college and thus made founding colleges “fashionable” as more and more aristocrats began founding colleges. (Can we make donating money to college or to me directly fashionable?)
- The Mathematical Bridge (unpictured) is composed of straight timbers which are all tangent to an arc of the bridge.
- In 1988, Magdalene College was last to integrate female students at Cambridge. Forced to integrate by the larger University, the students on the first day wore black armbands and carried around a coffin to mourn the death of their institution.
