This past weekend, we decided to get out of the city and start exploring some of our new country. We decided to take a train to Cambridge, a quick 45 minute ride on the National Rail. We arrived in Cambridge, walked up to the city center and explored the town. As it turns out, the University of Cambridge is actually made up of 31 independent colleges. Each student applies to and attends a specific college where they live and take all their classes and there is actually quite a bit of rivalry among the schools. The first college we saw was King's College:
We then strolled down to Trinity, which many consider the best of the 31 Cambridge colleges:
Trinity was one of the few colleges where we were able to enter the inner courtyard and walk around the grounds (most of them are blocked off by guards.) We were even able to enter the chapel at Trinity, which was beautiful:
As we were snapping photos outside Kings College, looking like the obvious tourists, we were approached by one of the many "punting" tour operators and were talked into a punting tour down the river cam. A punt is a flat bottomed boat with a square bow propelled by pushing against the river bed with a pole. It is a popular pastime in Cambridge and there were many punts on the river during our tour, despite the chilly temps. It is a great way to see more of the colleges that line the river since access is restricted at most of them. We went by Clare college:
Queen's college:
the mathematical bridge:
A popular myth says this bridge was designed by Isaac Newton without the use of nuts or bolts but Newton in fact died 22 years before the bridge was even constructed. We then turned around and headed back north by Trinity:
And Trinity's biggest rival, St. John's:
Under the bridge of sighs, named and designed after the Venice bridge and so named here because it is the bridge the students cross going from their dorms to the classroom buildings to take their finals:
It was a great tour and was nice to be able to get some history and fun facts about the city. A couple of interesting factoids:
-In Cambridge, if you have the highest grades in your class at King's college, you are legally allowed to challenge any other student to a duel on the bridge and fight to the death.
-Sir Isaac Newton attended Trinity and has often claimed that he discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head out of tree as he sat by the river cam. As apple trees have never grown anywhere along the river, and Isaac Newton was not well liked by his peers, it is thought it much more likely that someone threw an apple at his head;)
-Students do not live on campus until their 3rd year and are then given rooms based on their grades, with those with better grades getting the best rooms, ie-those that look out onto the river.
We then walked across the river:
And finished our day with a pint at "The Pickerel Inn" across from Magdalene college:
Great day trip and nice to get out of the city:-)
