March 31 - April 1: Cambridge

This past weekend, I took the train out to meet Jon, my friend from Core Consultant School training, in Cambridge.

Cambridge is located about a 1 hour train ride north of London. The train departs from King’s Cross station, and all you Harry Potter fans will be thrilled to know that there is a Platform 9 ¾ complete with a cart that has mostly disappeared into the solid brick wall. I got a perfect view of it as my train to Cambridge departed from Platform 9.

Cambridge University was founded when there were riots at Oxford between the scholars and the townspeople and the students fled to found their own university in the early 13^th century. The university consists of several separate colleges, notable of which are King’s College and Trinity College. We didn’t enter King’s College as there was a steep ₤4 admission fee, but we walked into the green expanse of Trinity College, just off a busy cobblestone street. I was awed by the start difference between the bustle and noise of the narrow street we’d entered from, and the quiet and calm of the central quad of Trinity College. It’s hard to believe students actually go to school there, it’s so serene and beautiful. Trinity College also houses the Wren Library where the original manuscript of Winnie the Pooh resides, written by A A Milne. Both Milne and his son, Christopher Robin, were graduates. Unfortunately, the library is only open during lunch hours Monday through Friday, so Jon has promised to take a photo sometime during the week to send to me. J

John Harvard belonged to the Emmanuel College of Cambridge University. After graduating, he was one of 30 men to sail to New England, and ultimately left the funds to start the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The timing of my weekend out to Cambridge, England was certainly fortuitous.

It was a fantastic weekend; Jon picked me up from the train station, cooked me lunch, took me on a walking tour of downtown historic Cambridge, and punted me around the River Cam. Luckily, I was able to return that favor as I tried my hand at punting as well. Punting has got to be one of the most inefficient ways of getting around. It involves using a very long pole to propel a long narrow boat (punt) along the river, similar to the gondolas in Venice. I didn’t do too badly: we didn’t have a crash (that was our fault), lose the pole, or fall into the water.

Punting was actually a magnificent way to see the Cambridge campus. The river is lined on both sides with lush green grass and willow trees, with the historic buildings of Cambridge University visible on one side. We were fortunate to have the perfect, sunny spring day for it as well.

Saturday night, Jon took me to meet some friends of his at a pub called The Eagle. This pub also featured in my guidebook for having a few claims to fame. The first one is that Watson and Crick (the scientists who discovered DNA) spent equal time at this pub as they did in the laboratory. The second is that American WWII airmen spent a lot of time here and left their signatures on the ceiling of one of the back rooms. Over a pint or two of ‘real ale’, I witnessed both the plaque to Watson and Crick and the ceiling of signatures firsthand.

Sunday’s highlight was a huge home-cooked lunch care of Jon’s friends, Elaine and Jinko. It was almost like Thanksgiving in the US, there was so much good food. Maybe I’m too accustomed to the American way of dismissing meals as quality and restful time, because it was a real treat to have such a lavish and well-cooked meal like that when I wasn’t at home with my wonderful mother cooking for me.

The weekend ended with dinner in London with my (Chicago) roommate, Carrie, near her hotel at the Marble Arch. It’s great to see a Chicago face while here, though I’m not feeling homesick quite yet; it’s only been two weeks. We’ve gotten tickets to see Mary Poppins in London on Thursday night, I can’t wait!