The train trip was painless, which means that I got the express. But, my first impression was conflicted because the train station is not in the most scenic area of Cambridge and on nearly every pillar at the train station advertisements for Angela Ruskin University were displayed which caused me to doubt if I was at the right stop. My friend met me at the train station and we began the tour. One of the first things I noticed was how quiet Cambridge was compared to London. My friend looked at me incredulously and told me that this was one of the busiest Saturday's he had seen. I was just impressed by how laid back the place seemed after being in London for 6 months.
All the photos of my tour can be found here. These are the highlights:
The main postcard pic of Kings College taken from the river cam across some of their lawn The deal here is that unless you are a fellow (something after PhD) college lawn is off limits, which is why some college deemed it necessary to make their ducks honorary fellows.
The chair leg scepter of Trinity College. Trinity being our rival is it meet that I mention them somewhere. The story is that some audacious students "borrowed" the stone scepter but before they could put it back the College announced that any tampering with this sculpture would result in expulsion thus they never did.
The bridge of Sighs, St John's version and some people punting. Punting is an interesting story: The physics of it are simple but the skill is to get it going in a straight line. Apparently the trick is, after having pushed off from the bottom, to keep the pole in the river and use it as a rudder.
Some stained glass in St John's Chapel. While many symbols have come to represent St John's (my College) in some way, the eagle seems to be most prominent. This is of interest because my old residence, Afslaan, at the Rand Afrikaans University had the eagle as its symbol.
St John's: A nice scenic look at New Court (left) and 3rd Court (right) and the backs (the grass).
My Home, Whinside.
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences (CMS), my department, comes complete with the big names like Prof. Stephen Hawking.
Near the end of the my tour of Cambridge we saw this plaque. It gives you an idea of the successful history of the place.
My tour ended with a pint at a pub called the Eagle. One of the most famous of Cambridge pubs, there is a ceiling with signatures of Second World War pilots and perhaps more importantly this is where Crick and Watson came to drink after work during the period they were working on the structure of DNA. The express ride home was filled with thoughts of how blessed I was to shortly be studying at Cambridge.
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