Off and running

We had one day to reacquaint ourselves with Cambridge before our first visitors were set to arrive, so while Jason got settled in at work, Fiona and I didn’t waste any time getting started on our explorations. Our first stop was to check out another top food memory of mine - soup and bread from Trockel, Ulmann, and Feunde to take-away for lunch by the river. Right around the corner from my office during my time working at the university, this was a lunchtime staple most days. For 3.50GPB we would get the most deliciously filling soups with a thick slice of amazing bread. I was so happy to discover that although the price has gone up a bit in the last decade, the soup and bread are just as yummy as they always were!

After lunch, we got started on one of our summer goals - to visit as many of Cambridge’s 31 colleges as possible. The University of Cambridge is a “collegiate university.” Basically this means that it is comprised of departments of different academic subjects as well as colleges. Students at Cambridge are members of an academic department as well as belonging to a smaller college community. While the university departments determine course content, provide lectures, set exams and grades, and award degrees, the colleges admit undergraduate students, offer small-group educational support (“supervisions”), and provide accommodation, dining services, recreational facilities. Many of Cambridges most impressive buildings are part of one of its many colleges. 

Our first college visit was to the beautiful St. John’s College. 

Open to visitors were the pretty cathedral (no photographs allowed inside):

The Bridge of Sighs, a “replica” of the original in Venice. Interestingly, the replication is much more in idea than in actual appearance. The Venetian bridge of the same name connected the court house to the prison, lending to the name suggesting prisoners would sigh after being sentenced to prison and lead across the bridge. It is commonly believed that the students of St. John’s college originally gave Cambridge’s version its name as it connects the courtyard in which students’ exam scores are posted to their college housing. Here the sighs are the result of students reactions to seeing their grades!

We were also able to visit the main building providing student accommodation. New Court, nicknamed ‘the wedding cake’ was designed to be perfectly symmetrical with the exception of the eagle adorning the gate.

I always find the college cloisters to be some of the most beautiful areas. As part of my role while working at the university, I was in charge of hosting receptions designed to foster the exchange of ideas between academics in different departments. Many of these were held outdoors, in the cloisters of various colleges. Not a bad gig!

After walking the extensive college gardens, we were ready for a rest. Fiona was excited to discover one of her favorite places on earth right in the heart of Cambridge with a huge children’s section:

Next on our agenda for the day was to catch one of the last King’s College choir services before the summer holiday. We had a little time to kill, so we decided to explore some of the bike paths around town. Randomly Fiona spotted this poster advertising a movie or play and got really excited. She said, “Mommy! You know how I’ve tired to explain to you how I remember things and I told you I sort of go into my brain and pull out the section about, for example, red pandas? That picture shows it! That’s what I do when I want to remember something I’ve learned!” I thought it was fascinating.

After biking around for a bit, we met Jason at King’s College to hear the choir. Unfortunately all we have to show for it is this quick picture snapped in the courtyard while we waited in line. No pictures allowed during the service.

Both the choir and the organ sounded beautiful! We were glad to have experienced it, even if Fiona did find the service to drag on a bit. I found the Church of England Evensong service really interesting!