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A Cambridge Daytrip

I spent the Fall 2008 semester abroad in the UK with 25 other students and two professors. We did our coursework on the road, traveling to various cities while studying the literature and drama of each region.

We spent just a few hours in Cambridge, most of which I spent in a bookstore looking for a book for a class, but what I saw of the city was wonderful. It struck me as what I imagined England would look like: vine-covered stone buildings, winding streets, distinctive architecture, and a sense of gravity about everything.

When my parents met me in London for a two-week holiday at the end of the semester, I thought Cambridge would be a great place for a daytrip. We found ourselves in Cambridge after less than an hour-and-a-half train ride. After some Internet research, I discovered a walking tour that departed from the tourist center. It lasted a couple of hours and showed us Cambridge’s important sites without having to seek out the information ourselves. Admission to the King’s College Chapel was also included in the tour.

The King’s College Chapel, started by Henry VI and finished by Henry VIII, has delicate Gothic columns and a ceiling that looks like it is made of a bunch of fans. The light stone, fine construction and lofty ceilings make the chapel seem enormous. Not even considering the famous stained glass from three different time periods, it is beautiful.

During my first visit, a lot of my classmates went punting (think a flat-bottomed boat propelled by a pole) on the Cam River in order to honor Dorothy Sayers’s detectives Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. They had a great time, but the December weather did not seem conducive to punting on our daytrip. So, after a few more hours of walking around a Christmas craft fair (I got some great black-and-white postcards) and settling down for some afternoon tea, my parents and I boarded the train for London. It was a lovely daytrip, and I appreciated the opportunity to spend more time in Cambridge.