Cambridge

This past weekend I decided to head to the college town of Cambridge. As is often the case, the tube line that I live near was down for the entire weekend for repairs. Luckily I was able to hop on an overground train to get to St Pancras station. The train ride didn't take long, perhaps an hour total. It was about a mile or so into the center of the town from the train station. I had gone out the night before so I stopped by a cafe to get some coffee and a sandwich. Emerging refreshed from the cafe I was ready to explore Cambridge. I wandered around for a bit, checking out the market square and eventually decided to get a tour from the town's tourist office. This turned out to be a really good idea as there were graduations going on at a couple of the different colleges and some areas were closed, making sightseeing a little difficult.

We started the tour at the old Saxon church. Interestingly, he pointed out that the church was built similar to the Roman style of building because architects in those days thought large buildings needed to be very solid, with very few windows. The contrast couldn't be more different between the Saxon church and King's College Chapel, which we later visited, as the chapel is full of windows. The second photo below is of the Saxon church's graveyard.

We then made our way past Queen's College and King's College as the guide told us more about the university. Cambridge University is made up of 30 colleges which are run somewhat independently; so much so that occasionally a college will shut down if they don't manage their individual endowments well (hasn't happened for some time). Below is the entrance to King's College.

Just as it started to rain we made our way into the King's College chapel. To call it a chapel seems kind of strange. The "chapel" is huge, more like a cathedral. It was difficult to take photos in the chapel but I gave it a shot (no pun intended). There are amazing stained glass windows (all of which were removed and hidden during WWII) and the Adoration of the Magi by Ruben. To me, one of the most amazing things was the incredible fan vaulted ceilings.

After the tour I made my way to King's College square and Trinity College square (below). There are both really pretty and look like something out of Harry Potter.

Before leaving I walked to the other side of the River Cam known as "the Backs" because it is the area behind the university. The river is very pretty and there were a lot of people on punts making their way up and down the river. I snapped a couple more pictures of the university, as well as one of a couple professors leaving the graduation, then made my way back to the train station.