Allie Goes Global

As previously mentioned, I am a sucker for a couple of things in this world: history and architecture. With those things in mind, there was no way I could miss Cambridge on my trip. I did run into a couple of issues with my visit, so I might as well mention them up top. Firstly, it was half-term, so a lot of buildings I wanted to get into were closed. And secondly, there was a fair amount of construction going on, which limited some of the good views I wanted. All that being said, Cambridge ended up being one of my favorite places I visited on my trip, and it was well worth all the trouble.

By now, you know the drill. I drove to Cambridge, probably messed up a roundabout, parked somewhere silly, and was confused by how to pay. This is now an exceedingly common theme. To elaborate slightly, the place that I had planned to park, which was in easy walking distance to the things I wanted to see, was full. So I had to modify my plans a bit and then Uber to the center of town.

I had the Uber drop me off at the Corpus Clock. This was the first thing I wanted to see, but was also as far as the Uber could go, since it was all bikes and pedestrians after that point. The Corpus Clock is patently strange, and the strangeness is hard to capture in a photo format. Basically, it’s a giant gold clock with a constantly moving locust on top of it.

From there, I walked to the Church of Saint Mary the Great (or Great St Mary’s, depending on who you ask), an Anglican church that has been around in one form or another since 1010. The current building was finished around 1519. It’s quite small compared to a lot of the churches that I went to, and reminds me very much of the Anglican church I grew up attending. Still, it’s very pretty and well-maintained. The big draw of this particular church is that you can walk up the 123 steps to the top of the tower for a view of all of Cambridge, but I opted not to do this.

From there, I went for a quick wander around. The market was going on while I was there, but it seemed to be mostly either vegetables (which was not something I could take advantage of as a traveler) or a load of tourist tat. I did a quick swing through there, determined it wasn’t for me, and wandered off to go find lunch. On my way, I encountered a very interesting statue. While I have no idea if it was trying to say anything, I found it delightful.

I ended up having lunch at a spot called Honest Burger, which made a genuinely very good burger. I got a spot by the window and enjoyed some good people watching with my lunch and obligatory cider. And then I went off wandering around. I did have some goals with specific colleges I wanted to see, but they were dashed at every turn. St John’s College? Closed. Trinity College? Closed. However, while I didn’t get to see the insides of many places, the exteriors of the buildings were lovely, and I took so many pictures just wandering around.

I stopped in a few shops, and finally decided to try my luck down at the river. There were some specific bridges I wanted to see, and I thought maybe I could check them out from behind the colleges, since I couldn’t go inside. As usual, I kind of wound up in the wrong place (a boatyard) but was finally able to get to my destination. The way that it’s set up is kind of odd. Coming from town, you have to walk across the river and down a path all the way to the distant road, and then turn around to get into the college lawns. They’re fully visible and about six feet away the entire time, but there’s no way to get across.

This proved to be my best decision of the day. The colleges are equally beautiful from behind, and there were wildflowers blooming everywhere. The river runs through the whole area. While I never did get to see the bridges I was looking for, what I did see was excellent. I have a nagging suspicion that I was technically trespassing, but if I was, I was certainly not the only one. A man in a bowler hat prevented entry to the actual buildings, but there was no patrol or anything to keep me from wandering around the lawns.

I decided to go ahead and go to King’s College Chapel. I would be back there later today, but I wanted to check the place out when the sun was out. The whole place is stunningly beautiful, and I found myself genuinely envying the people for whom this is just their regular Sunday church. I don’t think I would be able to pay attention for a single second with all this wonder around me. You do have to pay for entry, and per my recollection, I don’t think it was particularly cheap, but it’s something you can’t miss if you’re ever in Cambridge.

Off to the side, there is a sort of museum hallway, where you can trace the history of Cambridge and of Kings College. It’s a no-frills experience, but for someone with a love of history, it was an important stop. I left with a much better understanding and appreciation for the incredible work that went into this space.

Now I had some time to kill. I ended up just picking the first pub that I saw, and I got very lucky with my choice. I was at The Eagle, which has a very long history in the area. Most notably, it was the drinking hole of Francis Crick and James Watson, who (along with Rosalind Franklin) discovered DNA. In February 1953, Crick and Watson walked into the Eagle and announced, “We have discovered the secret of life.” It was also a bar for the RAF during WWII, and there is a huge amount of graffiti on the ceiling from pilots writing (and sometimes burning) their names and squadron numbers.

Now, one minor problem happened here. I mean, not a problem. I guess an annoyance. I’m well aware of the reputation of Americans on the world stage. We’re loud, overly friendly, and we get too close to people. I was extremely conscientious while I was there in an attempt to not give us any more bad press. I ordered my pint and sat down at a table. And then, the two loudest Americans I’ve ever encountered came in. Based on the very easily overheard conversation, one was a professor at one of the colleges and his friend was visiting him. They just practically shouted at each other for ages about everything, in what was previously a very quiet bar. I mean, really. It was me and one other person, and the other person was working on her laptop. They just killed the whole vibe. I wasn’t sad to leave, let’s put it that way.

It was almost time for my final plan of the day, but I had seen people wandering around with bags from a fudge shop. My mom loves fudge, so I thought it would be something good to bring home for her. The guy behind the counter was so nice, so chatty, and proceeded to feed me ludicrous amounts of samples so I wouldn’t have to leave. It did feel a little like I was being fattened up, but I can’t complain. The fudge was good and the company was better.

I headed just across the street and back to King’s College Chapel for Evensong. This is an evening choral service that is extremely common in Anglican churches. As someone with a long history with choral music, but who didn’t really want to get through a whole sermon to hear some, this was the perfect opportunity. I had to line up for a while to get in, and by the time the last people came in, it was pretty full. But oh man, was it worth it. Sometimes this church has a boys choir, but this particular evening was a mixed adults choir. It’s hard to describe the quality of the sound if you’ve never performed or attended a church like this. The room is built for acoustics, so it’s like the sound is traveling around and coming at you from all sides. That doesn’t sound like a very pleasant description, but I assure you, it’s wonderful. Like bathing in sound… that’s closer.

Another day, another Marriott (thanks, mom!). This hotel was a little odd in that there were a huge amount of Americans everywhere. Like, easily 75% of the people in the hotel were American. I never did get an answer as to why. Due to an issue with my first room, I had to be moved to a room with two beds. At this point, as long as I had a roof over my head, I didn’t care one bit.