With friends at two of the most prestigious unis in the UK, I was able to visit both campuses, admire the beautiful architecture, and partake in traditional College Formal Halls (Dining Hall dinners).
CAMBRIDGE
My friend from Spain who reads Modern Languages at Cambridge took me on a tour of Girton, King’s, Jesus, Corpus Christi, and Christ’s colleges. The King's College Chapel is breathtaking with stained glass windows and the world's largest fan vault ceiling. Along the edge of the college grounds, I saw punting for the first time on the River Cam.
We had a Formal Hall that evening in the Girton dining hall. We all wore academic gowns and enjoyed a three-course meal. Afterwards, I had a Green Monster which is the College's signature drink.
The next day, we took a Voi (electric scooter) into the centre of town where I caught up with a girl I had met in Budapest. She showed me around Magdalene, St John’s, Clare, and Selwyn. In total, I was able to see 9 of the 31 colleges at Cambridge University.
Interestingly, I noticed that outside many of the houses, faculty members had their own signs for whether or not they were available at home for consultations.
Outside Trinity College, I found a graft of Sir Isaac Newton's famous apple tree from his childhood home which was planted in 1954!
Aside from the Colleges, Cambridge itself was very cozy. I found it had a certain charm as an older looking village surrounded by countryside and filled with students.
OXFORD
Oxford has 44 colleges. My Swedish friend who reads Biology at Merton, took me on a tour of the Colleges to see the Christ Church Cathedral, the mound at New College, Brasenose College, and the deer park at Magdalen. Seeing fields of deer in the middle of a city was a striking sight.
I thought the architecture in Oxford was absolutely stunning and I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of St Frideswide and the accompanying stained glass windows in the Latin Chapel from 700CE of Christ Church Cathedral.
That evening, we had dinner in the Merton Dining Hall. Merton is one of the oldest Colleges dating back to 1264. While the architecture may reveal its age, there are other clues to look out for, for example, the horoscope symbols carved into the vault of 15th century Fitzjames Arch. Pictured, is a representation of Scorpio...I guess not many stonemasons had seen a scorpion in the 1400s.
After dinner, I had a Power Pint (Merton's drink) in the College Bar.
Some other amazing attractions in Oxford include the Radcliffe Camera (Rad Cam) library, the picturesque Bridge of Sighs, and the Bodleian Library. I also studied the numerous artefacts in the Natural History Museum and climbed to the top of the Sheldonian Theatre.
Finally, got to geek out a little while walking up the steps to the Hall in Christ Church where many iconic Harry Potter scenes were filmed.
I also saw the lamp-post that inspired the major landmark in Narnia from CS Lewis' novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Notes:
- I now understand where many of the traditions from my college experience at Trinity, Melbourne, come from. We also had a Junior Common Room, the high table, portraits surrounding the Dining Hall, formal halls, a Buttery, etc. Many of the practices at Oxbridge were familiar to me and it was special to see their origins.
- When speaking to the students over meals, I realised that the rivalry between the two universities was a lot stronger that I was expecting. Jokingly, they said that they avoid talking about the other uni and if they must, they'll just say "the other one". The Colleges are also quite competitive and each have their own reputations. While I can't comment on the quality of education or types of students, I did find that the architecture at Oxford was not as grand or magnificent as that of Cambridge, however, it did have a few beautiful buildings such as the Rad Cam. I also felt that as a tourist, I felt more at home in Oxford where there was a greater non-academic population in relation to the smaller town of Cambridge.
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