Sigh...

Most people will agree that the most beautiful bridge in Cambridge is this one:

It is called the Bridge of Sighs. 

According to sources (that might or might not be Wikipedia) this bridge was named by students because they were sighing on their way to the exams. Also it is a closed bridge,just like the one with the same name in Venice, which might be another reason for the name...

The best way to get close to it (if you are not allowed into St Johns College (this bridge connects two parts of this college)) is, of course, by punting. Apparently this bridge was Queen Victoria's favorite spot in Cambridge and considering the beauty of the city that is indeed a compliment!

This is not fish and chips...

The last (and, to be exact, so far only) time I have been to London I was walking through the streets when I stumbled upon this: 

"A yard with people?" you may ask. Yeah, but what is that in the middle?

Exactly, a paella.

Being used to live on the other side of the world where you would probably never see this I have to admit that I may have gotten a bit too excited for the occasion. Nevertheless, considering the amount of people around that pan I was not the only excited one. Apparently people around here do appreciate good food despite the bad reputation of their local cuisine (which I find has not been justified so far). 

Second Collge: King's College

King's College is probably the most famous college in Cambridge which is why it is one of the first ones that my friends took me to. It is not only located in the center of the city, it's also impressively huge! 

Follow me:

I already showed you the pictures of King's dining hall, but this is the real deal!

It's really hard to take pictures here, because there are huge buildings everywhere and it is impossible to get all the glory in one picture!

This small little thing here is the chapel. Yes, chapel. Should rather be called cathedral, right? Every college has its own chapel and it's 31 colleges AND those are only the chapels IN the colleges. It's incredible how all of this can fit into this tiny town!!

There are so many little details, it's really interesting to walk around and just observe!

What kills me is the fact that you are not allowed to step on the lawn. Look at it! It's screaming at you to go and run all over it like a madman!! I don't know how the students there can resist...

Just having some dinner...

These College dining halls are incredible! Tonight we went to have dinner at one of the Colleges nearby and this is what I found:

Can you believe that no one is super amazed in there? I might have some kind of food poisoning and see different things, because this is not what I consider a regular canteen...

Also the food is very good and really cheap, which somehow does not suit the place (the cheap part :D).

Discovering our Blueprint

Today I attended a talk by a man that is probably the equivalent of Justin Bieber to all the 15-year-old girls in science! I would make you guess but scientists tend not to be too famous so I'll tell you straight away: James Watson! Watson as in Watson and Crick! (This might ring some bells...)

Watson discovered the structure of DNA together with his college Francis Crick in 1953 and obtained the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine nine years later for it! (For more info, as usual: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Watson)

He is a legend in modern research and it's incredible that I had the opportunity to meet him! He might not be the youngest anymore but he is incredibly fit and still in science! I hope I have just as much passion for research for the rest of my life!! 

Great talk, great man!

Push!

This weekend we had fantastic weather and this means one thing in Cambridge: punting!

You don't know what that means? Well, neither did I, but it is a big thing here (if you search for it in Wikipedia the first image is actually at Cambridge...). It is basically trying to push yourself from a boat into the cold river with the help of a long stick. Some side effects of this might be the fact that you move a small boat forward that is carrying your friends, but that only happens if you fail at loosing the balance. 

It actually looks quite safe and when you see the professional tour guys do it it looks easier than walking. But when you get on the platform at the end of the boat (that luckily is well varnished so the friction does not prevent you from getting into the water) and you feel how much it is shaking you don't feel that confident anymore. 

Don't let my reassuring smile fool you, the pole is heavier than it looks like and of course completely wet (eg. slippery). The main goal is to get the pole into the water fast enough so that it touches the ground before you are already to far to be able to push and then push the boat forward with it. A motion that in accordance to relativity can also be perceived as you pushing yourself off the boat with that stick considering the lack of friction on the feet. But that is of course not enough, because you have to push in the right direction or you'll end up zig-zagging from shore to shore as graciously as I did and you also have to try to avoid as many boats as you can (because that Cam was PACKED).  

When you are lucky enough that your friends don't trust your punting skills anymore you can just sit back and enjoy the bypassing College buildings that are really fascinating!

On the sides of the rivers people sit down to watch the punters and make sure that it is embarrassing enough if you fail.

Surprisingly not many people actually fall into the river. I even managed to get out of there dry, too... Not that anyone would have expected it, since I am almost a professional now! Give me two more weeks and I will be able to punt with one hand and hold my drink in the other like the guides do!

Dinner is ready!

English food does not have the best of reputations, but there is one thing I absolutely love!:

Baked beans!!! This was actually my dinner, but as they are delicious, you can have them anytime: for breakfast, lunch, midnight-snack...

Apparently they are best on a hot potato and you can add things like cheese or tuna! On bread they are lovely (oh, so british!) as well. ♥

Where is the sorting hat??

Today I went to have lunch to the canteen of King's College. I have to say it is a pretty regular place, very plain - I feel like they might need some decoration. Also it is kinda tiny, it's probably because the ceiling is so low... But what to do? After all it's just a room for the students to eat, so something simple should be enough. Something like THIS:

Oh my god!! I was having lunch in a room that was a mixture of a tiny cathedral, some medieval tavern and Harry Potter!

The most incredible part is that everyone there is like "Yeah, dude, this is what a regular eating place looks like to me... what's the deal?" (while I might or might not have been taking a million pictures and embarrassing my friends that could not pull out the unimpressed-act with me in their group....)

I was expecting some choir to start singing from this balcony any minute... (they would have been a good back-up for the Harry Potter tune I was whistling non-stop).

Ok, you have pretty much seen every angle now...

Contrary to what you might think, the food was pretty cheap as well. 

I know where J.K. Rowling gets her ideas from now...

First College: Clare

I am amazed by how incredible each and every college is. They all have huge and beautiful buildings with gardens and bridges and the most unbeliveable thing is the fact, that there are OVER 30 colleges!!! What. The. Hell. How can there be so many magnificent (ouh, so british!) buildings in one city?! My challenge is to make it into all colleges and post about them in the next weeks. Let's see if I make it before I have to leave! 

The first college I'll talk about must, of course, be Clare since it is "my" college. At this university every student is part of a college, so since I am not a student I have no college (bet you didn't see that statement coming!). Be as it may, the clare college was so friendly to offer me a room in one of their houses ouside of the college with other Clare graduate students, so if I belong to any college, then I guess it is Clare.

As you can see the entrance is pretty impressive already. There are many lawns at the colleges but unfortunately you are not allowed to step on them (I always feel like running all over them (freedom, yeah!)).

These pictures are only from the main building. Behind this there are some gardens and then there is another bigger buiding across the river that has a library in it. Since this is my ("") college I will probably post some more pics in the future, so you will see. 

You'll have to agree with me that it is incredible how big these things are if you think about the fact that there are over 30 more of them in this tiny town. And they are colleges, not university buildings or anything. It is really outstanding!

Unavoidable

So I guess England's bad-weather fame was not completely unjustified... Today I went to London and this is what I found:

But, hey! I was sitting on the upper level of a typical London bus AND we got first row seats!

Disappointmen of the day, tough: I did not get the chance of taking a picture with the wagon that is going through the wall to platform 9 and 3/4, because it is totally commercialized and you have to queue for a few years... I have to go there to unusual hours then! I'll be back, London, I'll be back...

So this is where Sheldon runs around...

Many of you probably have seen the alleged interior of this place in the TV series "The Big Bang Theory" numerous times so now I am showing you the (real) outside scenario. The campus of the California Institute of Technology is really one of a kind!

Not only is the architecture pretty outstanding, the weather is also amazing - you have to keep in mind, that it was January when I took these pics... (yes, january, those are old pictures, I am still in Cambridge... I feel it might be getting a little confusing... :D)

With that climate they are able to grow whatever plants they want:

It's a pity they don't have any outside shots in the series, right?

Walking around Cambridge (...while I wait for my flying broom)

Since what I am doing these days is mostly running around Cambridge trying to get my things together, I have not had the chance to take a lot of pictures yet (also the camera on my phone does not work anymore so that makes things a bit harder...). Be as it may, I have a few photos to give you an impression, yay!

This is the market place. Pretty cool, but I have the feeling that it might be a bit of a rip off so I have not looked around the stands on my quest to find all my primary needs yet .

There are Colleges everywhere and they are truly amazing!:

As you can see the weather is maginificent (oh dear, so british)! At this point I am pretty sure the bad-weather reputation of England is a big lie, since EVERY SINGLE time I have been to the UK it has been really nice (right now it's sunnier and warmer than in most of the european countries)...

This is one of the few street-name signs in this city - or at least one of the few that I can actually percieve. Somehow I never find the names of the places I am walking through. Whether that is because there are none, because I am still a Muggle (not for long, though, hopefully) or because they have the bad habit of putting them at different heights and places depending on the corner still remains unclear...

Cambridge calling

After spending a week in Munich (Germany) adapting to polar temperatures I finally arrived at my new place in:

Cambridge, UK! 

I have only been here for a few days and I already love this little town! I totally feel like Harry Potter walking between the Colleges and running through the narrow lanes (btw. yes, walking, I don't really see through the bus network and everything is relatively near, so I am currently saving millions on transportation AND preparing for any marathon...)

To be honest, Cambridge is the EXACT opposite of Singapore, so I am really excited to explore this place! Grab your wands and gowns and follow me!