First Stop: Cambridgeshire, England

About Cambridge:

When talking about England you would be hard pressed not to find mention of Cambridge. First settled by the Romans, Cambridge’s history dates back to the 1st century. The city however, is know best for it’s prestigious university, Cambridge University, which was founded in 1209 making it the 5th oldest, operating, university in the world. Cambridge University has produced the most Nobel Prize winners out of any other university, having 42 in physics alone, it is the home of the modern day rules of soccer, and the discovery of DNA was announced in a Pub near by (that is probably the most British thing I have ever heard). The history of Cambridge, both the city and the university, is embedded into it’s very core. When walking through the cobblestone streets you are surrounded by buildings older than nations, a myriad of different cultures and languages, and so much nature. I had the luck of arriving on graduation day for what looked to be the University’s graduate students or fellows. They wore traditional, frankly old fashioned, tuxes and gowns, each one representing their years of hard work and study. Each one following in the footsteps of people like Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Oliver Cromwell, and even Stephen Fry. The wonderful thing about Cambridge is that they are not afraid to shy away from tradition here, even when they are at the pinnacle of modern education. Physics majors studying how to make space travel more efficient are studying in buildings that pre-date the notion of space travel, biology majors studying the effects of gene therapy still have to walk through the parks that are home to cows and swans simply because there have always been cows and swans so why change now? Walking through Cambridge one may, as I did, arrive at the realization that to progress does not necessarily mean to move away from ones past but, rather to innovate your ideology so that one may maintain the physical history that surrounds us without being defined by it.

Funniest story about Cambridge:

In 1805 Lord Byron, a famous English poet, attended Cambridge University and was justifiably upset when he learned that Cambridge banned dogs from staying in the dorms. Byron then took it upon himself to point out the ridiculousness of this rule and bring a pet Bear onto campus to live with him. Cambridge officials had no legal basis to force him to remove the bear because the law did not specifically mention bears. Byron would walk his bear around campus and would even take it to class on occasion.

Travel Tips:

• Get up and out early: The English, or maybe just the people of Cambridge, are not morning people. If you are up and out before 8am the streets are way less crowded and the photo opportunities are exponentially better. This shouldn’t be too hard if you’re coming from the states and experience jet lag… my first day here I got up at 4am.
• Sunrise: Make sure your blinds are closed because the sun gets up at an ungodly hour in this country. Sunrise technically around 5am during the summer but, coming from the guy who woke up at 4am, there will be a blue sky by 4am.
• British adapter: Britain is that other sibling who just wants to be different than everyone else so they decided to have a different outlet than both Europe and the US.

Restaurant Recommendations:

• Fitzbillies – the Chelsea

• The Cambridge Chop House – the Cauliflower Brie Balls (the restroom plays a comedy radio station)
• The Clarendon Arms – Fun Fish and Chips