I’ve been learning a lot lately.
How much can you learn from a half-day trip to a university city?
Can you become more clever from spending a couple of hours in the vicinity of a “top-tier” institute of higher learning?
Probably not, but you can see some cool art and nearly step in cow patties right near the city centre.
I revisited Cambridge on a day trip.
I loved Cambridge on my first visit about 6 years ago. I was there on the opening day of the autumn university term. Students were rushing around in their formal robes on a perfect early autumn day. I got to see inside some of the colleges (I even saw Stephen Hawking’s office!) and gardens with my sister who had done a summer program there during her undergrad studies.
Side note: My sister studied history, geography and religion and got a master’s degree focused on historic reconstruction. She is exactly the person I want showing me historic Great British sites. I studied dance and communication so I’m mostly into vibes and fun facts (disclaimer: This may not be true for all holders of a BFA in Dance or an MS in Communication).
Me nearly 6 years ago at the Gate of Humility at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
This is all to say, my first visit to Cambridge was a day trip with a bit of an expert and it was a lovely day where all the students were rushing around in their fancy robes.
My second visit to Cambridge was eerily similar, but with some notable negatives.
First, it was during this hot, dry summer of 2022. All the beautiful green spaces (like Jesus Green and the banks of the River Cam) were brown.
Secondly, as I have noticed ever since landing in the UK in May, the whole country is under construction. Building works everywhere. No matter if there is a festival on or some sort of holiday there will be scaffolding making the (normally charming) little streets nearly impassable. Cambridge was no exception.
Third, I arrived on a graduation day.
Now, the first two negatives differ from this one. The climate crisis is causing the aberrant weather and hence the brown grass in the middle of summer which is more disappointing than anything else (I mean the grass part. The climate crisis is more than just disappointing. But I digress.). The amount of scaffolding and barriers around holes in pavements (I imagine) is likely due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. There was at least a year where this kind of thing couldn’t be done, so now the country is catching up. I appreciate the conservation of historical spaces, the importance of keeping public spaces safe, and the inconveniences that these may cause.
Back to the third thing: Why is a graduation a negative for me?
The streets are packed more than usual because of construction barriers and the calm resting places are dry and uncomfortable. And now there are both graduates and their families and tourists (like me) trying to squeeze around this fairly small city centre.
Also, because it was graduation many of the sights to see were not open to the public. And many of the restaurants, pubs and cafés were extremely crowded. So for me (who does not really enjoy crowds) it wasn’t a great experience. I probably should have checked online to see if there were events happening and been more prepared. I basically chose the day to avoid train strikes and put no further thought into it. Big mistake. Huge.
But it was also interesting to think back on my last visit and compare.
I did do something new and fun, though.
I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum for the first time. I saw beautiful ancient and modern pottery and everything in between that I found to be very inspiring. There was an excellent exhibition on art and nature that was fascinating and immersive. And there was Hockney’s Eye (which will have finished its run before this is published).
A light installation at the Hockney’s Eye exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum
According to the museum, “Through both traditional and cutting-edge ways of making art, the exhibition explores Hockney’s obsession with how we see the world, and how our world of time and space can be captured on the surface of a flat picture.”
I love art museums and I should have known that this would help improve my mood on this peculiar and frustrating day.
As I headed back to the train station processing the day, I started connecting all the pieces. We can be impacted by things we don’t even realize. The building works across the country hadn’t really bothered me before this day even though I had obviously noticed them. The huge numbers of people have been around all summer because we resumed travel. The brown grass and falling leaves made it look more like autumn than my previous trip because 6 years ago they had a long, cool summer with plenty of rain and everything was green well into October. And in the midst of it all, the students still start and finish their studies. And they celebrate the beginnings and endings.
King’s College, Cambridge with some of the many tourists (including me, duh)
Frustrations happen. Always and forever. I think the thing to remember is perspective. We need to take the time to put things in perspective. Include the context. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
"Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up."
— Stephen Hawking
Follow along if you like and remember — Even tiny adventures matter.