Chronicles of Cantabridgia

"A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man's life as in a book. Haste makes waste, no less in life than in housekeeping. Keep the time, observe the hours of the universe, not of the cars."
Henry David Thoreau

It has been spring in Cambridge for two days. The sun shines, daffodils flourish, and it is still light out when I walk home in the evening. I wrote once before that winter suits Cambridge... now, I think I must admit that any season suits Cambridge. When I first arrived in the autumn the ivy covering the buildings was brilliant crimson and gold, and the days were long and crisp. In a way I liked the winter too, for the settled feeling caused by the grayness of low-hanging clouds. As spring peeks out, hinting of a brilliant summer to come, I find myself enamored with the lifestyle of leisure Cantabridgians enjoy. There is hardly anything more enjoyable than an afternoon out punting on the Cam with friends, or sipping a cup of tea at Mill Pond with someone special. Here are some pics from last weekend but, honestly, you have to come visit to experience it!

Ooooo to the SLO

Norway is amazing. Seriously. One minute we were in Cambridge, frantically hailing a taxi because our train to the airport was cancelled... the next, landing in the middle of nowhere, Norway, in a beautiful pine forest with feet upon feet of snow. Andy aptly said it was like going through the wardrobe straight into Narnia. Sooo incredible!

Friends and fam, be proud of the new KG... even in the midst of a cancelled train to the airport, and a nearly missed bus on the way back (we were having a cheeky cup of coffee while the rest of the group was dragging our luggage onto the bus - yikes!), I remained calm. I didn't cry, didn't panic, and only had to be told once to relax. Anyway, the trip was hilarious. There were nine of us, so just trying to find a place to eat had a far too high hassle value... but that's half the fun.

Noteworthy moments from the vacay include (but are not limited to):

• Taking a winter cruise around Oslofjord, drinking tea and enjoying the snow and sights, including the Opera House and City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is given out
  
• Engaging in a snowball fight in downtown Oslo
  
• Seeing Scream and Madonna by Edvard Munch in the National Gallery
  
• Eating fish samiches in a cute little cafe/bar
  
• Taking a tour of the Fram, which was the ship that explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
  
• Visiting a Viking Ship museum
  
• Having Norwegian cheese samiches and coffee
  
• Drinking £10 cocktails in a bar patio with heat lamps and blankets
  
• Tobogganing... epic. Picture flying down a 2 km long run on an old-school wooden toboggan with steel runners on the bottom, and only a rope and your feet to steer with, AND no way of braking. Fantastic! By the end of it we were soaking wet, freezing cold, and the happiest people on earth. Watching Andy and Ben crash was hilarious... one time Andy crashed big-time, his sled went careering down the mountain, and a cross country skier had to dart out of the way. Sooo funny. We all ended up with scrapes or bruises - both of my thighs are still black and blue. Most fun ever.

They aren't joking when the say Oslo is the most expensive city ever. It really is. Good thing we got cheap flights! I booked the hostel (if you're visitng Oslo, stay in the Anker - it's amazing!), and was excited to find it was really nice and centrally located.  We were only there for two nights, but it was sooo much fun. For your viewing pleasure...

A taste of what's to come...

An Oslo post is in the works, and will be up as soon as I gather everyone's pics! But just as a little teaser...

Skol Vikings!

I just had an epiphany... I haven't written for ages, am leaving for Norway in 8 hours, and should defo update before I have loads more to talk about!

The past couple weeks have just been incredible... I feel so blessed to be in Cambridge! The weather has started to warm up, and I am just loving the lifestyle here (or, at least, the lifestyle of a PhD student here). The other day Andy and I left the department and walked down the backs on the way home to look at all the bluebells, daffodils, and crocuses. A's mom came to visit on a Thursday afternoon, and we left work early to go out for a cuppa tea, then took an hour-long walk along the river and looked at swans and chatted. On crisp Saturday afternoon I watched a Magdalene College footy match, went out for tea and cakes, cooked dinner with some friends at Andy's house, then went to see a movie. Sunday we went on a bike ride to the village of Grantchester, where we relaxed in a pub before heading back to Cam. It has been really incredible hanging out in such a wonderful place!



Two weekends ago I had an amazing day out at the Jorvik Viking Festival in York. The Gates Scholars took a coach up and spent all day exploring the city. York was called Eboaracum in A.D. 71, and was the northernmost city in the Roman Empire... Constantine was declared emperor there in A.D. 306. It was, at some point, taken over by the Vikings for a couple centuries, which is why we went to a Viking Festival there. The city is incredibly beautiful, and we spent most of our time exploring York Minster (a sweet Gothic church), the Shambles (medieval quarter), walking along the old walls which surrounded the 12th century city, and having tea and lunch at Betty's (the queue to get in was around the block, seriously!). Here are some of the pics from the epic day:














Okie, off to pack - not amused by Ryan Air's strict baggage allowance, but I guess you get what you pay for... wish me luck in cold Oslo! :)

Charlie

This video makes me giggle so much every time I see it!

Shelford Shenanigans

Just returned from a lovely eve in Lil' Shelford, where my friend Nick's parents live in a charming thatched roof cottage - complete with low ceilings and a fireplace. Nick and his girlfriend, and Andy and I, visited and had an incredible din dins with wine, tea, cake, apple crisp, and just a wee sip of Scotch. Then we stretched out on the floor next to the fire and chatted away. I can't even explain how much I love having a "home away from home" where I can escape for a bit to clear my mind and relax. Peeps here have such a graciousness about them that I find fascinating, if not a little daunting... it makes me think I have a lot to learn from Cambridge outside the classroom.

This is a thatched roof cottage, although not the one I was just in. Unfortunately, the sun still sets before 5 p.m. so I couldn't get a pic. But it looks sorta like this:

Profundities?

Here am I again failing at writing often enough, and forcing all of you to read another novel. Apologies for not writing for so long, and appreciation for still checking in!

Lent Term in Cambridge is wonderful… I have a renewed and more focused mind, am more comfortable in this new place with my new friends, and am having even more ridiculous good times than I could have imagined. Everyone told me that coming to Cambridge would be such an incredible experience and, while I believed them, I had reservations about picking up and moving to a new place… but now this place is another home away from home!

Where to begin??? Research is going well, but is becoming more and more stressful over time. I’ll be going to Germany in March (after going to Norway and Scotland – woohoo!), and have to be prepared in terms of research by then. I also plan to give a presentation at a Nuclear Forum here in Cambridge in March, and possibly another poster presentation in St. Petersburg in May. It’s good for me to have deadlines for making sense of my research, but as I’m also writing up my first year report for evaluation, it is becoming just a bit stressful. Good thing I love stressful situations (!!).

I started Salsa lessons in my college, and am having so much fun. There’s an Irish Dance Society here too, but I couldn’t bring myself to use precious suitcase space to pack my Irish shoes. Anyway, salsa is good fun and a little healthy exercising! Some other events I’ve been to recently include a murder mystery dinner at church, a six course wild boar feast at Queens College, a Cambridge United / Oxford United footy (yes, soccer) game, a burns night dinner complete with Haggis (!!) and bagpipes, a Ceidlih at Magdalene College and a day trip to London with some girlfriends for some shopping and culture. In London I visited the British Library, which had a display about the Beatles with their original song lyrics scribbled on paper, and a display about Beethoven with his music written out, including some notes scribbled out. So cool! I also spent a weekend away with church folk in their 20s and 30s in Norfolk, and took a long stroll through the countryside – how very English!

The weather has finally warmed up after an incredible snowy couple weeks! We had one fantastic snowstorm which started on a Sunday, and walking through Cambridge was magical. It was so special to walk through Parker’s Piece and see a lone lamppost lighting the way… it made me feel like I was in Narnia! “ ‘This is the land of Narnia,’ said the Faun, ‘where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea.’ “ C.S.L. was a Cambridge man himself (and an Oxford man, but we’ll let that slide), and it’s said that the real lamppost that inspired the one in Narnia is here… sweet!

Okie, off to work now I’m afraid. Teaching a lab practical on thermal expansion in materials to lil’ undergrads. I’ll write again soon! x

Andy and I in our 70s getup (no comments on the creepy mustache):


Having a cheeky half pint at the Cambridge Winter Ale Festival (NB: the ales are up to 12% alcohol!!)


Girls outside the British Library:


My house in the snow:


Silly antics on a walk through the countryside: