English History (Part 1 of 4)

After last weekend's mountainous agenda, I wanted to take a little break.  So, to unofficially begin the summer, I officially began my European tour.  At present, it looks like this tour's going to consist of three trips around the continent with stops along this first leg including Britain, Spain and Italy.

I arrived in north London around midnight a few days ago with an itinerary book measuring an inch thick.  After my arrival, I was set to hop on a train and shuttle off west of the capital to my first stop in Reading; once there, I would visit Oxford, Stonehenge and Windsor before meeting up with some old friends in London.  

However, like most things, the plan changed once I crossed customs at the airport.  A national train strike (like the one I witnessed in Bologna) caused a delay that forced me to wait a few hours for the first bus across the city.  

After pulling an all-nighter, I first visited Britain's oldest university to find a little motivation before beginning my studies in the fall.  It was a fitting stop as I was officially accepted by Al Akhawayn University's School of Humanities the day prior.  

Oxford - and later Salisbury - was a welcome step back in time akin to walking onto West Point's campus for the first time over a dozen years ago.  Cobblestone roads, ancient buildings and an air of intellect greeted me under a brisk morning sun.  After only four hours, I hope some of the city's brain power rubbed off on me!

My tour started with Bodleian Library is one of the world's oldest libraries and houses over 7 million publications.

Within the Boldeian Library's courtyard, a monument to one of its founders.

Next to the library sits Radcliffe Camera.  The dome atop one of Oxford's most photographed sites is the 3rd-largest in the UK.

Across Radcliffe Common sits one of the city's most popular restaurants, the "Vaults and Garden."  A western-size cup of black coffee washed down a hearty egg and bacon breakfast as the sun reached over the camera.

Christ Church college is the oldest, grandest and most popular of the city's 30-some universities.  Having recently acted as a set-piece in the Harry Potter movies, this university graduated Lewis Carroll among a host of others.

The Christ Church Garden.

Christ Church's cricket field behind the university's Grand Hall.

Near Merton College, the city's Botanical Gardens were closed for the morning but still offered a photographic moment.

Magdalen College (pronounced Mawd-len), sits by the river as hundreds of students zipped by me on bicycles, wearing black capes over formal uniforms.

One of Magdelan University's ivy-covered administrative buildings.

Part of the Rhodes' House, next to the university center and park.

The University Museum.

The University Park.

Crazy lines (meaning "no parking") zig-zag around cars driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

The top of the Ashmolean Museum, UK's oldest public museum.  Admission was free for most parts of the museum, which housed a mix of artifacts and paintings from almost every historical era.

After a short train ride south, I regrouped at the hotel before heading off to the Gothic town of Salisbury and Stonehenge.  Another hour by train and I was on the Stonehenge tour.  Lasting about an hour, the tour included downtown Salisbury and a couple neighboring military towns, which were more interesting than the stone circle some nine miles north of the city.  

Each of the blue stones weighs over half a ton and were moved over 120 miles from their source to form the circle.

Grooves and slots in the stones were used to stabilize the structure.

The best part of the trip was the Salisbury chapel, which - at about a 100 meters tall - is one of the highest points in the country.  According to the tour, the city escaped destruction in World War II for this very reason.  The German Luftwaffe used the tall spire to orient themselves as they crossed the English Channel.  From there, they conducted the majority of their bombing runs.

The Chapel houses the best preserved of four originals of the Magna Carta.

One of the porticoes around the courtyard at the chapel. 

The cloisters around the courtyard are some of the oldest and largest in England.

Like the chapels in Ghent, the Salisbury Chapel was built over 700 years ago.

It was a full first day in the UK; the second day at Windsor Castle, Eton College and London didn't let up!