Cambridge,UK : A place frozen in time - Sri

What intrigues me about any place I travel to is its history, people and culture. I doubt if there is any place in this planet without a history. Places tell stories which run thousands of years into history. One such place is Cambridge, UK. I happened to visit there for work.

I reached Cambridge late in the evening, after a refreshing drive from Heathrow. Freezing cold and intermittent rains welcomed me as I reached the hotel. A quaint little town, steeped in history, where time seemed to have frozen. These were my first impressions of Cambridge. Over the next few days I let the place grow over me.

Here I am walking the streets of a town, which houses the University of Cambridge, the 3^rd oldest University (1209) which continues to exist, where some of the sharpest brains in the history of this world had studied - Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking, David Attenborough and some of the best musicians (Syd Barret and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd) had started playing in the local pubs before their claim to fame!

A small town, shaped the world’s course and direction through education, and still continuing to do so. Boat ride over the River Cam which runs through the town, is an experience by itself. One gets to see most of the colleges in the town during the boat ride.

UK and Pubs are inseparables. I visited the Isaac Newton Pun in Castle Street, to see if I could have that eureka moment of discovering something new. Instead I ended up experiencing some fine ginger ale beer from the local breweries. While chatting up with people in the pub, I realised that we were sitting over a 2000 year old tavern! Or so the history goes. The only eureka moment I had was when I stepped out of the pub. A wave of cold air hit me and I discovered that I was not in Chennai. The Mill is famous for its food and music. This is the place to go if you love beer, some great food (they serve vegan also) and awesome music.

The People

I did expect a bit of snobbishness, but was pleasantly surprised to find Cam people very friendly and easy to interact with. Was impressed with their hospitality and gracefulness.

There was one incident though which made me jump out of my shoes. I was taking a midnight stroll around my hotel. The pic (this is a morning shot) above was the street I was walking around. Not a soul on the streets. The moon was out and the weather was nippy but not freezing cold. I was listening to music on my headphones and was enjoying the solitude on the streets. Suddenly a man jumped out of the shadows and stood right in front of me, smiling close to my face. Taken aback, I went into a survival mode, wondering how to defend myself if he attacked me with a knife or something. He smiled and asked “buddy, would you have a pound to spare?” Without hesitating I gave him 2 pounds and was relieved when he walked away singing. I beat a quick retreat back to the hotel. Was later told that there were a few druggies who roam around the streets in the night!

Laundress Green

The above pic is near the River Cam, a nice scenic park to laze around when the sun is out. It’s called the Laundress Green. What is striking about Cambridge was its laid back lifestyle. No one seemed to be in a hurry. It looked as if life happens in a slow motion. Frozen in time.

For the diehard Indian foodies – if you miss Desi food while you are there, not to worry! There is a lovely Indian restaurant (and a few more) in the town. Bon Appétit!