Cambridge as I know (我所知道的康橋): River Cam

Every student in Taiwan would grow up reading Xu Zhimo’s (徐志摩) “Cambridge as I Knew” (我所知道的康橋).  One needs to live there to write such an article; may be my niece, Miao-Chih (Corpus Christi College) or her husband, Xiao (Emmanuel College; John Harvard was his alumnus), may be able to write it. 

Although only spending one afternoon and early evening (September 22) in Cambridge, I will give it a try to write my version of “Cambridge as I know”.  Janice always advised me not to write anything longer than a page and there is no way I can cover Cambridge (with over 800 years history and 31 colleges) in one page; so it will come as installments.

We went to Cambridge University well advised with “tips” from an “insider”; we went direct to punting along River Cam.  This is the best way to see Cambridge U when one has limited time as River Cam runs through the heart of Cambridge.  One can see many, not all, famous colleges along the river.

Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) talked about the “Back”, so named as this grassy strip lying between the ‘backs’ of the big colleges and the river banks.  The best spot to see and admire the majestic King’s College Chapel (next post).

while punting I cannot see the whole strip of the "Back"



This is taken online: 'Back" is the best spot to see King's College Chapel

King’s College Chapel, The Wren Library at Trinity College (the same architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral) and the Bridge of Sighs are just a few landmarks that one enjoys while punting.

The Bridge of Sighs (嘆息橋) was built in 1831 and crossed the river Cam connecting two courts in St. John’s College.  It was named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice as both are covered bridges.  I think it was so named by the students before the exam.

Wren Library