I go to college (town)

We caught an early train to Oxford, and began our journey by leaving our heavy bags at the hostel.

            Our first stop was the Bodleian Library, but since our tour was not until 12:30, we took this time to wander around the courtyard and shop. Once I was dissuaded from buying a large print of Hobbiton-across-the-water, I took some time to admire the collection of Shakespearean insult magnets and a whole set of merchandise that said “Silence please.”

            When we were done gawking at all the things we wanted to buy and had taken enough pictures of the large courtyard and impressive structure all around us (where parts of Harry Potter were filmed!) we went to University Church.

            There were lots of stone monuments on the walls, and someone was playing the organ. Something I had not seen before in a church was the book of martyrs, which was what it sounded like, telling the life and death of brave faithful, some who had died here in Oxford. The front of the church was somewhat blocked by crazy people who had decided to eat outside, but we could still see the beautiful exterior of the church, somewhat diminished by the twisted pillars.

            We headed back to the Bodleian Library for our tour, which began in the Divinity Hall. We learned that the Gothic ceiling was covered in the coat of arms of donators, as well as random figures, such as monkeys, that the first architect had begun the ceiling with intricate and “frivolous” decoration but had run out of funds, and that (most alarmingly) exams conducted in the hall were in the form of debates against a professor who sat in a gigantic chair while your family and friends watched, and that these torture sessions, or tests, could last about three days.

            Our guide took us up to Duke Humphrey’s Library then; there were thousands of books on the heavy shelves, but sadly, no pictures were allowed, and we couldn’t go past the first bookshelves. At first, there were 20 books in the library; the Duke had then donated a large number of manuscripts, which helped a great deal. Sadly, many were burned, but around 45 survived. Only three of the Duke’s original books remain in this library, however; a great number of the 45 are in Vatican City. The ceiling was covered in the painted images of book bearing Latin inscriptions. Apparently, this massive collection was not even all of the books in the library- under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act, every book published in the UK is required to be here; due to massive overload, there are now numerous libraries with Bodley’s name, as well as underground tunnels filled with books.

            Our tour was over much too soon, but we had to rush to the Queen’s College chapel for a glorious organ recital. We were one or two minutes late, so we had to sneak in, but the acoustics were wonderful and the organ player was extremely talented.

            Since the campus was technically closed, except for the recital, we left and went back to University College for lunch, where I had lovely tea.

            Afterwards, we wandered through the city, admiring the various towering colleges and avoiding the large amounts of flour and silly string strewn on the ground- a tradition among graduating students is “trashing”, where feathers and confetti and flour are thrown everywhere. Most notably, we passed Merton College, which was sporting a dazzling collection of flowers. Nearby, on the playing fields of Merton, boys of various ages in all white were playing cricket. We stopped to stare for a while before deciding to go punting.

            As none of us had particular talent nor interest in pushing a boat along an unfamiliar river with a pole, we opted for the chauffeured tour, which took us around Christ Church meadow, as well as many other towering colleges. There were, in addition, a ton of ducks and ducklings, all of whom stormed our boat looking for food. We saw Canada geese as well, and a swarm of baby and adolescent geese. It was, altogether, a quite enjoyable experience.

            We went back to Queen’s College chapel for evensong. As I mentioned previously, the acoustics were astounding, and the choir was spectacular. It was one of the best evensongs I’ve ever attended.

            We dropped by Baliol College to find the cross that marked the spot where three Protestants were martyred. It proved exceedingly hard to find, and we could only get quick pictures, since it was in the middle of the road, and we did not desire to be struck by bicycles.

            We went back to the hostel, claimed our bags, and drifted off.