Seeing England

So this past weekend, our group did what is called ‘The Castles Trip.’ It’s kind of a strange name, considering there are only two castles we see on the trip ( I say ‘only’ as if that’s a bad thing… I mean, how many castles do you see in America? We’re lucky to be seeing ANY castles!) but the trip was pretty fantastic anyway. It started out, as many of our trips do, very early in the morning. I was pretty dazed, so I don’t remember too much of the bus ride to our first stop, which was Coventry Cathedral. There was some confusion about our tour, which actually gave us time to wander the ruins a bit and even head downtown for some coffee and crepes. The ruins were really cool, still standing from the bombings during WWII. We were lucky it was such a gorgeous day, too. My favorite part of the ruins themselves was the words ‘Father Forgive’ inscribed on the wall behind where the altar used to be. The story goes that the minister or pastor or whatever walked into the ruins after the bombings, found two wooden crossbeams from the roof fallen in the shape of a cross, bound them together, and ordered the words carved into the wall. He didn’t want to say ‘Father forgive them,’ meaning the Germans, because he saw all humanity as fallen, not just the Germans bombing them. It seems pretty incredible to have that kind of compassion for people while standing in the ruins of your cathedral. The new cathedral, built next to the ruins, was absolutely beautiful as well. It was certainly much more modern, and it actually reminded me a lot of the Chapel of the Resurrection back in Valpo.

Next we headed toward Warwick Castle (the second ‘w’ is not pronounced, so it sounds like ‘warrick’). The castle itself was kind of contained, and we weren’t allowed in to all the exhibits with just our regular pass. We did get to go down a small passageway to the ‘gaol’ and through a recreation of one of the Warwick lords trying to become king. I think he managed it, actually. I was mostly disappointed that I didn’t get to go into the BBC Merlin exhibit, because that looked really cool. But that was all okay, because the grounds totally made up for it all. There were these elaborate gardens and a cool river with an old, picturesque boathouse and peacocks wandering around pretty much everywhere. We also got to see a ‘birds of prey’ show, featuring a hawk and a vulture. That was pretty cool, but a bit nerve-wracking when the hawk caught sight of a cat wandering through the show and paused, seemingly contemplating whether going after it was a good idea or not. Thankfully, he left the cat alone and all animals exited the arena safely.

After castle #1, we hopped on the bus and had a short journey to Stratford-upon-Avon, which any self-respecting English major would recognize instantly as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. This was basically the coolest thing ever. I know I say that about pretty much every place we go, but in the moments that I’m in each place, it’s true. This place was cool because we got to tour Shakepeare’s childhood home and walk on stones that he probably walked on 450+ years ago and Kristine, Rachel and I may or may not have been completely freaking out at that point. I mean, we got to see the first folio, and Shakespeare’s signet ring, and the house he lived in. It was pretty freaking amazing. That night, we went to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform Antony and Cleopatra, and we were completely blown away. This performance was fantastic. The casting was flawless, the acting was superb, the set was stunning and the vocals were unbelievable. I mean, really, this was a truly incredible performance. Not that we should expect anything less of a Shakespeare play in Shakespeare’s hometown, but hey. You gotta appreciate excellence when it’s right in front of you. The walk back to the hostel that night was a bit long and a tad scary, but it was totally worth it because that hostel was the bomb. I definitely slept well that night.

The next morning, we took the bus to Bath. Those of us still on an English kick were instantly reminded of Chaucer’s Wife of Bath, but we did not see any references to her in the actual city, unfortunately. What we did see were the wonderfully excavated and preserved Roman Baths, built there over 1500 years ago using the hot spring water, rich with minerals, that flowed from the land. The process of going to a bathhouse was actually much more complex than I had previously imagined, involving saunas and oil massages and the scraping off of dead skin and dirt, all before even stepping foot in any sort of water. But the baths were amazing, considering how far north they are, and how large the complex is. Many people suspect that there are many more intact Roman ruins underneath the rest of the city of Bath, but understandably, no one wants to go looking for them at the cost of huge swaths of the city. After the baths, we checked out the Abbey, the Circus, and the Royal Crescent, some of the cool architectural aspects of the city. That night, at the YMCA hostel we were staying in, a few of us played charades that got progressively more difficult and ridiculous as the night continued. Oh, and I also got a ‘Mississippi Mud Pie’ McFlurry from the McDonald’s… I thought that was ironic.

The next day we went to Stonehenge. The morning was perfect, a bit damp and misty, which added the perfect eerie ambiance to the ancient stone circle. It was crowded but not overly so. We also got those free audio-guides, so we could be told over and over again all about how no one really knows what Stonehenge was for, or how the built it, or why it faces a certain direction, or what it means. It’s a very mysterious place, and I could certainly feel the power of that mystery while walking around it. I’ve heard that some people are disappointed in it, that it’s smaller than they expected or something. I didn’t feel that at all, just for the record. It may have been a tad smaller than portrayed in pictures, but the sheer force behind something that ancient and rustic was enough to make it huge in my perception. Plus, when you think about it, a third of each stone is actually under the ground, so it’s at least 33% bigger than what we can see. It was pretty amazing, and I loved it. The problem with Stonehenge, for me, was that my camera ran out of battery, so those are the last pictures I have of the trip. Thankfully, we only had one more stop before heading back to Cambridge.

Our last place, and castle #2 of The Castles Trip, was Windsor Castle. It is one of the largest British palaces still used as a residence by the royal family. We were all rather offended by the fact that the queen didn’t greet us herself, but well, she must have been busy ( I don’t know, running a country or something. Whatever.). But the castle was really very cool to walk around in. We couldn’t go inside the castle’s chapel, because it was Sunday, but we did get to tour the State Apartments and Queen Mary’s Dollhouse. Both of these things were extremely lavish and exquisitely decorated, and even if my camera had been full of battery life I would not have been allowed to take pictures. I wish I had the room to explain every room we went through that I can remember, but there were at least 20 rooms and I don’t think anyone wants to read the minute details of each and every one. Personal favorites, however, included St. George’s Hall, which was covered in the personal shields of each Knight in the Order of the Garter, and the octagonal room that houses a much of the gold-plated dinnerware and King Henry VIII’s suit of armor.

Basically, this trip was the most quintessentially English whirlwind I’ve been on to date, and I loved every second of it. I feel like, at this point, I have truly seen what England is proud of. I got churches, castles, Shakespeare, and Stonehenge-what more could a girl ask for?

With happiness, awe, and much love,

Bryn