Oxford by train

 October 24, 2017

A peek into a "quad"

We decided not to take the folding bikes on the train to Oxford. I sort of wanted to, but I had to agree with Dave that it might be a bit of a bother. So, instead we used the Santander Hire Cycles to ride to Paddington Station. There's a docking station for the bikes just around the corner from the hotel, so that was easy and convenient, and it is just a short ride to the station. 

An hour-long ride on the fast train brought us to Oxford. We grabbed a city map at the train station and set out on foot to explore this famous and incredibly picturesque city.

Big fans of the Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis detective series, as well as Lord Peter Wimsey, we found many of the sights familiar -- the university buildings -- most notably the Radcliffe Camera -- the Bridge of Sighs, the Randolph Hotel, pubs, Carfax Tower, and street scenes in general. (Note that I used the Oxford comma in that sentence.)

Below -- the Radcliffe Camera. Bad news for us: a "reader's card" is needed for entry. There were instructions on how to obtain this card, but it sounded like a lot of bother and we thought we probably would not qualify, so we contented ourselves with looking at the outside. As the website says, "it is not freely open to the general public and so students who get to venture inside are receiving something of a special privilege." We saw some of those privileged students going in and out.

The Bridge of Sighs

  

The city is full of eye-catching buildings -- some quite elaborate, as above; others much simpler but still loaded with character and charm.

Intricate brickwork

The Pitt Rivers Museum

This is Oxford's famous archaeological and anthropological museum. 


We didn't actually do the full museum thing here, but just took in the amazing architecture in the entrance area.

Below -- the Bodleian Library 

The Bodleian Library

The Martyrs' Memorial and The Randolph Hotel

The characters in British books and films are always meeting at the Randolph for drinks or lunch or tea... or to get murdered!

  

Of course we had to climb Carfax Tower, which dates back to the 13th century, and look out over the city. Compared to towers in other cities I've visited, this one is not very high, but since there are not a lot of tall buildings in Oxford, the view is still quite spectacular.
   

        

University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Wadham College

Trinity College

The Clarendon Building

The Sheldonian Theatre

Faculty of History, University of Oxford

Some of the buildings I photographed I don't know, and can't find, the names. For example, when I ask Google to find the one below, it simply tells me "Medieval Architecture."

This one is "mid-sized car." Right. What about the SUV behind the mid-sized car? And the small van? The bicycles? 

And, oh yeah, the building!!

This one Google is sure about: All Souls College:

Another mystery building

These pastel houses are near the Bridge of Sighs, on Holywell Street. They are painted so beautifully and look so well-maintained, and apparently they are student housing. Rough!

Lots of wrought iron fencing and gates

I had to take a photo of a Porter's Lodge, so quintessentially Oxford.

And here is "The Vicarage" and its corresponding church. Shades of Miss Marple.

This was in the Jericho neighbourhood.

And then it was time to head back to London. Can you believe it, as we traveled back on the train, we actually heard the man seated behind us quoting poetry. What a perfect way to end a trip not just to Oxford, but into the world of British literature!

Apeldoorn - City #5

June 23 - City #5 -- Apeldoorn

Apeldoorn is not far from Deventer and about 30 km from Arnhem. Until I saw the weather forecast I had been planning to cycle from Arnhem to Apeldoorn, but it was easy enough to make it my last stop on my train trip.

Apeldoorn is where my dad was born. I was able to find records of my family on the city website. The address where the family lived was there, so I thought I'd check out this house, too. 

So, I got off the train in Apeldoorn at about 6:30 p.m. Everything was closed and very dead. The market square was huge and virtually empty. In the distance, you can see the old city hall and weigh house. The weigh houses were very important in the old days -- every Dutch town seems to have one.

And this is the new City Hall. The tower thingy has a spiral staircase inside, but I am not sure who gets to climb it. 

I walked from the station about 1.5 kilometers to the street where my dad's family ostensibly lived. The street was not hard to find, but there was no house with the house number given on the archives page. I did see this house, dated 1914, five years before my dad was born. It is across from the site where my grandparents' house should have been.


I thought it was strange that there was no house with the number given in the town records, and I had to wonder if my opa had given a false address, like the bad guys do in detective stories. Probably not, because from what I've heard about him, he was a man of principle, but... it does give one furiously to think, as Poirot might say.





There were some large and beautiful old houses on the same street, so if my opa did give a false address, he certainly chose a good street to claim as his place of residence.

On my way back to the train station, I passed this lovely old church. I liked the little red dormers on the roof and the skinny pointy steeple.

The Apeldoorn train station is older and has a lot of character. I think it must be the same one that my dad's family would have used.









To round off my visit here, and to help me show everyone back home that red pants are indeed a hot item among Dutch men this season, this guy agreed to ride in front of me to the station. (Not really -- he has no idea that he is lucky enough to feature in the record of my travels!)

When I got to the train station, I found to my dismay that there was no direct train to Arnhem. Hmm. I asked a young lady who was handing out free cans of Coke, and she told me I could take a bus. The bus was due to leave in a few minutes, so that sounded like a good option. But when I scanned my day pass, which was allegedly good for all forms of transit, it didn't pass muster. I was turned away. I was truly baffled, but I meekly stepped down from the bus and returned to the train station, where I took a train back to Utrecht and transferred to the Arnhem-bound train. Afterwards, I found out that I should have scanned my ticket at a transfer machine. Live and learn.