Journey Around The Globe
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Historic Cambridge in England
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND: I love visiting university towns…big or small, and when it’s a place like Cambridge, you can never say NO to that. Cambridge is mainly known for world’s one of the most-renowned universities – University of Cambridge. It was founded in the 13th century and since then it has produced many famous alumni like Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall, John Milton, Queen Margaret of Denmark, Lord Byron, and hundreds more.
The city is about 50 miles north of London. And public transportation being so awesome in England, no one should have any problem getting a train from the capital. Cambridge is a city with green open spaces, fascinating Gothic university buildings, busy students, and peaceful River Cam. This is considered as England’s most unspoiled countryside with many places for leisure walks.
TIME of TRAVEL: We were in London in the summer of 2014. That was the first time we took Euro-Star train from Brussels to London that goes underneath the English Channel. It was a one and half hour journey and by the late afternoon, voila…we were in St. Pancreas Train Station in London. First few days we covered London City and all the good stuff there. Then we headed to my aunts/uncles-in-laws’ place in Woolwich. They planned this delighting trip to Cambridge for us per our request. The town was a bit quiet since most of the students were gone for the summer holidays.
EATING and SHOPPING: We didn’t come across too many restaurants in Cambridge, I’m sure they were there…we weren’t just looking properly. Because, my aunts-in-law brought lunch from home and we had a little picnic in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. There was a restaurant/café where we sat outside surrounded by lush green trees and small fountains in the distance.
There were some cool shops near King’s College. But we reached there at the end of our trip and everything was already closed by then.
PLACES WE’VE VISITED: We spent a whole day in Cambridge. Of course you need more time to explore this historic yet trendy university town. There are plenty of historic churches, interesting museums, and relaxing gardens for all ages.
1) CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN: This was a one great day out for our family and an essential for any garden lover. This heritage-listed Botanic Garden was originally conceived by Professor John Henslow, the mentor and teacher of Charles Darwin. It has been open to the public since 1846. The garden’s plant collections today number over 8000 species from all over the world, all neatly displayed amongst the finest arboretum in the region. The 40 acres of beautifully-landscaped gardens and glasshouses offer year-round interest and seasonal inspiration. In the glasshouse, you can discover the plants of mountains, from cactus to tropical rainforests, and arid lands. The Winter Garden is the original master class in gardening for winter interest. The best part is that the garden is designed for both year-round interest and seasonal inspiration.
The garden is a natural classroom if you have kids. My girls got backpacks from the ticket office that contained everything a budding naturalist might need, like notepad, pencil, magnifying glass, jar, tweezers, and etc…kept them quite busy for the whole trip.
Admission is £4.50 per adult and children under 16 years of age are free. The garden is less than a mile from the city center and a short walk from the train station. Although cycle parking is available, car parking was a bit hard for us.
2) PUNTING on CAM RIVER: Punting on River Cam is a must when you are in Cambridge. It’s a traditional way to relax and get around few campuses of University of Cambridge. The water is very shallow here and our guide/punter pushed a long wooden pole against the bottom of the river and took us around on a long boat. It was a pleasant ride no doubt. I don’t remember the cost exactly, but I think, it was something like £20 for an hour ride for maximum 4 adults.
3) KING’S COLLEGE and CHAPEL: We saw mixture of styles in architecture here, since colleges of University of Cambridge were built over many centuries. Most of these buildings/colleges are worth a look. We only visited King’s College and Chapel but if you have spare time try visiting Queen’s college, Trinity College, St. John’s College, St. Catherine’s College, and University Library.
Since we had very little time, we only roamed around King’s College. This is one of the most visited spots in Cambridge. This portion of the university was built by King Henry VI in 1441. Construction of the chapel started in 1446 and took about a century to finish. This chapel is considered as a greatest example of Gothic English architecture and an iconic landmark of Cambridge. The chapel was already closed for the day when we arrived there but at least got to see its grand exterior and famous towers. The choir of King’s College Chapel is supposed to be very well-reputed too, but…next time.
We walked around the large ground of King’s College close to the sunset time and enjoyed looking over medieval architecture taking the footsteps of many famous people who once came here as students and contributed so much to the world we live in now.
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5 Things I am missing about Belgium and Europe
So, it’s been about three weeks since we’ve moved back to our hometown Portland, OR in the USA and…about little more than a month since we’ve left Belgium. Yep, we are done with the Belgium chapter and traveling thru Europe for now. My apology for not writing anything for the last 3 weeks. We are slowly settling in our new home in Portland and loving every moment of being close to my family, relatives, and friends. Also not to mention, I am enjoying the fact that I can communicate with people more effectively (I didn’t speak neither French nor Dutch in Belgium, a bit hard living like that for months after months) and that I can actually read the labels in grocery stores and not buying the wrong things. Another thing I am enjoying is the fresh fruits, like Asian pears, blueberries, from my backyard…which we missed in our home in Belgium. And finally I got to eat at Taco Bell after three years…very satisfying.
But saying all those, I do miss Belgium from the core of my heart. I miss living an European laid-back worry-free life. I miss our small village, Tervuren and my kids’ school and its great community. I do want to secretly confess that if I had an option I would live in Belgium (or any part of Europe) forever. Here are 5 things I really miss about Belgium (or Europe) and I wish we had those here too:
1) I think one of the most missed things about Europe for me is the food. Fresh good quality Dutch or Italian cheese, Magnum Ice-cream bars (especially the mini ones and after-dinner bite sizes), Belgian/Swiss/German chocolates (I can’t imagine putting a Hershey in my mouth now…yuck), Belgian waffles, French crepes, and other tasteful and flavorful local produces and specialties. I am not a big eater but I do enjoy new and different kind of dishes all around the world.
2) As I mentioned above and many people who have been to Europe will also agree that life in Europe is much more relaxed and enjoyable than USA. You see people drinking beer or coffee and chatting loudly in cafes well after mid-night on weekdays as if there is no tomorrow (don’t they have to wake up early the next day?). Living in Europe for 3 years spoiled me by giving my family countless tension-free weekends and holidays where we didn’t have to think about anything but fun.
3) Shopping is another thing I miss about Europe. Yes, things are more expensive there, especially when you convert everything to Euro. But European street-fashion looks so much better than USA, no offense…just my opinion. I could find my types of clothes easily and they would actually fit me (petite size in Europe is actually smaller than petite in USA). And talking about size, another thing that is better in Europe is when restaurants say “small size”…they are actually small. Europe’s biggest size of drink is like the smallest size in USA in some cases. When I went to grocery with my dad in Baltimore couple weeks ago, the size of eggplants, onions, potatoes, breads, and all the other things surprised me. We used to get small natural looking veges in Belgium and I almost forgot how USA makes everything so big artificially.
4) History being one of my passions, I enjoyed every bit of Europe. If I could go back to college again I would have taken European history as my 2nd major. To add to that Europe also gave me a new passion – photography. Thanks to all the finest destinations and beautiful photogenic places that inspired me to take some good shots and increased my interest in photography. My camera is sitting in its bag for the past one month…I miss working with it.
5) Finally, what I miss mostly about living in Europe is the traveling. Living in Belgium was like living in the center of Europe (almost). Paris was little more than 3 hours drive, Amsterdam was 2 1/2 hours, Cologne only a hour half drive, Luxembourg about 2 hours and etc. If we were willing to drive 5/6 hours then more options opened up, like visiting Switzerland, Bavarian Alps, and London. Plan ahead and we could get good deals on air-tickets for couple hours of journey to Rome, Venice, Eastern European cities, Scandinavian countries, and Great Britain. When we were craving for a different culture or language or food, all we had to do was start driving to any direction and in a while we would be in a totally different country.
I still have many posts to write on all the places we’ve covered in Europe…couldn’t catch up with all my posts while traveling at the same time. So stay with me for more exciting places around that continent…I promise I won’t let you down. Til next time happy traveling and stay safe.
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Miracle Inside Shenandoah Cavern in Virginia
SHENANDOAH CAVERNS, VIRGINIA: Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah Valley is a fantastic getaway for the locals and tourists. This is a place for the nature lovers, photographers, hikers, bikers, campers, or just curious minds.
We have been to Virginia’s famous cave Luray Cavern quite a few times. When my sister bought the tickets for this Shenandoah Caverns, we thought they were the same place. But luckily that wasn’t the case. Shenandoah Cavern is a different site which even many locals don’t know about. It was good because we’ve never been to Shenandoah Caverns before and I was eager to see something different.
TIME of TRAVEL: It was the mid-July of 2014 when we moved back to The States from Europe after three years. We stopped in Baltimore to my parent’s before flying to Oregon. Drive from Baltimore to Shenandoah was close to three hours. After entering Virginia, you slowly see the curves of Blue Ridge Mountains and the small valleys. It was a nice scenic drive all around. It was initially a nice day when we started driving towards the cave but turned to a gloomy day at the end.
PLACES WE’VE VISITED: Shenandoah National Park is probably one of the major attractions in this region. If you take the Skyline Drive towards Luray Cavern, you get a fantastic view of the valley and surrounding Blue Ridge Mountain range. But if you are like me who has been to Luray Cavern many times, maybe next time you can try Shenandoah Caverns.
– SHENANDOAH CAVERNS (Family of Attractions): Shenandoah Cavern is an underground world of wonder and excitement for children and adults. Every “chamber” of it has breathtaking spots and miracles. Many of the geological formations have been named and are displayed with different types of lighting. This is the only cave in Virginia with elevator service and therefore, tourists in wheelchair can roam most of its sections without any problem.
The cave was discovered in 1884 and was open to the public in 1922. The deepest point of this cave is 220 feet. Last major earthquake inside this cave was around 7,000 years ago which changed some shapes of the rocks and formations.
Shenandoah Cavern tour is a mile long walk with a guide. Small pools, wishing wells, stalactites, stalagmites, popcorn rocks, high ceilings, and different sizes, shapes, and colors of rocks will make every tourist to gaze at these beauties in awe. One of my favorite spot was the Reflection Pool with rainbow lightings…absolutely looked like a fairy-tale scene out of a book.
Ticket to Shenandoah Caverns Family of Attractions is $23 per adult and $10 for children 6-14 years of age. This is a package price for the cave, American Celebration on Parade (Parade Float Museum and Model Train Exhibition), and The Yellow Barn for daily wine tastings, agricultural exhibitions, and seasonal live beehive.
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Legoland Billund in Denmark
VEJLE and BILLUND, DENMARK: Vejle and Billund are two separate cities in Denmark, may be an hour drive from each other. Billund is the home of LEGO and Vejle is another city where we spent a night before heading to Legoland in Billund. There aren’t much to do or see in these cities other than visiting some nearby scenic fjords or Billund’s Legoland…Denmark’s most visited attraction outside Copenhagen.
TIME of TRAVEL: It was the 3rd week of July, 2012 when we made a road trip to Denmark along with Hamburg and Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Malmo and Lund (Sweden). Legoland in Billund was our 2nd destination after Hamburg. It was a gorgeous day when we visited Legoland, but a bit cold after evening.
OUR HOTEL: There are hotels and hostels inside the Legoland Park, but my husband booked a hotel in Vejle which was setup more like in a remote countryside area with a breathtaking view of Vejle Fjord. The name was Munkebjerg Hotel and it was a delightful experience staying here for a night. The best part was our buffet breakfast venue of the hotel from where we could get a view of Vejle fjord.
EATING and SHOPPING: Legoland Billund has plenty of fast-foods, restaurants, snack or juice bars. But be ready to stand in lines for a while in any of these places, especially in summer.
For souvenirs, the store inside the Legoland Park in Denmark is known to be the biggest Lego shop in the world where you will find ultimate selections of Lego sets with some exclusive collections.
PLACES WE’VE VISITED: We really didn’t spend much time in Vejle, just enjoyed our hotel, its surroundings, and the view. But for Legoland, we were there for a whole day until closing but we still couldn’t explore all the sections. But it was a treat for our girls and they loved every single bit of it.
– LEGOLAND BILLUND: This is one of the main attractions of whole Denmark you can say. When we visited Legoland in 2012, there were more than 50 rides and activities for the kids and lots of areas to look around for both young and adult visitors. One of my favorites was the miniature section which consists of famous buildings and places around the world that were made up with more than 50 million Lego blocks.
Here are some pictures from our trip to Legoland Billund.
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Our village – Tervuren, Belgium
TERVUREN, BELGIUM: Sorry but Tervuren is not a world-famous city in Europe or even Belgium, like Brugge or Gent. This is just a small village where we spent 3 years of our time as ex-pats. This is where my elder daughter has been going to school for the past 3 years and my little one started her education-career 6 months ago. After countless long trips and journeys, our home in Tervuren gave us the cozy feeling for the past 3 years. We have become very fond of this little place, especially our Village of Vossem within Tervuren.
Tervuren is a little Flemish town about less than 30 km away from Brussels. The village is pretty well-known among the foreigners for housing many ex-pats families from different countries, especially from the USA and Great Britain. There are two British schools here where hundreds of ex-pats kids come and leave every year.
EATING and SHOPPING: Tervuren City Center is probably where most of the restaurants and good stores are in this village. It’s a shame but we’ve only eaten there once in a pizzeria. But the Friday morning market is a place where I went few times and loved every moment of it. I did my weekly groceries, like fresh produce, cheese, olives, fish, eggs,…and chocolates from here. It’s a beautiful environment and I got to meet locals as well as other ex-pats.
PLACES WE’VE VISITED: We visited almost whole Europe but didn’t even get the chance to properly visit our own village…this is what happens when you procrastinate. But we all will miss this little town very much once we leave Belgium in just a couple of weeks. Hope our daughters will one day come back here again and can remember our old house, their old school, and the neighborhood.
1) CITY CENTER: Tervuren City Center is small but a perfect place to hang around for shopping or meal. I have never been inside Tervuren Church, but it looks pretty old and a historic building here. The new modern City Hall building is located across the church.
2) ROYAL MUSEUM of CENTRAL AFRICA: This is one of the main highlights of Tervuren. Since Congo was by colonized by Belgium at one point and there was a dominance of Europe over whole of Africa, this museum carries stories of Africa, especially highlighting on Congo. Different sections and displays share the brief period of the history of that colonization of Congo by Belgium. Many paintings, statues/sculptures, photos, artifacts, and life-size animals (not alive) are there to enjoy for both children and adults. There is also a small section for children to do some hands-on-experiments.
The building of this museum itself is very grand and royal-looking. Tervuren Park is located right opposite of the museum on the other side. There was a temporary exhibitions going on when we were there in the Royal Museum. It was called “Spiders Alive” where a whole room full of different species of spiders were brought in glass boxes. The kids had a blast in that room and learned a lot too.
The museum has been closed for renovation since last year, summer of 2013 and as planned, it will open to the visitors in 2016. When we were there last year, the ticket was 3 euros per adults and kids under 6 were free. Not sure how this is going to change once the renovation is done and the museum has more rooms and displays in the coming years. At that time there was nothing written in English, all in Dutch and French. It took little more than hour to look around the museum. There is a train station across the museum and also a nice big parking lot for cars.
3) TERVUREN PARK: We have been to Tervuren Park only a few times, but the best one has to be when my elder daughter and I went there on an early morning of fall (in 2012). I don’t think I have ever seen such beauty of fall colors before. We were there a little before sunrise. All the park benches, fallen leaves, and sculptures were wet with morning dew. Different shades of orange and yellow colors of the leaves started shinning and sparkling with the first ray of dawn. It was a fantastic experience for both my daughter and I.
Sonian Forest is a big forest area (if not the biggest) in Belgium. Tervuren Park has a small portion of that forest surrounding it from every direction. It’s a nice getaway to the forest and majestic oaks, elegant French gardens, ponds, and flower beds. There are some historic buildings in or around this park – one is Spanish House and the other one is Royal Palace. I have been to none of them actually, just saw the Royal Palace from distance which hosts concerts and big events in this area.
Tervuren Park is a great area for the hikers, bikers, joggers, or for those who love to bring a blanket and basket of food with loved ones and enjoy it beside the lake. I even saw many people sitting by the lake with fishing poles.
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Journey Around The Globe 