While central Europe is still struggling to shed the winter I went to Cambridge to meet Ann. Cambridge is a 50 minutes busride from Stansted airport so we had decided on Cambridge for our weekend together instead of London. It was really great to spend time with Ann again, last time we saw each other was in Denmark for the Christmas holiday. It is the first time we are vacationing together in a place which none of us knew beforehand so we had a good time exploring together.

The atmosphere of Cambridge reminded me a lot about that of Ann Arbor, Michigan where I lived back in 2005/2006. They are about the same size and the university has a very prominent role in the cities. Both places are very green, there is many university students and interesting cafes, restaurants and museums. Both have a size big enough for life but small enough that a bike ride will take you anywhere in less than 20 minutes or less.

Cambridge University includes a number of old and distinguished colleges which in the Oxford and Cambridge meaning of the word is independent institutions within the university where students live, eat and socialize. Below is the Chapel of Kings College where we went to Evensong Saturday night.

Another thing I really liked about Cambridge was that it was so bike infested. Every now and then we would experience a near miss when a student, biking as if his life depended on it, would flash by. But I loved it and it added to the cozy atmosphere of the city.

We stayed two nights at a cozy Bed & Breakfast a bit of a walk from the center. The last day we couch surfed with a British/Kiwi couple. We had a great time talking with Lou and Alex, went to a concert, had dinner and got introduced to Natures home Elucian Islands in Second Life that Lou had just launched the previous week.

It was a very nice weekend I must say but of course the time went by too fast. Next time I see Ann will be for Easter in Malta If you are interested in reading more check out her first and second post from the weekend.

PS. For some nice pictures from the Cambridge area in spring check out what Tina omme i London did this weekend.