I visited Christ Church and walked around the town for a couple hours this afternoon taking pictures of the gorgeous city to cap off my trip. Christ Church has become quite famous for the role it played in Harry Potter, there were several scenes shot inside of Christ Church, but it is a magnificent college. It has changed leadership several times since the first building was done and the architecture demonstrates how much it has been cared for by different people over the years. I've become very interested in architecture over the course of this trip as we have seen some absolutely incredible buildings, but other than the building itself my favorite parts about Christ Church are the tree in the center and the meadow outside. There is a large tree in a courtyard area with the base reading "The leaves of the tree are for for the healing of the nations." This really struck me and I kept returning to it throughout my visit. Colleges own a great deal of land in Oxford and the Christ Church meadow is a fantastic use of that land. In the center is a bit of farm land and several cows graze here as well, but there is also a great path with magnificent views of the land as well as the skyline. I was repeatedly struck by the beauty of Oxford as I walked around today.
After staying in such a beautiful city for a month I'm not quite sure I'm ready to head home. Of course I love Nebraska and I miss my friends and family, but there's just something about Oxford that I'm not quite ready to let go of. I'm taking it as a sign that I'll be back at some point. I don't think I could have asked for a better study abroad experience. We packed a lot into a little into our short time here and far exceeded any expectations I had coming on the trip. It was a wonderful experience and I am so happy that I will have the privilege of helping other students plan their trips for next summer!
Pictures below are of Christ Church and from walking around the city. The last is of the Radcliffe Camera, part of the library. Enjoy!
Hi Kaitline, a quick question.... this morning I did a search to see if anyone had posted a picture of that tree at Oxford, and your blog came up first. I wondered if while you were there you perhaps read anything about it, was there a plaque or something to tell when it was created? My wife and daughter and I spent a day in Oxford this summer, and that tree impressed me. Our daughter just graduated from the Univeristy of Washington this summer, so maybe you're about the same age. What I wondered was if there's any connection between that display and the trees Tolkein featured in LOTR. Kindof a trivial question, but when i saw the picture today, it came to me. Thanks for creating a great blog of your trip. We'll read it to get ideas for where to go when we go back. What a great place. Thanks! Jeff
ReplyDelete