Arriving in the city of dreaming spires this afternoon, I felt very much indeed like I was dreaming. Oxfordshire, England, or Hogwarts, is now one of my favorite towns.
The gorgeous gothic architecture towering high above the cobblestone streets made me feel as small as Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. Most of the limestone towers have been standing since the 9th century when the university was founded. And most of the limestone towers were also used in the filming of the various Harry Potter films. Imagine my glee.
I got off the Oxford Tube just in time for the 12pm walking tour. The guide, William, was a Oxford graduate himself, a student in the 1980s! It was excellent to have an insider's insight, but I couldn't help but wonder why an Oxford-educated man is making his living giving £8 walking tours of the college.
Moments after passing through the gates of Trinity college, I became green with envy of the students casually filtering out of the dining room and heading back to their "dorms" - which are gorgeous, old buildings surrounding meticulously groomed commons. Like this.
I learned that when one applies to Oxford, they have to apply to one of the 30 some schools within the university. Whatever school you get into becomes your home while you are at Oxford. Each school has their own little gated away buildings with housing, a garden, a dining hall, and a chapel. All one needs in life really! Shelter, food, and God.
Some of the schools are more prestigious than others - boasting a plethora of impressive graduates and rowing trophies.
Some of the famous Oxonians are J.R. Tolkien, Hugh Grant, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Clinton, C.S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, and nearly every Prime Minister Britain has had. All from various schools.
The tour took my into Trinity, Queen's, Lincoln, and the oldest - University College, which was established in 1249.
Yes, that rights - 1249! Learned men were building the spires of Oxford and the US wasn't even discovered yet.
At each college, we walked around the gardens - where in the summer students play croquet, peered into the dining halls - where a full english breakfast had just been served to the lucky people who get to call themselves students, and popped into the Chapels - where we were greeted by a left hat or a candle lit as an offering.
After the proper tour was over - I headed out on my own tour, which I like to call "Pottering Around Oxford." First stop - Christ Christ College of course. Inspiration for Hogwarts Castle.
The main staircase is the actual staircase climbed by all the first years in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone before they enter the great hall and are sorted. So basically, I walked up the stairs to Hogwarts - grinning ear to ear and surrounding by other HP fans doing the same thing.
At the top of the staircase is the dining hall, which was the inspiration for the set built for the films.
I headed from Christ Church College to the world famous Bodleian Library, which was used throughout the movies as the library in Hogwarts - and it was easy to see why. They could not have a built a set that was more magical!!
The library is for all the Oxford students, and is a reference only library - as some of the treasures include a 14th century manuscript of Marco Polo's travels, the last telegram from the Titanic before it sunk, the Magna Carta, and Shakespeare's First Folio from 1632. The main shelves are stacked with the oldest, largest, coolest looking leather-bound, parchment-filled books you can imagine. They look like props - but are in fact some of the oldest books in the world.
The library is entitled to a copy of every book that is published in the United Kingdom, so they literally have a copy of everything - and receive about 5,000 new titles a week. As you can imagine, they had to expand their shelves to a vast underground network and a new wing. Sometimes students have to wait up to 3 hours for a librarian to retrieve the title they've requested. There's no wand-waving in the real world of this library.
On a typical day the Bodleian is full of scholars quietly reading their ancient books to research for a paper and prepare for a examen. But since it was a Saturday and afterhours, the library was closed. If I went to Oxford I would find an excuse to step into that room everyday. It was simply magical.
Last on my list was New College, where one can see the common area and tree where Malfoy was turned into a ferret by Mad Eye Moody in HP4. However on the way there I realized it was 5pm and I had eaten just 3/4 of a banana all day. Overcome with sudden starvation, I popped into charming little restaurant off the high street and ordered a roasted pumpkin and ricotta pizza - which to my waitresses complete shock, I ate in it's entirety. I felt exactly like Harry. Escaping London, coming to Hogwarts, and having a massive feast.
Sitting in my carb comma, I checked my Oxford Guide to see what sites I had yet to visit, and realized that as of 5:30pm - everything was shut to visitors. My bus ticket was not until 8. By the time I paid and got outside, it was dark, freezing, and everything was closed. Damn this country and it's ridiculous business hours!
I found myself near to the bus stop, and figured I may as well just catch the earlier bus back since everything was now closed. So after a few minutes standing in the freezing cold, the Oxford Tube pulled up, and I pulled out my ticket.
The bus driver, who very much resembled Dudley Veron, glanced at my ticket and said,
"That's for the 8 o'clock bus."
I explained my situation, and begged if I could please get on this bus instead since it was cold, and everything was shut, and there were loads of empty seats, and all the tickets were the same price anway. But Dudley was not having it.
"You have to take the bus that you bought the ticket for. NO EXCEPTIONS."
I stood pleading with him for a few minutes but he outright refused. I felt like telling him he was rude, and mean, and looked like a giant sausage roll trapped in a bus driver's uniform.
But instead I thought, "what would Jesus do," and I apologized, and stepped back into the cold.
I decided that with two hours to kill I was going to sneak into New College and see the Malfoy tree even if I had to pay the guard to let me slide past. As I approached the gate I rehearsed my lost student act, but found the post totally abandoned and walked right in! So much for security. If anyone asked I would be a lost student - new to Oxford from Sweden and not able to speak . (People always think I'm Swedish)
New College was definitely among the most beautiful, with a towering wall enclosing the college and gothic archways over doors leading to residences. As I approached the commons with the famous, ferret tree I heard an organ faintly begin to play, and followed the sound to the Chapel.
The Evesong was just beginning! Delighted, I stepped inside and found myself facing a towering, carved stone alter and choir of ruffle-necked little boys, singing like angels in a dark, candel-lit Chapel. The hour service that proceeded brought tears to my eyes. The organ, the choir, the magnificent stained-glass windows flanking the marbled nave of the chapel - it was too beautiful for words. And if it weren't for Dudley I would have missed the whole thing.
It reminded me that there is a reason for everything happening. I believe that stumbling upon that Evensong service at New College Chapel in Oxford, which was one of the most special things I have ever witnessed, was like a reward for keeping calm and carrying on when faced with Dudley Vernon, the sausage roll bus driver.
My day at Oxford could not have ended in a more delightful way. After leaving the service, I had just enough time for a quick cup of lavender tea before my correct bus arrived. On the way home, I worked on my application essay. I figure if I'm going to be a member of the Royal Family, I better have an Oxford Education.
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