On Thursday, February 3rd, the Cambridge group went to see the extraordinary Dover Castle in Dover, England. Its size is immeasurable to the human eye; according to the pamphlet we received upon arrival, it is one of the largest castles in England. Dover Castle is over 2000 years old, with some fascinating stories, including tunnels dug out for safety against any Napoleonic attacks and then expanded and reused during World War II.
As we first
entered into the view of The White Cliffs of Dover, its breath-taking beauty
all equally stunned us. Its beauty was expected, but when in full view, words
can not justify the impressions it left on each of us. We were able to take
pictures of the castle from afar, a picture I am certain we are all excited
to see and display.
We were given only a small amount of time to explore on our own before touring a small portion of the tunnels in Dover. Each of us explored quickly, but not without appreciation. Being able to touch the walls of Dover, knowing these same walls felt the touch of Kings and Queens, connected us with our studies back at Cambridge. It was as if we had entered into our textbooks; here, in England, for the first time, we are actually able to learn the way learning is truly meant to be.
We were then taken on a guided tour of some of the tunnels, which we learned were used as a command center and housed the sick and scared during WWII. All through the tour, a tape was playing, sharing with us the thoughts, feelings and unfortunately, injuies of a pilot. We heard sounds from WWII, ones that were thoroughly frightening. We smelled the smells of WWII because there was specially made incense which made it possible to bring ourselves back to that time in history. The people at Dover Castle never missed a beat.
We then
took time out for a well deserved lunch break and again had free time to explore
on our own. I was fortunately able to find my way to the very top of Dover to
marvel at the view from up there. It was certainly not a view for the queasy
stomach. At one point, according to our pamphlet, on the top of The Roman Lighthouse,
it is 30 meters high! We of course then did the tourist thing and took ridiculous
numbers of pictures and delighted in all the displays inside Dover, such as
the guest rooms for the elite, which were little more than slabs of stone here
or there, but interesting nevetheless.
We only had a limited amount of time at Dover because our agenda was packed rather tightly, but this did not stop the Cambridge group from enjoying themselves and indulging in great amounts of information about and pleasure in Dover. We saw Dover's magnificence. We touched her walls; we walked on her floors, smelled smells centuries old and walked out a little bit wiser and a lot more excited.