In March 2020, we decided to take a trip to Italy and Israel. But the pandemic had other plans; we ended up spending three weeks dodging lockdowns in Europe and getting stuck in random places while we tried to figure out how to make all our travels work. In the end it was a wonderful (but stressful) trip. You can find a number of videos from this trip on my YouTube channel.
Cambridge, UK
When we took this trip, the pandemic was just starting. Our original flights to Italy got cancelled and we found ourselves stuck in the United Kingdom for a few days. Our friend Vince is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, and he gave us a spectacular tour of this incredible campus.
The historical rootedness of this place is hard to put into words. Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world, founded in 1209. The impact this university has had on the rest of the world is hard to fathom. Brilliant minds like Newton, Bacon, Hawking, and Milton were students here once.
The college chapels are absolutely incredible.
This is the Round Church, constructed in 1130. It amazes me that something constructed nearly a thousand years ago is still in daily use.
This small tree is believed to be the apple tree Isaac Newton sat under and first thought of the Law of Gravity. For Americans like myself, being in a place that has been around this long and seen so many incredible minds and world-defining discoveries is hard to put into words.
Budapest, Hungary
Somehow we found ourselves stranded in Budapest for three days. I had never thought to visit Hungary, and we were amazed at how breathtaking and historical this city is. There was almost no one around because of the coming pandemic, and it made for an incredible visit.
Doing trips like this are possible because of my wife. Despite our travel being complicated and uncertain because of the pandemic she was willing to roll with all the cancelled flights, unknowns of how we'd get home, and dodging lockdowns (which meant we didn't know what random European city we'd be in next).
The river walk is an absolute must. It is surrounded by parks and incredible architecture; I think Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities I've been to so far.
We enjoyed exploring as many of the cafes of the city that we could in the three days we were there. Lots of great times with good books and journaling!
The architecture of Budapest is stunning. This city was the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there's an enormous amount of history here.
There's a random castle in the middle of a park in the city. Definitely add this to the list if you ever visit.
The inside of the castle was stunning. I was surprised that a building this magnificent was almost entirely empty; we explored it for an afternoon and saw almost no one.
Climbing up one of the castle towers. I have a video on my YouTube channel if you want to see what this was like.
The view from the top of the tower; the entire castle and park is surrounded by a moat.
Inside the castle courtyard.
This is the Hungarian Parliament Building. It is incredibly massive and I can't imagine building this back in the day.
Cathedrals reaching to the heavens....
The inner courtyard to the apartment building we stayed in.
London, UK
We also spent a few days in London, trying to figure out what to do till we could get flights back to America. It ended up being a wonderful time, and we got to visit one of our friends who lives close to London. That worked out very well, since we had been wanting to visit them for quite a while.
Such an icon. I was not prepared for just how massive Tower Bridge is!
We loved the London Underground, and this cello player was quite good. I wish we had the Tube where I lived!
The gate into Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace.
All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in London, founded in 675AD. William Penn was baptized and educated here, before going to America and founding Pennsylvania. It is located right down the street from Tower Bridge.
Westminster Abby is huge. Sadly, they were closing when we got there, and we weren't in London long enough to come back.
The River Thames, one of the most consequential rivers in Western history.