Oxford – green energy and youthful peace

Have you ever watched a movie about Oxford? I have. Long ago. I don’t remember the name of the movie, nor the actors, but I do remember the atmosphere. That movie took me to a place that is peaceful and quilet, cosy and funny, youthful and cheerful – all at once. I can also remember that the students were learning in the University park , on the grass, and I have been wanting to get there ever since.

Well… I have! I have enjoyed the vivid spirit of a very old town, the old centre full of history and the green parks of Oxford , enjoying the peace given by the songs of the birds and laughter of the graduating students.

Apparently, there is not much to see in Oxford – just some old walls and a city centre that takes 1 hour to circle around. The surprise is that behind every door, there’s a page of history, and you’ll find a nice or an exciting story behind every stone.

If you ever get to UK , I strongly recommend to you this place. You can visit the college where Harry Potter was filmed. Then, the Oxford Castle will unchain its mystery to you. After these pages of history, you can take a long walk in the University park and enjoy your favourite book under the tree of your choice. You can enjoy the authenticity of the traditional Guiness in an old pub (my choice is Kings’ Arms, but there are lots and lots of cosy nice pubs that give you the impression that you were born there and every single person from that pub is your friend). You can enjoy the walk on the narrow streets and find the peace of the Theatres (Sheldonian Theatre, New Theatre, Oxford Playhouse), Libraries (Bodleian Library, Central Library), Colleges (University College pretends to be the oldest – the history teacher I accidentaly met there said that there are three colleges that have the same age: University college, Magdalen and another one I haven’t discovered yet), Towers, Bridges…

The centre of the city is where the old and the new perfectly combine and you can find fancy restaurants, nice shops and cosy, modern cafes, between old buildings, colleges, churches and walls.

There are busses to and from the centre of London every 10 minutes, so getting there is easy and relatively cheap if you buy a return ticket.

Accomodation in Oxford is deffinitely cheaper than in London and for an affordable amount, you can enjoy both Oxford’s green and wild energy and London’s great busy atmosphere. My choice for accomodation was Balkan Lodge, a nice and cosy place, rich breakfast and nice staff.

When you feel that modern and old, cosy and wild, young and vivid are the combinations you need in order to rest your soul after a stressful period, Oxford might be exactly what you need.