The magic of Cambridge is hidden behind the historical stories of the sights-buildings, rivers, chapels, structures, and even some coffee shops- because the city itself is like a pop-up history book. Furthermore, from a bird’s eye view, there are probably more tourists than locals. The most relaxing activity for a tourist or a local in a beautiful weather would be punting around Cambridge. Watching people inside the little boat, I say there are three main attractions they are interested in the most- handsome punters, old buildings and a little wooden bridge. Inside Queen’s College, modernity meets history with a simple looking wooden bridge from 1700s. It connects Presidents’ Lodge, a 650 year-old building and also the oldest one in Cambridge, to the modernized and restored part of Queen’s campus.

The Wooden Bridge, alias “Mathematical Bridge” was designed by William Etridge in 1748 and was built by James Essex a year later. In fact, the left side of Presidents’ Lodge is called “Essex Building” after him. The reason why it is called Mathematical Bridge is because only triangles and straight lines were used. The bridge is still in a good shape and can carry many people at once, thanks to the great combination of geometry and physics. A popular legend is that the bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton without using nuts and bolts; however the fact that he died in 1728 makes this myth a ridiculous one to trick gullible tourists. Underneath this perfectly engineered bridge, there is a beautiful, smooth river like a tablecloth called River Cam. Occasionally, swans and ducks follow the boats, but guides warn tourists to not feed them.

“It feels like walking through time,” Sam Lawrence, a British student from a Cambridge summer school says. The bridge had carried loads of people from different times, status, cultures, emotions, purposes etc. Even so, people don’t appreciate the importance of these intelligent people who created these brilliant sights. There is more to the story rather than a bridge that connects two parts of Queens’ campus-it connects two completely different worlds.