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| Ely Cathedral, England |
I have another blog that ran concurrently containing only mathematical content. This blog contains the full experience of the travel, places, people, and emotions, as well as all the math history content. The purpose of this blog has been to keep friends and family informed of what I was doing and how I was doing, and it also now serves as a diary or scrapbook of memories for me of a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Hopefully, it is something others can enjoy as well.
I've decided to finish up by posting what is either a "conclusion" (if you've been following me) or an "introduction" (if you're just finding this blog for the first time) in the form of highlights of the trip - a representative sample of the contents of the rest of the blog.
Here, in no particular order, are the highlights:
1) Holyrood Park, Abbey, Palace -
Absolutely astonishing in every way! There is history, beauty, ruins, a working castle (the queen's home when she is in Edinburgh) and miles of hiking trails at all levels of difficulty. For a full post entirely about Holyrood Park, Abbey and Palace, click here.
2) Awesome "Hosts" -
I was blown away by the gracious welcome I was given by each of the mathematicians I contacted before heading to Europe - mathematicians I knew by reputation but did not know personally prior to this trip.
In each case I had asked a single question by email, such as, "Can you tell me where G. H. Hardy's rooms were in Trinity College, Cambridge?" or "Do you know if the nervenklinik (sanatorium) in Halle, Germany where Georg Cantor died in 1918 still exists?"
Instead of just emailing me an answer to my question, each of these mathematicians connected with me in person, welcomed me, opened doors for me to places I could never have entered without their help, spent a great deal of time with me, conversed with me about the topics of my study, and absolutely gave freely of their time to give me a great and valuable experience. I do not have words to adequately convey the depth of my gratitude to them! They are phenomenal human beings, each and every one!
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| Cambridge University - Professor Piers Bursill-Hall and doctoral student Richard Chapling |
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| Gottingen University - Professor Samuel James Patterson |
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| Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg - Professor Manfred Stern |
I was in Europe for 47 days, only 4 of which were what I would call "down days." As you can imagine, taking in 500 years of math history in 9 cities in 4 countries in less than 2 months was pretty intense, so these four slower days were unbelievably refreshing! Below I give one picture of each place; to see more click on the links below:
Burntisland, Scotland - home of Mary Somerville
May Day in Paris
Heidelberg
Plesse Castle, Gottingen, Germany - associated with David Hilbert
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| Burntisland, Scotland - The Links and Firth of Forth |
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| May Day walk along the Seine - view of Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Heidelberg Castle |
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| Plesse Castle - Gottingen, Germany |
4) Brontes -
I have adored Emily Bronte and the entire Bronte family since my teen years. I love the writings - novels and poetry - of Emily and Charlotte and Anne. I'm fascinated by the story of their family. Though I didn't get to visit their hometown of Haworth, a place I have long longed to go, I did get to see portraits of them at London's National Portrait Gallery - facsimiles of which I've been familiar with for decades - two of these having been painted by their brother Branwell. I also got to see other items associated with them, such as their famed tiny books of juvenilia, their signatures, a pair of Charlotte's shoes, the prospectus for the school they hoped to open, and so on. All of these things were on display because this year is the 200th anniversary of Charlotte's birth. To see more, click here.
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| Emily Jane Bronte - as painted by her brother Branwell Bronte |
5) Archive Reading -
I was here for the math, and being a professor on sabbatical opened doors for me to archives and amazing resources. I read at two libraries in Oxford: Queen's College and the Bodleian. I also accessed the archives at Heidelberg University. My Bodleian Reader's Card is now one of my most treasured possessions! More here.
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| Radcliffe Camera - Bodleian Library - Oxford |
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| Queen's College Library, Oxford |
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| Queen's College Library - Oxford |
I visited many places of worship - kirks, churches, kirchen and cathedrals. The Marktkirche (Market Church) or Marienkirche (Church of Mary) in Halle stood out to me. It was stunning, as were so many others, but it was also very accessible and less touristy than most. There was no charge to get in, and it was open every day. I was in Halle for about five days, and this church was in such a central location that I spent a lot of time there and came to feel I belonged there. I attended an organ concert there, and I climbed its unique towers - of which there are FOUR! This church also contains a lot of history that I was interested in - is the church that George Friedrich Handel was baptized in and first learned to play organ in, and it is associated with Martin Luther. Halle is very near to Wittenberg, and Luther preached in this Halle church a number of times. There is a small museum at this church dedicated to him that contains his death mask and casts of his hands. For lots of pictures of Halle's Marienkirche, including views from the roof, Luther-related items, and a video of organ practice, click here.
7) Harry Potter Connections -
This was a very unexpected find for me. I have enjoyed the Harry Potter books and movies, but I didn't know much about the settings or the author's inspirations. While I was in a kirkyard in Edinburgh looking for the grave of a mathematician (Colin Maclaurin) I overheard a conversation about graves there that likely inspired elements of the series. I also learned that the author, J. K. Rowling, did much of her early writing at a cafe in Edinburgh, so I had lunch there one day and was pretty amazed by the place. For more about Harry Potter connections in Edinburgh click here.
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| The Elephant House |
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| View from the Elephant House |
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| Greyfriar's Kirkyard |
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| Greyfriar's Kirkyard |
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| Greyfriar's Kirkyard |
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| Looking across Greyfriar's Kirkyard to Heriot's School - a possible inspiration for Hogwarts school in the novels |
I've been enriched in other ways as well - through experiencing the culture, history and beauty of Europe and having an amazing time - but also through difficulties of solo travel in countries where I did not speak the language and through becoming extremely sick for a couple of weeks, to the point where I feared I would have to be hospitalized, and having no one there with me to care for me. I was particularly sick in Oxford, where if I needed medicine or food it was a half hour walk from my cheap hotel room to get them.
In many ways I had to stretch myself - driving in England (without someone with me to "navigate" and where the cars and roads are reversed from the US, and I don't even like to drive at home!), pushing my introverted self to meet mathematicians there and to let them give to me as abundantly as they did, figuring out how to live abroad for seven weeks on my own - never had done anything remotely like that before -
I learned a lot about myself, and I learned a lot about trust - trusting God to provide for my needs - and He came through so powerfully. In multiple ways this was a life-changing experience, and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity. And I'm so thankful to those of you who followed me through this blog and to those of you who were praying for me during this time!! Much appreciated!!
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| Soli Deo Glori - To God Alone be the Glory! |
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