As soon as Bob and I knew we would be in this section of Oakland, we knew we had to visit the Berkeley campus. A couple of days ago we walked just over 2 miles north from “our” house to the campus. One of our first sights was the student union where we realized (how did we not know this?!) that the U of Cal refers to the Berkeley campus. We weren’t sure what campus we thought it referred to, but we definitely didn’t think Berkeley. So now we know if any of our college teams play the U Cal Bears, they are playing Berkeley.
Our house owners had left us a section of the local paper that listed things to do in Berkeley. From this we learned about Sather Tower, the university’s campanile and most recognizable symbol. It is the third tallest bell and clock tower in the world and currently contains a 61 bell carillon that plays at designated times during the day.
We read that the public is able to go up in the tower, and we decided to do that once we got to campus. For $4 each we were able to take a short elevator ride and then climb a few stairs for these gorgeous views.
We had also read about the beautiful Morrison Library on campus, and since we’re always interested in checking out libraries (no pun intended) we decided to look that up as well. The Morrison Library was built in the 1920s and has wood-paneled walls, Turkish rugs, and cushy chairs. It’s open to the public (though no photos inside) and is the kind of place that makes you want to pick out a good book and read for a spell. It is located within the larger Doe Memorial Library.
Finally, the tag line for the Visit Berkeley campaign is “Everyone’s a little Berkeley,” which I think is a lovely thought. So go be a little Berkeley today.
Peckish Travels 