Portal of Freedom

In case you’re wondering, yes we did celebrate Thanksgiving. A restaurant was rented out for us and we were served turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, corn (not creamed corn though), green beans, and pecan pie. It was definitely odd thinking about my family all eating together miles away but some of my best friends from Furman are studying in Brussels (where we were). I was so thankful to get to visit with Molly, Taylor, David, and many others. Throughout this trip I’ve come to realize the importance of community and how at Furman is comes a lot easier than it does out in the rest of the world.

While in Brussels we got to visit many important institutions regarding the European Union such as the European Commission, Parliament, and others. After our days there, we traveled to Bruges where the city was complete with an ice skating rink and a Christmas market. The Christmas market was a little disappointing – this one was kind of like a bad arts and crafts fair with cheap products in little wooden huts – but they did have good desserts there.

The highlight of the past week, besides being with old friends in Brussels, has been touring the old battle sites and war memorials from World War II. Our first day of this was spent in Ypre where we saw many British cemeteries and a few German ones as well. Today we went to the Omaha and Utah beaches from the D-Day invasion at Normandy. It is hard to put into words the feelings I had while standing there, thinking of all the soldiers who crawled up over the dunes, risking their lives, for someone else’s freedom. The American cemetery overlooking the water at Normandy was also a powerful place to be as they lowered the flag and the sun set over all of the white marble headstones. The graves show the horrors of war while at the same time honoring the valor and sacrifice the soldiers made. Walking away, I couldn’t help but think of how these men embodied the ultimate display of love – laying down their lives for all of us, their friends, family, and neighbors.

Time is quickly winding down and we only have Paris left to go before we return. I took a poll on the bus the other day and there was a tie for the top food people are most looking forward to when we get back. Chicken biscuits and sweet tea were tied so I cast the final vote for sweet tea making it the winner. I’m also not sure whether I should keep blogging after the trip is done. I was never a fan of bloggers in the past but now I’m starting to come around. But what would I write about? Suggestions are welcome.

City of Sin and Beauty

Our last four days have been spent in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Netherlands is also known as Holland to the common American. Somehow in all of my studying I had neglected to put this together so when I got here and saw the beauty of the city and countryside I was amazed. I’ll go ahead and make the stretch that it is the prettiest city we’ve been to thus far.

Everyone rides ancient beach cruiser type bikes here and after realizing the countryside was close by I decided to rent a bike for the free day. I was determined to be at a windmill in the countryside by sunrise I found myself cruising out of the city by myself in the early dark hours. After a little ride I came upon the beautiful windmill right on the Amstel river. I spent about an hour taking pictures in that spot with the sun rising behind me and I realized there how much I love photography. I kept riding around after that, got lost, saw some cool cows out in the country, and eventually I made my way back to the city to see the Anne Frank house and some other sites. I stumbled on a huge Christmas parade where they were celebrating the arrival of Saint Nicholas and Zwante Piet (Black Peter). There were hundreds of people in the parade in these little costumes and blackface serving as the elves passing out candy (Pictures are up on my Picasa page). I kept thinking how this would never pass in the United States and I was reminded how truly different cultures are around the world.

I had heard stories of how sad the Red Light District was in Amsterdam but it was a lot more disheartening than I expected. I saw a family who lived above it all going up to their apartment with all of their kids. I saw the emptiness in the girls’ eyes that stood in the storefront windows. I saw men going into the prostitute booths. I saw how many booths had the curtain pulled because they were in use. Then I saw in the window of a building a big group of people sitting down at a dining room table eating together family style. This display of community was so out of place from all of the loneliness in the district. I looked around to figure out what all these people were doing. I found out that it was a Church’s mission smack dab in the middle of the Red Light District. An artist couldn’t have painted a better picture of light in this dark world.

So it is hard to make a final judgment on Amsterdam. I don’t think I could handle the lax drug and moral policies of the community but other than that the city is beautiful, the people are great, the countryside is perfect, and next time I hope the tulips are in bloom. Tomorrow we arrive in Brussels where we will be able to spend time with other Furman students in the program there.

4 Countries, 8 days

11 days have passed since we started this new leg of the trip touring Europe. You may think I have been touring Europe this whole time, but ask someone in the UK where Europe is and they most likely won’t say “right here”; they consider Europe to be that mass of land across the way. The two new professors we’re traveling with, Dr. Nelsen and Dr. Karwan, are excellent. We enjoy their company and they enjoy ours as well. On our first night we all went to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner, and since then we’ve been out for ice cream, and we’ve all played ultimate Frisbee together – all of this is not including all of the great meetings we’ve had with European politicians and experts in the European Union and European business.

We’re now in the fourth country in less than 2 weeks, a new record for me. We began in Munich where we toured the BMW plant there comparing it to the one we saw in Greenville and then we went to the Dachau concentration camp. This visit made what the Jews and all the others went through during this period much more real and awful. Viewing the crematorium, the bunk house, gas room, and marching grounds of the camp made me reflect upon the hardships so many Jews went through and it made me thankful for the sacrifices soldiers around the world make for the sake of democracy so things like that aren’t repeated. A tour guide pointed out how the older Germans don’t want to cover up this part of their history but remember and recall it so that people know how bad it was, and that the older generation is worried because they feel the younger people are simply trying to move on and forget about this dark chapter in history.

Next was Strasbourg, France where we got to see a plenary session of the European Parliament. There I realized how I would be visiting all the major institutions of the European Union and that it was sad I hadn’t even seen the US Congress in action so I’ve made it a resolution to visit Washington in the near future. Strasbourg was a beautiful little town I could see myself living in (if I lived in Europe) and it was a lot of fun to finally be in a French speaking country where I could practice my years of learning.

Frankfurt was an okay city, its pretty geared toured business which makes sense as we visited the European Central Bank there. Our hotel was mighty close to their Red Light District but our professors swore it was a coincidence…. After making sauerkraut at my job this summer I swore I would never eat it, but the Germans have changed my mind on that, its actually not that bad. German food may be the most distinct cultural food we’ve come across but I sure do love all of their sausages, pretzels, and other hearty dishes.

Luxembourg City was interesting since the majority of people there aren’t natives so it was a real hodge podge of Europe in one place. There we sat through a European Courts of Justice case where three of the justices were sleeping during the trial so needless to say we were all struggling to stay awake as well. Luckily, a large group of us got together and played ultimate Frisbee that afternoon and Dr. Nelsen proved that for a forty-eight year old he could still out run most of us.

We’ve been learning tons this leg of the trip and they give us ample down time so it has been a nice transition from the ultra fast pace of life in London – and prices are a lot cheaper.

Cheap leather and gelato

Free travel is now officially over and we have arrived in Munich. After our stay in Rome, we made our way to Florence and checked in to our hostel, which was very nice. That evening we went to Piazzale Michelangelo and looked at the city from above. Florence really is a beautiful city, not too big, not too small - just right. Everything we did was within walking distance and the people were very friendly.

We had three full days for our stay so we decided to explore Florence on the first since we already had plans for the others. Our morning started at Accademia where David is housed. I’d seen it in many pictures and little replicas but nothing compares to the giganticness of the statue. Everyone really just stands there in awe at the detail put into it and how realistic it is. After that, we went to the Duomo which is the beautiful church which dominates Florence’s skyline. It was beautiful inside but it didn’t compare to Chisea di Santa Croce where every famous Italian in history is buried.

Of course, we went to the markets as well where you can get anything leather along with a lot of other stuff no one really needs. The funniest parts about the markets were the migrant workers who were selling bootleg purses. When the police would come around the corner they would yank all of them up in a sheet and throw it over their shoulder real quick so that the police couldn’t say anything to them. As soon as the police were five feet away they would lay them out again.

The following day we took the train to Cinque Terre where we hiked the route between five small Italian villages dotting the coast line. The weather was perfect and the towns were beautiful. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves on this one. We all agreed, this may have been our favorite day of the entire trip thus far. In one of the villages we heard a band playing so Rachel began to dance around the streets – until the marching band came around the corner with the casket and the entire village following in procession to the church. I definitely experienced second-hand embarrassment for her. But that little incident didn’t stop us from having a great day – this hike is a must for anyone traveling through Italy.

Our last day in Florence was fulfilled with a bike tour through the Tuscan countryside. We went to an old estate where they still make wine and oil and then we rode through the beautiful wine country. The whole time in Italy was filled with the best eating I’ve done on the trip so far with lots of pizza, pasta, and gelato. After a week straight of Italian I am looking forward to some sausages and pretzels while we’re here in Germany.

Since we only live once, we decided to squeeze in Venice on the very last day of free travel. That city certainly makes anyone a romantic and we took a gondola ride as a group right at sunset to take in the city and its hidden waterways. I look forward to returning, but next time it’ll be with my wife riding next to me in the gondola. What I enjoyed the most in Venice wasn’t listed in any guidebooks I had read but when I got there I knew I had to experience it. The square is full of pigeons and they sell pigeon food, so I did something I had only seen in movies. I tried to convince others to join me but they wouldn’t so I poured the food all over me and lay down so I was completely engulfed by them. It really is hilarious to watch someone covered with hundreds of pigeons. I know my Nana wouldn’t have approved but all of the pigeons looked very well groomed, and considering I had eaten one a few weeks back at a Chinese restaurant in London, I wasn’t too concerned about having them crawl all over me.

The night train to Munich in second class was an experience, with all of us and some random smoker who snored all night sleeping snugly in a little train car. I’ll do it again, but next time I will pay the extra money for first class so my bed can be a little bit longer. The week was great and Italy may now be my favorite country in Europe. Internet access may be scarce from now on so I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update.

Ancient City

Our flight into Rome was a success and we have now been experiencing this city nonstop for the past two days. The journey began as we weighed our bags in London and realized each of them was over the 40 lb limit for the flight. After cramming my bookbag with about 28 pounds worth of stuff I put on a sweater, vest, and my fleece so I could save on luggage weight. The main at the airport let us slide by with up to 10 pounds of extra stuff in each back so I was extremely happy.

Yesterday we toured the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum during the day and that night we took a walking tour to see the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, and some other sites around Rome. I thought England had tons of old things but I believe Italy beats it by a kilometer. All of our meals have been Italian so pizza, pasta, bread, and gelato have become our staple foods. Honestly, the people here seem more friendly and outgoing than the people in London. There are many more street vendors and people harassing us with goods and I love it. Last night in one of the squares some men came up trying to sell us roses to give to the girls. After giving them some solid excuses for not buying them, we ended up chatting with them for a while and in the end one of the men pitched us his reason why he thought Obama should be the next President.

Today we rose early, but not early enough as the line for the Vatican Museum had begun at 6:45 and it didn’t open until 10:00. There were tons of tour guides vying for our business but of course we gravitated to the American college guy selling a tour. I think as Americans there was just an understood trust with him that wasn’t there with all of the other people selling tours. The guy got us on a great tour and we skipped the line and got to see the magnificent Sistine Chapel and St. Peters. Keith and I went to the top of the dome and saw one of the best landscapes of this trip.

Rome has been a great breath of fresh new air and since we were in London so long, Rome seems a lot smaller and easier to navigate. Tomorrow we’re off to Florence for 4 days, hopefully the weather will be as beautiful as it was today.