When in Rome...

No trip to Italy would be complete without a train strike. Although some of our group members had already been through this, we got to experience the unpredictability of public transportation together as we started our trip to Rome. We had a broken down bus, a local train strike, and a late bus—all while trying to get to Bolzano. But, miracle of miracles, we arrived in Bolzano six minutes before our next train which was actually running, and, with only a short panic over the group getting separated in the station, we all made it onto the train and got to Rome with no further problems.

The next morning our first stop was the Colosseum. It's quite a moment to come out of the metro station at Colosseo and look up to see the Colosseum right in front of you. We had a beautiful day for wandering around and taking pictures as we read information about the history of the Colosseum.

Some of the group wandered on to the Palatine and the Forum to continue the historic tour.

On a personal note, after a failed attempt four years ago, I finally made it into the Protestant Cemetery to see the graves of Keats and Shelley...

...and a variety of cats who live in the adjacent cat sanctuary and wander freely in the cemetery.

The group outing for the following day was a walking tour (although mostly all of Rome is a big walking tour). We checked out the Spanish Steps from the top and the bottom. 

We found our way to the Trevi Fountain and threw in our coins. 

Then we walked on to the Pantheon. 

After lunch we headed to Vatican City, where we got to see St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica. 

Dylan—our group's official art person—had quite the day with seeing The Pieta and the Sistene Chapel.

Our last night in Rome, most of us decided to see the Colosseum lit up. We had the place almost to ourselves, except for the few people trying to sell us glow-in-the dark souvenirs, but the sight of the Colosseum was souvenir enough.  

Ireland for Dummies

Ellen and I (Kathryn) spent our Fall Break touring the Southern half of Ireland. However to get out of the country was a long and arduous process that involved spending 12 hours in the Bozen train station. Also begging for change.

Our first destination was Dublin (via the Venice airport) and the goal was to visit the Guinness Storehouse to learn all about beer.

We continued on to Galway for the night, then headed off towards the Cliffs of Moher…

…by way of Dunguaire Castle...

...both of which are incredibly beautiful. The Cliffs, although being rained on at first, were so amazing and sported a double rainbow.

Some of the Irish luck for us!

In addition to luck we got a dose of “blarney” at the famous castle.

Yep, we each kissed the stone, and it apparently worked because when we stayed in Cork that night…

… at a cute Bed and Breakfast, we haggled down to a nice price. It was obviously our incredible charm. Also they were desperate.

In addition to honing our bargaining skills, we learned what the inside of an Irish Police Station looks like when we went to retrieve lost personal items. Long story short, it takes forever to do anything at the Guarda Station.

On our way to Kildare (for a most exciting stop), we went off road to visit the Mitchelstown Cave. We were the only ones on the tour and got all kinds of interesting tidbits not commonly given.

The real highlight was the Irish National Stud Farm.

Only a few of the studs were there (others were abroad doing their thing in Australia), but we did see their main stud Invincible Spirit who is insured for 600,000 euro. It costs 60,000 euro to breed your mare to him.

Most expensive horse I’ve ever stood next to.

We eventually made it back to Dublin for our return flight, but we will not forget the amazing times we had in an amazing country. I would go back in a heartbeat.

--Kathryn Farley

Neustift--Brixen--Bozen

Our second class day-trip with Sizzo took us through a number of churches and cloisters, a museum, and two wine tastings. We started the day with a brisk walk to the Dorf Tirol bus station and a ride to Neustift to see parts of the monastery. We saw the frescos in the cloister and also the octagonal fountain in the courtyard with depictions of the wonders of the world. 

Then we had our first wine tasting—the Sylvaner made at the monastery. 

The next stop was Brixen to see the frescos of the Brixen Cathedral cloisters and the cathedral itself. We had our picnic lunch while enjoying the sunshine in the Bishop's Garden before driving to Bozen.

In Bozen we visited the Bozen Cathedral . . .

and the Church of the Dominicans with its adjoining chapel. 

 

Our last major stop was the Archeological Museum of South Tirol where we saw the exhibit of Otzi the Iceman. No pictures allowed there, so you'll just have to imagine for yourself what a body mummified in ice from over 5000 years ago looks like—or you can google it. We took a quick step into the Hotel Greif which Pound mentions in the Cantos. Then our last stop for the day was one more wine tasting at the Muri-Gries Monastery Wine Cellar. All of this, and we made it back to Dorf Tirol before suppertime with our notebooks and our heads full.

Venice

At the end of fall break, we all converged in Venice for several days. The first amazing part of this trip was that everyone found the way to the hostel. Although the hostel was only a few minutes walk from the train station, it was down several twisty alleys which didn't look like you were really going anywhere. Even the sign was only a small plaque on a unassuming door. Thankfully, though, before midnight on Sunday, all the travelers from Ireland, Paris, England, and various parts of Italy had made it. For the next two days, we walked a lot and saw a lot of Venice. Our first group outing was taking the vaporetto to the Accademia stop to go to the Gallerie dell'Accademia.

After a morning of looking at art, we met up with Michi and Petra for lunch at a pizza place along the Giudecca, ice cream at Nico's, and then on to the Hidden Nest. We had some class time with Mary—hearing parts of the Cantos related to Venice—and then started our walking tour of Pound's Venice. 

We focused particularly on Dorsoduro, seeing places including Santa Maria della Salute and the Punta della Dogana.

Eventually, Michi and Petra led us across the Accademia Bridge and through the winding streets to see San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale. By the time we made several more stops, it was dark and we were back near the hostel. 

The next day was more walking—to Fondamente Nuove so that we could take the vaporetto to San Michele to see the graves of Pound and Olga Rudge.

After our time together, we had time for sightseeing on our own. The students all went to Murano, but after that, people split off for various adventures. By the time we were all together again the next day to catch our train for the first part of our journey back to Brunnenburg, I think we all agreed that Venice is a city of mazes, a city of water, and a city of magic.

Paris

With Dylan Mercer, Andrea Ramirez and Meghan Nedow

Getting to Paris was an adventure to say the least. After taking two trains, a shuttle, a plane (which was quite scary), another shuttle, the metro (which we were lost in for at least a few hours) and finally a taxi we made it to our first hotel. Needless to say there was no sightseeing that night since we arrived around 10:30 pm. But the next morning our Paris sightseeing adventures began! Once we checked into our second hostel, we went straight to the cathedral of Notre Dame. There is no denying that this is the most beautiful cathedral I’ve ever stepped foot inside. The artwork inside as well as the architecture outside is so moving. Meghan, Andrea and I even lit candles inside. I was surprised that we were allowed to take pictures. Even without my flash I got some amazing shots of the stained glass windows inside. 

Next we were off to the Arc de Triomphe! When we got off the metro we thought we’d be much closer to the arc but we actually had to walk quite a bit. But I think it was for the best since we can now say we walked down the Champs Elysées. To get to the arc, since it’s in the middle of a traffic circle where about 10 different roads meet, we took the underground tunnel. We took a ton of pictures and videos and walked all around and through the arc. We decided not to go up inside because of the price. It was good enough for us to say that we were there. 

Afterwards, we hopped on the metro again to go see the Eiffel Tower. Apparently it takes more than 24 hours to master the Paris metro system because when we got off, thinking we’d be at the tower, we were about 3 blocks from it. However, it was so worth it! We walked all around and underneath, taking pictures and videos. Then we sat in the Champ de Mars, taking more pictures, lying in the grass looking up at the tower. We just kept saying “guys, we’re in PARIS!!” About that time it was starting to get dark and the tower lit up. It was the most beautiful sight…which started more picture taking. But the best part was when we decided to leave. We crossed the street and were waiting to cross again when Meghan happened to turn around and scream “Oh my god!! Guys look!!” We turned around just in time to catch the light show that Eiffel Tower puts on every night. AMAZING! BEAUTIFUL! 

We spent the whole next day at the Palace at Versailles. We walked through the palace and the gardens then all the way out to Marie Antoinette’s Estate. Between the three of us we easily took hundreds of pictures. My favorite part was the infamous Hall of Mirrors in the palace. It was so beautiful; I think we all walked around with our jaws dropped for at least 10 minutes. This palace has to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

The next morning we woke up and went straight to the Musée du Louvre where we saw everything from ancient Egyptian art to of course, the Mona Lisa. Since the Louvre is so large we decided to only see the pieces we were really excited about, like the Mona Lisa and anything by Michelangelo for me. Meghan wanted to see the Horses of Marly and Andrea was excited about The Winged Victory of Samothrace. 

Our last morning in the city of lights, we checked out and headed for the airport where we hopped on a plane for Venice. Paris was an adventure but I’m so happy that we were able to go. It was definitely an experience the three of us will never forget. We saw the cathedral of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Palace at Versailles in three days. It was whirlwind trip but we have memories and pictures that will last us forever.

---Dylan Mercer

Every Journey is a Memory

For my fall break, my grandmother and mom came over here to visit and show me more of what Italy, Austria, and Germany have to offer.  We made stops in all three countries at various checkpoints throughout our journey.  We made special appearances into Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Dachau, Oberammergau, various castles, cathedrals, and so much more.

One of the first stops we made was about two and a half hours from Brunnenburg, further into Italy.  We walked around the windy, ice cold Lake La Garda for several hours before we stopped and grabbed some lunch at a place with the most beautiful view of the lake.







I also got to see and explore inside King Ludwig’s castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, that Walt Disney got his Disney castle ideas from. It was so neat to be able to identify the obvious similarities between the two castles.

One of my favorite trips was to the Dachau Concentration Camp right outside of Munich. Although there were too many people with the same idea that day, we literally spent three hours exploring and still did not get to see everything.













Finally, one of the more memorable stops we made was at the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s Tea House.  This was by far the most gorgeous view I have ever gotten to experience. I literally felt like I was on top of the world being at the top of that mountain, overlooking the neighboring mountains and valleys.  This was definitely an adventurous trip wich memories that will be instilled in me forever.

By: Jess Gibson

Ryan Kelley's Fall Break: Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor Castle

Stonehenge is in Wiltshire country, which is in Salisbury plains and was constructed anywhere from 3,000 BC to 2,000 BC. To this day, no one really knows why or where Stonehenge came from; however, there have been some theories. Some say that aliens put the stones there; some say that they were put there for religious gatherings; it is possible that there are bones buried beneath the giant rocks; and some even say that Stonehenge could be an area used as a signaling site; but no one knows for sure.

Bath is about two hours from Stonehenge. One famous writer that all of you should know who lived in Bath is Jane Austen. My tour group got to go right by where Austen resided, and as you should know, Austen was an English and romantic fictional writer. However, Austin never really wanted to live there, but her father made her live there for a good portion of her life. Bath was one of the Roman’s first picks for a new city for them. The Romans are well known for their bath houses, and Bath is one of their finest. The Romans also said that the waters in Bath were magic waters from the water goddess, and if you are sick, you must drink large quantities and you will be cleansed of any kind of sickness if you drank enough of it.

Windsor Castle is the official residence of the British Royal family and was built by William the Conqueror over a thousand years ago. Today, Queen Elizabeth lives there and it is where she calls “home.” During the tour, I went through several parts of the castle, for example, Queen Mary’s dollhouse and the State Apartments.

Queen Mary was the wife of King George V, and the doll house was a large room in the castle and is one of the most famous and exquisite doll houses in the world. It was actually given to Queen Mary as a gift from the people of England. The dolls themselves were dressed in royal clothing and were made from the finest of materials.

The State Apartments is one of the largest sets of rooms in the castle. It consists of dining rooms with all gold walls and ceiling, the portraits of the majority of the kings and queens who have ruled England, King Henry VII’s suit of Armor, and the English armory.

Ryan Kelley