Germany, France & Austria

My luggage that took forever to pack!

After four years of patiently waiting, it is now the time for me to travel to Germany, France, and Austria for the Holocaust and European Studies study abroad trip. I have not had much time to worry about my trip because like every other college student, I have been stressing over final exams. However, now that finals are over, I have absolutely no excuses to put off packing and doing other pre-departure tasks.

The day before I leave, I find myself on my bedroom floor surrounded by mounds of clothing, shoes, travel-size shampoos and soaps, and every other travel object that a person could ever need. Unfortunately, I have never achieved superb packing skills, and packing for this trip is no exception. So far, I believe that I have packed and unpacked my luggage about five times and it is not getting any easier. Finally after all the hard, tedious work of deciding what stays and what goes, I now have a full suitcase and a backpack that are ready to go. Now all I can hope for is that my luggage does not exceed the weight limit at the airport…

While writing this pre-departure blog, I am most surprised at how calm I am about this trip. Lately, I have been asked by my family, friends and co-workers if I am nervous and excited about going overseas. Up until this point, I have been extremely nervous because I don’t know what to expect. I have never traveled to a foreign country before. I have never even been on a plane! Luckily, I am more excited than nervous. I have always been sheltered in my little, American bubble and now I finally get the chance to travel outside my comfort zone and experience things in a totally new and different way.

I have finally made it to Europe! After a very long day of traveling from Nashville to Charlotte, NC to Frankfurt, Germany to Strasbourg, France, I am definitely ready to relax and sleep. However, in order to get used to the seven hour time difference, I am not allowed to sleep until tonight. This is possibly the most tired I have ever been in my entire life. After getting no sleep on the plane, which we were on for at least a good nine hours, and a 2.5 hour bus ride from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, I am pretty exhausted. Fortunately, arriving at the Chateau de Pourtales, which is my home for the beginning of my trip, is keeping me awake. When we first pulled up to the Chateau, I was totally in awe of its grandeur and I couldn’t believe that this is my home away from home while in Strasbourg.

Chateau de Pourtales

After getting settled into our rooms and having lunch at the Chateau, many of us decided to take a walk in the park near the Chateau. While walking through the park, I began to realize that it was colder than I imagined it would be. Being the hot-natured, Tennessee girl that I am, I packed mostly shorts. Even after being told that it would be cooler, I let my stupidity get the best of me. I have a bad feeling that this packing mistake will haunt me for the rest of the trip…

My first room in the chateau

After getting slightly adjusted to the French cuisine and landscape, but not the cold weather, I am beginning to get more and more excited about the days to come. Tomorrow will be our first big outing into the city of Strasbourg and I can hardly wait! But first, I’m definitely going to sleep.

The day has finally come to explore the city of Strasbourg, France. After a much needed night of sleep, I am so ready to travel into the city to see all of the sights. Immediately after stepping off of the bus, I can tell that this is a city full of life. From the residents of the city that are sitting and drinking coffee or wine in the outdoor cafes and the tourists that crowd the souvenir shops, it easy to conclude that this is a true European city.

Strasbourg Cathedral

As we walked through the crowded streets, I received my first glimpse of the most beautiful architecture that I have ever seen: the Strasbourg Cathedral. Photographs of this cathedral do not do this building justice. It was so beautiful, that just looking at it literally took my breath away. I could not wait to go inside of the cathedral but our group had other matters to attend to before our walking tour of Strasbourg, which included a tour of the cathedral. After eating lunch, we went on a canal tour of the city.

Canal Tour

A series of canals flows through the city which greatly allows tourists to get an informative tour of Strasbourg. After the canal tour, our group was lucky enough to have a guided walking tour of the city. We first learned about the cathedral and actually got special permission to explore the oldest part of the cathedral which many people do not get to go in. Being a history dork, I was in heaven! The tour also included seeing an old Jewish bath and the old, original city of Strasbourg. Even though I was having such an awesome time in the city, I am still not fully adjusted to the time change so nonetheless, I was ready to go back to the Chateau.

I have been at the Chateau de Pourtales in Strasbourg, France, for a few days now and I am still loving it! Everything about the Chateau is amazing. At first, I had some problems with getting lost, but like I am with packing, I have never been that great with directions either. However, now I know which staircase leads where, which by the way, there are quite a few staircases here!

For the past few days we’ve been meeting in our classroom at the chateau for our Holocaust lectures. Being in college for four years, I have had some challenging classes that have went really fast concerning the lecture material. However, those classes compare nothing to this Holocaust class! Luckily, we have some good professors, Dr. Browder and Dr. Brantz, who know so much about the subject and are always willing to help us out and answer questions that we may have. I have learned so much just in such a short time period about the past prejudices against the Jewish people and how the beginnings of this anti-Semitic ways of thinking greatly affected how the Holocaust came about.

It can be absolutely heart breaking to listen to parts of these lectures that describe false accusations that were put against these people just because of their religious beliefs. In a few days, we will be traveling to the Natzweiler –Struthof Concentration Camp. After learning about these camps in detail, it should be very interesting, but very sad, to finally see it with my own eyes.

After taking our midterm on May 17^th, we traveled to the train station in Strasbourg to board our train to Paris. After two hours on the train, I was so ready to get off and explore Paris! To get to our hotel, which was located in the Place d’Italie area, we had to ride the metro. I am not accustomed to this kind of underground travel so I was slightly weary at first; however, it is actually quite easy to understand the metro maps and how it is ran in general. After getting settled in our hotel and finding a great place to eat, a few of us decided to go ahead and find the Eiffel Tower by ourselves. We knew that we would get to see it in the daytime the next day but I have always heard that the tower is so beautiful at night. After traveling on the metro to the Eiffel Tower, very successfully I might add, we finally made it to our destination and it was so worth it. The closer we got to the Eiffel Tower, the more excited we would get.

The Eiffel Tower all lit up at night

Even though we had been in Europe for a few days, it actually hit me that I was really in Europe the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower. I have always dreamt of seeing the Eiffel Tower and it was suddenly right in front of me and I almost couldn’t believe it. Being from Paris, Tennessee, where we have a replica of the Eiffel Tower and seeing it so often just made seeing the real one so much better! After being at the Eiffel Tower for over an hour we had to pull ourselves away from the grand splendor in order for us not to miss the metro. As we were traveling back to our hotel, I kept thinking to myself how great the next day is going to be: Versailles, the Eiffel Tower (again!), the Arc de Triumph, and my 22^nd birthday.

The Austin Peay crew at Versailles! From Left: Daniel, Renee', Me, Beth, and Teresa

When I woke up this morning I knew of only one thing: It’s my birthday and it’s going to be awesome! Not many young Americans can say that they have been to the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and the Arc de Triumph on their birthday. The first place we ventured to was Louis XIV’s palace, Versailles. This palace was just how I had imagined it: Very extravagant and gold. My favorite part of Versailles is the Hall of Mirrors. I knew it would be my favorite part, and it did not disappoint. It is amazing to think that someone actually lived in this place because it is such a massive and ornate palace.

Eiffel Tower

After eating lunch near Versailles, we all hopped onto the metro to go to the Eiffel Tower. I have always wanted to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower so I made sure I found the line to go up very quickly. Once I got up to the top of the tower, I could see all of Paris below me. It is one of the most amazing views that I have ever seen. I highly recommend anyone who visits the Eiffel Tower to ride all the way to the top even if one is scared of heights. The views are definitely worth the money for the ticket and the wait in line.

View from the Eiffel Tower

After seeing the Eiffel Tower we made our way to the Arc de Triumph and then to Montmartre, the artist district of Paris.

Arc de Triumph

Being in Paris for just one whole day has made me realize how small my hometown of Paris, Tennessee really is.

View of the Eiffel Tower from Montmartre

Le Louvre

My last two days in Paris were anything but boring. On the morning of May 19^th, we made our way to Le Louvre. Going to le Louvre was the number one place that I was most excited about going to in Paris. I am an Art History minor so being able to see some of the art that I have studied in years past is so exciting for me.

Les Invalides Military Museum

After le Louvre, some of our group went to another art museum while I went with the other group to Les Invalides, a military museum. Going to all types of museums while I’m in Paris, as well in the other cities, will hopefully get me more excited about working in museums which is my dream job. After going through the museum, the other group met up with us in order for us to go together to Napoleon’s tomb. Seeing Napoleon’s tomb was very interesting because it was so gigantic, which makes sense because even though Napoleon was of short stature, he was very confident in his self which showed when he was alive as well as with the size of his tomb.

Napoleon's Tomb

Our last day in Paris, we traveled to the Latin quarter of Paris where Notre Dame is located. After learning about the architecture of Notre Dame in my Middle Ages class at Austin Peay, I was excited to see the real deal in person. Unfortunately, I probably should have seen Notre Dame before Strasbourg Cathedral because I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong… Notre Dame is a gorgeous cathedral but Strasbourg Cathedral is so much more ornate and more attention grabbing.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing Notre Dame and I could point out much of the architectural elements. I’m sure my Middle Ages Professor would be very proud. After a tiring day of more museums and a lot of walking, it was time to head back to Strasbourg. I was sad to leave Paris, but I am looking forward to going back to Strasbourg where it’s a little calmer than the big city.

Council of Europe

Today we had the pleasure of going to the Council of Europe which is located in Strasbourg. Many do not think that there is another council beside the European parliament; however, the Council of Europe makes many important decisions for the involved European countries in the council. We were told how the council works and what countries are in the council. Even though I am not a huge fan of learning about government, it was very interesting to learn about how this council goes about its daily business.

After coming back from the Council of Europe we actually were allowed some free time! It was nice to relax before our BBQ in the tipi behind the Chateau. Yes. You didn’t read wrong. The nice people at the Chateau served us a delicious meal of barbecued fish, chicken, sausages, and wings… in a tipi. It sounds strange, but so far, it’s one of the best nights I have had on this trip.

Today we went to our first concentration camp, Struthof, which is located south of Strasbourg. Struthof is located in an area that is not densely populated which is what the Nazis wanted. If a concentration camp was in an area that wasn’t populous, then less people would know about the monstrosities that were happening there. I had never heard of Struthof before this trip, but I know that I will never forget it.

Struthof was a small concentration camp but it was no less terrible than any of the larger ones. As soon as I walked through the gates, I saw that a gallows was still erected. As we walked around the camp and through the buildings where the Jews slept and experimented on, I could barely utter a word because it was so powerful to see these terrible things. By the end, I could barely stand to be there any longer and I tried to hold back my tears as best I could.

Oven in the crematorium

Seeing a concentration camp with my own eyes made it so much more real for me. I have never been one to say that the Holocaust never happened, because it did. But seeing the experiment table, the tiny rooms where Jews were locked inside, and standing just a few feet away from where they cremated those poor souls, would make any non-believer believe that horrendous things were done at Struthof as well as in other concentration and death camps.

I woke up this morning dreading the day because all we had planned was lecture, lecture, and more lecture. This makes perfect sense because our final is tomorrow; however, sitting in class for hours while it’s nice and warm outside is not the most fun thing to do. But, as the day wore on, it got better. All day long, there were workers outside the chateau putting up stages. Obviously, there was some kind of party that was being set up. Surprisingly, we get invited to this party because we are staying at the chateau! This was the ultimate unorganized event of the trip! I mean, it’s not every day one gets invited to a fancy French party.

After lectures ended it was time to start studying for the final. Of course, it was hard to stay focused knowing that we had a party to attend later that night. Unfortunately, because of my “superb” packing skills, I failed to pack anything suitable for a fancy French party but I was going regardless of having nothing appropriate to wear! As soon as we stepped out of the doors, I knew we were not going to belong. Mainly because we looked very American and no one knew who we were. Even though we did get stared at and we didn’t look like we belonged we had the times of our lives. Of course, reality did set in eventually when I realized we had the final the next morning…