Istanbul and Cappadocia

The past week in Istanbul has been one of the most interesting of the whole trip. We've seen a fifth century church with beautiful mosaics, two Ottoman palaces, two mosques, and the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was especially impressive because both its Christian and Muslim histories are very visible, and it's absolutely gorgeous inside and out. Our guide for the duration of our time here in Turkey is an Istanbul local who is able to share lots of insights into Turkey's secularist Islamic culture. On Sunday we got another very interesting perspective when we went to a Christian church service and a discussion afterward with some of the members of the congregation. Turkey is 97 percent Muslim, so it was very interesting to hear what it's like to be part of an extremely tiny religious minority.

The mosaic in the Hagia Sophia

Inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul

The Bosphorus Fortress in Istanbul

Today we flew to Cappadocia. The terrain here is very different from Istanbul. It's desert-like and much colder. There are also pointy rock formations and cliffs everywhere. This afternoon we saw a pottery workshop where many of the techniques used have stayed more or less the same for the past 4,000 years, since the time of the Hittites. Then we saw a series of ancient churches, houses, and monasteries located inside the pointy rock formations that are everywhere. Originally the churches used the caves to hide from the Roman soldiers when Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire. Definitely one of the most interesting sites of the trip!

Cappadocian rock formations

A second century church carved into a rock formation

We'll be here in Cappadocia for two nights and then on to Kusadasi for another five days. Finally we're headed back to London for one night before flying home. I can't believe I'll be in California in one week!

A Turkey Thanksgiving

Today I had the most unconventional Thanksgiving of my life to date. It started with a trip to the Grand Bazaar in the morning, where we saw a number of over-priced Turkish goods and even more pushy salesmen. This afternoon we went on a boat cruise (number five of the semester) of the Bosporus, which is the straight running down the middle of Istanbul that divides Europe from Asia. This evening, we had a big "Thanksgiving" dinner of Turkish food at a nice restaurant. It certainly wasn't conventional in any way, but we did go around our tables listing things we're thankful for. After dinner a handful of us went out with our professors to see the "European District" of Istanbul, which is an upscale touristy area that blends a European-style city center feel with traditional Turkish shops and goods. Once we got back to the hotel, a few friends, the professors, and I ended the night with an old Thanksgiving episode of "The West Wing", a favorite TV show of ours, which provided a nice dose of both Thanksgiving and America.

With my friend Lauren on our boat cruise

A view of the Hagia Sophia from the Bosporus


About to eat a Turkish dinner on Thanksgiving

It was a wonderful day, even though it was so different. I'm very thankful for our Europe Semester community and our makeshift "Euro-family" celebration. Of course I miss my real family and have been thinking of the celebrating that's going on in California. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at home! I'm thankful for you and am looking forward to seeing you in the next couple of weeks!

A Whirlwind Tour of the Ancient World: Rome, Athens, and Istanbul

After two weeks in Florence, we headed to Rome for five days. Seeing the Coliseum, various ruins, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Vatican were real highlights. We also attended mass at St. Peter's Basilica, and saw the Pope because it was a holiday!

The Pantheon

The Trevi Fountain

The Coliseum

St. Peter's Basilica

We got a whirlwind tour of Athens during our six hour layover. It was enough time to get a great tour of the Acropolis.

In front of the Parthenon

Yesterday we arrived in Istanbul. Today after class we took a tour of some of the major city sites, most notably the Hagia Sophia. It is a beautiful city, but definitely very different from the European cities we've seen so far. I'm looking forward to understanding Turkey's culture and sites better in the next two weeks.

The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

Florence and then some

For the past two weeks we've been relatively stationary in Florence. We have class every weekday morning and afternoons are spent seeing museums and churches on our own. I've seen at least two museums or churches every day and still haven't even scratched the surface! Obvious highlights include Michelangelo's David, the Duomo and its famous bronze doors, and some of da Vinci's unfinished works. I've also especially been enjoying class. We're beginning to recap on all our major semester themes, and focusing on the big picture has reminded us how much we've seen and learned in the past few months.

Florence

Ponte Vecchio

The Arno River

We've also taken a few class day trips. Our first was to Siena, which is a beautiful medieval town that holds some of the earliest works of the Renaissance. Our other one was to Ravenna, where the church of San Vitale holds the famous Byzantine mosaics of Emperor Justinian and Queen Theodora.

Siena

Mosaic of Justinian in Ravenna

This weekend I took an overnight trip to Venice with four friends. It's probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Highlights included looking at the city's beautiful unique architecture, checking out all the blown glass Venice is known for, and seeing da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. More than anything, it was great to get away with just a few friends and feel independent enough to navigate the train system on our own.

Venice

On Wednesday we're moving on to Rome for five days, and from there we're headed to Istanbul, Turkey. I'm stunned that there are only three weeks left! It's flown by, and I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for it to be over!

Prague and Four-Day: A Novel

Last week we left Berlin and headed to Prague, Czech Republic. Prague was definitely among my favorite cities. It was absolutely beautiful, and every single building looked like a monument to art nouveua. Some of the highlights included exploring the Prague Castle, visiting the historic Jewish Quarter, and seeing the Alfonse Mucha museum, where I got enough art nouveau to satisfy me possibly for the rest of my life.

Prague

We stayed in Prague for three nights, and then on Saturday spent a long day on the bus driving through the Alps to Italy, via Austria. Saturday also happened to be Halloween, so most of us dressed up like other students on the trip. I dressed up as our TA, Kristin. That was pretty much the extent of the festivities.

The Alps

Me dressed up as Kristin, and the actual Kristin

We arrived in Italy around dinner time, and officially began our four-day weekend. The program does not provide plans or accommodations for four-day, and we were let loose to do whatever we wanted until Wednesday evening. I headed to Orvieto by train around midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Orvieto is a medieval town in central Italy where I have a couple of friends studying for the semester. After an interesting all-night train ride involving irate train conductors, a lack of seats, and an extreme range of temperatures, I arrived in Orvieto at 8 on Sunday morning. I'm staying in a room above a restaurant right in the middle of town. On Sunday my friend Erika helped me get oriented and showed me the cathedral the town is known for. Yesterday I had the morning to myself while Erika was in class, so I explored on my own with my camera. In the afternoon Erika and I went on a tour of the "underground city"- Orvieto is situated above a huge complex of manmade caves, some of which date back to the Etruscans, 800 years before Christ. It was one of the most interesting tours I've ever been on. We spent the rest of the evening with our friend Danielle, a fellow Westmont student studying in Orvieto. Exchanging stories about our respective semesters abroad was really a highlight. This morning I climbed the town clock tower and got an incredible view of the town and surrounding countryside. This afternoon after a gelato break with Danielle, Erika showed me the inside of the cathedral. Interestingly, most of the town shuts down from about 2:00 to 4:00 every afternoon for "repozo", which seems to be an extended naptime. Having an enforced chance to do nothing has actually been a huge benefit this weekend, and thankfully most gelato stores stay open, which provides a very convenient excuse. What else is there to do, after all?

Orvieto

With Erika on the Steps of the Duomo

Tomorrow I'll be leaving Orvieto around noon and arriving in Florence around 3. The Europe Semester group is meeting up at dinner and then spending the evening in a semi-formal exchange of four-day stories. I'm looking forward to that a lot. After being surrounded by EuroSem students 24/7 for over two months, being away for just a few days has been surprisingly weird. But it's been extremely nice to have a break and see some other friends, and having a few days with Danielle and Erika has been absolutely wonderful.

Erika, thanks a million for helping me get to Orvieto and being such a wonderful host! Love you lots!

Berlin and Krakow

The past week in Berlin and Krakow has been an intense one. We've had several walking tours of each city, a day trip to Wittenberg, a concert, a ballet, and a heavy academic load. We've also found ourselves adjusting to low temperatures that are pretty far out of the ordinary for a bunch of Californians! We're discovering the virtues of hats, gloves, and lots and lots of layers.

View of Museum Island in Berlin

Berlin itself is a neat city with a fun nightlife and an exciting downtown not far from the apartments where we're staying. We spent a week in Berlin checking out monuments and museums and taking day trips to outlaying areas. We have also had some excellent guest speakers from Berlin during our class sessions.

Downtown Berlin

Fragment of the Berlin Wall

In front of the Brandenburg Gate

On Wednesday we left for Krakow, Poland, and it took us all day to get there. We spent all of Thursday touring the city and exploring on our own. Krakow is an absolutely beautiful city with a really complex history starting well before the middle ages. It has beautiful castles and churches, as well as the biggest town square in Europe. We arrived back in Berlin this afternoon, and we'll be spending three more days here before moving on to the Czech Republic.

Castle Hill in Krakow, Poland

Not surprisingly, we've been studying some very difficult material in the past couple of weeks, focusing primarily on the Holocaust. We've spent two days visiting concentration camps (Sachsenhausen in Berlin and Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland), which has been emotionally exhausting but also extremely valuable. Being in these locations has helped us to grasp on a deeper level this dark point in European history, and has allowed us to grapple with some tough questions. I'm thankful that this has been a group experience, and that we can see these sites and ask questions together. I wouldn't trade my time in Berlin and Krakow, but it will be a relief to shift to a lighter focus once we leave Berlin on Wednesday. Then it's on to Prague!

Halfway there: highlights so far

Westmont Europe Semester 2009 was officially half over on Thursday of this week, which means we're now on the downhill side. I'm stunned at how fast it's gone so far, and it's both a relief and a disappointment to think that I really will be back in the U.S. before I know it.

Here are some of my best memories of the semester so far. I'm sure there are many more to come.

Seeing great new cities.

Seeing excellent theater.

Sharing meals in exciting places, such as the banks of the Seine.

Boat rides. Lots and lots of boat rides.

Celebrating Christmas early with our host family in the Netherlands.

Getting to know some great new friends.