European Travels: LCC Trip I: 9-11.3.12

Professor Serafin

LCC is a little (large) fun class that has been very important in teaching me about some Roman, European, and World History, and none of it has been done by text book. We had one real class session and that was to watch an educational but interesting movie about the Roman Empire. The rest are trips! And it is probably the largest class GTL has- and the only one to have more people wishing they could be in! So onto expeditions!

Shuman's House:
(Friday)

Schuman's Church

Robert Schuman was the first person to be successful in uniting Europe. Perhaps other people have tried, but being that we don't know, they must not have been to successful. Schuman was born in Luxembourg, his father was born French, and obtained German citizenship when Lorraine was annexed by Germany in 1871. His mother was Luxembourgish. People like to consider Schuman as a man of many cultures because it highlights why he was so interested in creating a united Europe. His heritage isn't too mixed up, but Schuman went on to expose himself to other cultures. The location of his house is right near the borders of 3 countries; Germany, Luxembourg, and France.

I could continue to talk about the details of his life, but I'm sure it was more interesting for me to actually be there and walk around and hear it come from a fascinating tour guide. Basically Schuman, a very important but not at all self centered political figure is one of the founding fathers of European Union, Council of Europe, and NATO. Schuman is probably one of the most modest and bold political heroes to make such a big change. It was during WWII, the time when the world was split wrathfully against Germany, that he began talking of a reconciliation between France, Germany, and a uniting between the rest of Europe.

We also talked of the one major divider that still exists. Language. I really wish there would be a better way for the world to communicate... it would not be fair to declare the existence of one dominant language, but also not practical to expect someone to be able to learn 20 different ones so as to experience a more united world. Though there are translators, language still seems to be one of the biggest barriers.

Schuman's Grave

Inside the Church

Flag of the European Union

Another thought; People need to look at the world differently, or perhaps more people need to look at it as a bigger picture, period. War has been a very large part in all countries’ history except for maybe Switzerland, it is weird to think of holding a grudge against an entire country full of strangers who probably had next to no choice on the political decision to go to war or offend neighboring countries in the first place. People are the pawns of the governments problems and this is an especially large problem in countries when the government is not "for the people." And well it is these pawns who suffer first and foremost. Look at Iran and Israel.

Trier:
(Saturday-Upon the Professor's request I took more pictures of my class as well)

A church; the towers in the back were later added to ensure they were bigger than a nearby church.

We're so Excited for the trip.

The Nearby Church

I was amazed at all the vineyards of the landscape. The land was blanketed with them no matter how steep the hills were. Although I’m curious as to how convenient that is for harvesting, it must have saved an awful lot of money and energy not having to plow the land flat.

A Medieval castle along the way

Roman Baths

Museum of Trier; 3 different walls, each with a distinct history!

The amphitheater was neat to see and imagine how it was back when there were still events taking place in it.

Our English tour guide who vaguely reminded me of Jeff with a pony tail. IMO.

The lion's den

The underground part must have been so chaotic during shows, because it really is not a lot of space especially since they were caging lions!

Designated place to drop the counter weights to lift the elevator with a lion or other obstacle quickly up to the ring.

It is thought that the water was there to create a surface to stop the weight as it fell, but I think the water just happens to be there because it is a cellar and the rest of the place was filled with water as well. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Realizing how centered the Roman time was around men in combat and slaves building the brilliantly engineered aqueducts made me wonder what it was like for women during that age. Obviously it would be different depending on their class, and perhaps all slaves were basically treated the same, and this will actually become my paper topic for this class.


Konstantine's Foot

The baths were rather impressive as well,it was a whole underground maze in the sewers. I really enjoyed the format of this trip because not only did I get to go somewhere so historical, but the guide was great, and I also had a lot of time to get to know my classmates and learn some inspirational things from them.

Konstantine was a Roman Emperor who began the construction of these baths in Trier, however, when he left Trier he had no interest in finishing the project, so these were never actually completed.

Venice traveling partner: Mark

Roommate: Brenna

A favorite picture of mine: Front: Brenna, Greta and Vip, Back:Marcus, and Brian C.

The double row of brick is a distinct Roman architectural design

Hobbit's House!

Porte Negra

Something Humorous:

Karl Marx's House

On the way back we stopped to see several aqueducts still remaining from the Roman times. These were not refurbished, so there was a netting to prevent stones from falling on people who might try to walk under them. Though the net made it really tempting to try to climb up. How neat would it be to stand on top of one of them?

Ronnie and Serafin possibly discussing the condition of the arches. They will be refurbished after all! Though it is nice to keep history the way it is, it doesn't last forever without some fortification.

This is another renewed aqueduct. It is incredible how precise the Romans were without calculators.

Ah, yes, people pictures. Here is Richard- with his awesome fruit salad. Thank you for the blueberry.

WWII: Lorraine American Cemetery
(Sunday)

Since I had seen pictures of the American cemeteries before I was a little prepared for how astonishing and perfect the Crosses and Stars of David have been placed.

This soldier earned the Medal of Honor.

"Here are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country who sleep in unknown graves."

Seeing this in person though made me feel proud to be an American, and grateful that it might be France’s way of saying thank you. There was something particularly touching about seeing the brothers buried next to each other, even though figuratively they were all “brothers" I can’t imagine losing a family member to war, yet so many people have been affected in this way.

"The American Cemetery at Lorraine was built on an old French army training ground. (21.8.1939) The Light Cavalry Regiment left this site to take up a position on the German Frontier. It was thus the first unit of the French Army to demonstrate the determination of the Allies to defend peace and liberty."

Fort Queuleu:

This is the second time going to Fort Queuleu, but this time I had the opportunity to see inside the interrogation center, and hear the stories nearly first hand. It made everything I’ve learned about seem so much more real, and reinforced the importance of ensuring it does not happen again.

It seems natural to think people have grown past that level of discrimination, so it was a big realization today when just recently people had vandalized the memorial site, and still consider themselves Nazi supporters. Although I’m appalled at their actions, the smell of smoke, and the disturbed rooms added to the guide's stories that took us back to WWII, and emphasized the emotions that she created within us. That mischievous group has only hurt themselves by creating more hostility within us towards discrimination, and reminding us that there is still much progress in this world yet to be made in creating equality.