From upper left: City of London, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and Tower of London (Wikipedia photo)

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Sunday we were able to attend St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is a high Anglican church. The Cathedral is huge and has wonderful acoustics, so being there for an actual service was a great experience. One thing I noticed immediately upon entering the church was that nearly every one else flooding into the church was also a tourist. I do not think I have ever been to a “tourist” church before so that was an interesting aspect of the service. Most people were reverent and respectful before the service and many seemed familiar with the order of service, but there was no sense of community within the church. One of my favorite parts of visiting other churches is getting a sense of the community among the members of the church so I was not able to experience that aspect of the service. Other than that, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the service. Anglicans allow any baptized Christian to participate in Communion, so those of us who chose to were able to participate in Communion with believers from around the world. I was very thankful for that experience.

The British Museum

The British Museum has almost a dizzying array of artifacts and displays. Because of its dominance in the 19th century, Britain was able to obtain countless artifacts at a “fair price”. This created a museum that is incredibly extensive. The museum is also free so there were a lot of people there. The museum also offered free 30 minute tours of specific areas of the museum that were very informative and helped me to enjoy my time there. I realized throughout the trip that I enjoy museums more when there is a storyline that I can follow. The one tour I took helped me to understand the story and connection behind the exhibits in the Enlightenment room. One interesting thing I learned about the museum is that it started as more of a natural science and history museum with artifacts donated by individuals. This means that it has been a “people’s” museum since it inception and has never been owned by the Royal Family. The tour guide seemed to imply that that makes the museum somewhat unique.

Bruges (Wikipedia photo)

We spent yesterday evening walking around Brussels and today we took a day trip to Bruges.

Brussels

Brussels has been interesting to me because it is the capitol of Europe. Both NATO and the European Union have headquarters here, so it is a very political city. We didn’t see NATO or the EU because due to all the security around the sites, there isn’t really a lot to do there. Nevertheless, it is just kind of neat for me to know that I am in the capitol of Europe.

Brussels, clockwise from top: The Northern Quarter business district; the Berlaymont of the European Commission; the Royal Palace of Brussels; the Espace Léopold of the European Parliament; the Grand Place. (Wikipedia photo)

We thought it was cool to eat French fries in France, but little did we know they were actually invented in Belgium. So, yesterday evening many of us sampled some fries. They were quite delicious but quite greasy. Belgium is also famous for waffles so of course we had to sample those as well. Finally, Belgium is famous for chocolate, and specifically truffles, so we sampled those. Needless to say, we did not eat very healthy, but it was definitely good!

We leave for London tomorrow morning, where we will spend the remaining 5 days of the trip.

Amsterdam (Wikipedia Photo)

The Red Light District

One of the infamous aspects of Amsterdam is the Red Light District. Dr. Kyle took us briefly through the area and that was a very interesting experience. It was a sad experience for me because the women looked so sad and embarrassed. Prostitution is not so out in the open in the US so it was something that I have never seen so up close and personal. I think everyone came away with different impressions and concerns but what was overwhelming to me was the degradation the women daily face. People would look at them and openly appraise their physical appearance and then turn and look at another woman. That must be a degrading experience that those women face daily.

The following morning, we visited the oldest meeting Mennonite church in the world. Mennonites were able to flourish in Holland because of the religious toleration that was afforded to them. It was interesting to consider that the toleration that allowed our biological and religious ancestors to practice their faith is also the toleration that allows prostitution and other immoral actions to be practiced openly. The implications of that irony are perplexing to me.

The Anne Frank House

After visiting the Mennonite church, we toured the Anne Frank House, which is now a museum. You get the brief story of Anne Frank by walking through the house they hid in and reading short selections from her book.

Anne Frank (Museum Photo)

It was a very well done museum and I really appreciated the experience. I cannot imagine the horror that Anne must have felt daily.

Technical problems with my photos

The Internet has been too slow to upload pictures that I have taken, so I apologize for that.

Paris, France (Wikipedia Photo)

Notre Dame

Today was sunny, so we were able to see Notre Dame with the sunlight streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows. That was an incredible sight for me and I am very glad I was able to see it. We have seen several very extravagent churches, and I know we will see several more, and the experience has left me with several thoughts. On the one hand, I appreciate the grandeur and excessivness of the churches because they provide such a powerful atmosphere and seem to emulate the majesty of God. On the other hand, I am really bothered by the extravagence of them. I can’t really picture a vibrant community of believers in them, and instead they just seem like a tourist attraction. They seem like an idol built to the wealth and the power of the city instead of a humble place of worship.

The Louvre

We also went to the Louvre today, so got a chance to the Mona Lisa in person. I had always expected that it would be a fairly large painting, but it was actually quite small. We had to keep quite a distance from it so it was hard to even see it very clearly. The museum is HUGE. As Dr. Kyle told us, it would take 3 weeks to see every piece in it. So obviously, we did not see nearly all of it, but the part we did see was very interesting. The history of Europe is certainly something that can not be matched in America.

I should be able to upload pictures tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to add those soon.

We are now in Zurich, Switzerland, and the nearby Alps are incredibly beautiful.

The Swiss Alps (Wikipedia photo)

It is often quite cloudy and foggy here, so it is difficult to get a really good view of them, but the glimpses I have gotten have been wonderful. When we traveled from Munich to Zurich, we went through the Alps, and that was amazing. One thing I had not anticipated was that they go straight up. This makes the Alps look totally different than the Rockies.

We were also able to go the top of one of the mountains and look down on Zurich. Every branch of every tree was covered evenly with snow. It was a very unusual sight for a Kansan, because with the wind there is no chance of that ever happening.

Anabaptist Walking Tour

Zurich is the birthplace of the Anabaptist movement, so Dr. Kyle took us around to various sites that were important to the early movement, as well as some other sites that were important to the Reformation. This was interesting because we were able to actually see the roots of Anabaptism.

Tomorrow we travel to Paris, where we will spend the following 4 days.

We had a bit of an interesting experience while on our layover in Chicago while on the way to Munich.

Munich, Germany (Wikipedia photo)

An elderly gentleman who did not speak English or German was a bit confused and got up and went to the bathroom while we were taxiing before takeoff. Apparently because of the recent terrorist attempt, this is something that flight attendants are to look out for so we had to go back to our gate so the plane could be inspected for ”items”. None were found, so we were able to leave, although it was nearly 3 hours after our scheduled departure. So, our first day in Munich was quite a bit shorter than anticipated.

Dachau

We have visited several historical sites already, but in the interest of time and space, I will highlight one I found especially interesting.

Dachau Concentration Camp (Wikipedia photo)

Today (the 8th), we visited Dachau, the first concentration camp built by the Nazis. It was a very nice museum, but it was not an experience that I would call enjoyable. It is very humble to think of all the people killed inWorld War II and realize that it is not ancient history at all. I really appreciated the way the Germans have owned up to this tragic part of their history. There was no glossing over the facts, even though it put the country in a bad light. This seems like a lesson that Americans could maybe learn. For example, I am not sure that I ever really learned much in all my years in public schools about the mistreatment of Native Americans. I was very impressed with the honesty the Germans presented the information.

One thing I had not realized concerning Dachau was that it is actually very close to Munich. I had always assumed that anyone doing such a horrible thing would locate concentration camps out in the middle of nowhere in an attempt to hide it. It was really shocking to me that Dachau is only 20 miles away from Munich.

I am unable to upload pictures at this time, so unfortuantely there are none. Hopefully I will be able to get them up soon though!

Let me introduce myself– I am Amanda Faber. I’m a sophomore from Hillsboro, Kan., majoring in History, Philosophy, and Social Science, with a concentration in Political Science. I play tennis, so I hope to see Roland Garros in Paris and Wimbledon in London. I hope to blog at least once per city, while we are in that city or shortly after we leave, so hopefully you can follow our trip through this blog.

The group will visit Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom, visiting several historical and cultural sites in Munich, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London. They will be led by Dr. Richard Kyle, Professor of History and Religious Studies, who will be guiding his 25th college tour.

Dr. Richard Kyle will be guiding his 25th tour.

“The trip is designed expand and broaden the cultural and intellectual horizons of our students,” Kyle said. “Most have never been abroad and many have not spent much time in even urban areas. Also, students get to see some of the major historical, cultural and religious sites of Western civilization.

“I hope this international experience motivates the students to think globally and to travel to other places in the world. I hope that this trip is just the beginning of their global experiences,” he added.

The trip counts toward academic credits in history, religion, political science, or art, and requires students to read materials, write reports, listen to lectures, take a test, and keep a daily journal. Dr. Kyle and local instructors will be lecturing throughout the tour.

Trip participants include: Jeff Been, Fruita, Colo.; Darren Enns, Hillsboro, Kan.; Amy Dueck, Reedley, Calif.; Amanda Faber, Hillsboro, Kan.; Mitch Friesen, Newton, Kan.; Sarah Friesen, Guthrie, Okla.; Mary Goering, Newton, Kan.; Allison Isaac, Visalia, Calif.; Cortney Janzen, Henderson, Neb.; Corina Neufeld, Denver, Colo.; Janae Rempel, Meade, Kan.; Roxann Stauffer, Milford, Neb.; Aaron Stepanek, Hillsboro, Kan.; Kaleb Sullivan, Riley, Kan.; Sarah Vogt, Newton, Kan.; ShaRae Wadel, Greensburg, Kan.; and Dr. Richard Kyle.

Of course, when I say me I mean Andrew Wiens.  I am a junior at Tabor College from Topeka, Kansas majoring in History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Business Management.  I also have a part-time job with Tabor Communications that gave me the inside track to being the official Europe blogger.  I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.