Yesterday morning we took our first exam of the semester at 830 AM which was quickly followed by some celebratory or somber beers. I wont say which was the case for me. (Don’t worry mom) After everyone was finished with the exam everyone in the program loaded up into a bus to start this five day trip.
The first stop on this trip was in Bastogne where we took a tour of the southern flank of the Battle of the Bulge. We spent some of our time in the town of Bastogne but most of our time was spent viewing different areas of the battlefields.
Our first stop was a private memorial that commemorated the actions of American soldiers who fought back the German offensive attack on Bastogne. The first photo is an aerial view of the center of the monument. The second is a view of the surrounding areas from the top of the monument. Our program director Jerry is in the president of an organization that is currently in the process of repairing the monument.
Sorry for the blurry photo here but anyway this was our next stop. Not sure what the name of the forrest was but during the battle Americans set up foxholes and small trenches in this forrest. Most of the time these soldiers would spend weeks at a time in these foxholes on the front line. We could even see some remnants of some of the foxholes. It was really something to think about these brave young men who went through so much to protect the freedoms of themselves and our European allies.
If you’re a fan of Band of Brothers this is a part of the series when the company fights back the Nazis at Foy. The top window is where the Nazi sniper in that scene was located. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall. You can see the top of the wall was shot out by the Americans and was later rebuilt.
This was one of the stranger moments and feelings that I’ve experienced this semester. This was at a German cemetery where over 8,000 German soldiers from WW2 are buried. It is a clear reminder of what can happen when people allow horrible people like Hitler to take power.
After seeing a few more parts of the battlefield we loaded back onto the bus again and drove a few hours to Trier, Germany. We got in late, had dinner and then had quite the experience attempting to find a German club that wasn’t scary. I wish I had a picture of this one place we went to it was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.
Anyway, Trier was the ancient Roman capital of Gaul. While many of the Roman structures are either ruins or completely gone, the buildings that still stand were pretty incredible.
This is Porta Nigra which is the Roman city gate. It has served many purposed since it was built 1,800 years ago. Today it is open to the public to climb the stairs and see what it was like to keep watch over the city.
This next picture might look like an old church now but in 300 AD it was the throne room of Constantine the Great. It would have been covered in marble in gold. Three of the walls are still original which is amazing to think about.
Constantine played an influential role in converting the Roman empire to christianity. He built this church in Trier although this photo is not the original section of the church that was built during his reign.
Next we visited the baths of Trier. Whats left of the baths was mostly the sewer system and the underbelly of the bathhouse so I don’t have great photos but it was very cool.
One of my favorite parts of our tour today was the amphitheater. We got to walk around the middle of it as well as go into the underbelly. It is crazy to imagine the events that went on in this place. From plays to public executions to gladiator battles. It’s certainly not the Coliseum but it was a cool experience.
We finished off the tour by visiting a spot that overlooks the entire city. It was a beautiful view and was a great way to see all of the spots we visited today. My computer isn’t letting me upload a picture of it here for some reason but its on my instagram page if you want to see it
It’s been a great trip so far I’m looking forward to the next three nights. I’ll keep you all posted as this trip goes on. Hopefully we find some normal bars tonight…
Blogging in Brussels 