EUROPE 2017

​

The Story of Europe 70 years after World War II

People ask me all the time, “what is your favorite thing to do in the world?”, and I respond with sleep most of the time, but when I’m not, I usually respond with traveling. You see, going to new places and seeing other people’s lives was cool, especially Europe. Going to Europe has always been a dream of mine. The distinct culture of England, France, and Germany is what interested me the most. However, until now, I had never been to Europe before. Now, that would all change. You see, my school had a trip over April vacation to go to Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany. The trip taught me a lot about history, western european culture, and most importantly valuable lessons in life (cheesy, I know).

Our story begins, on the plane ride there. There was something exciting and scary about the trip. Some exciting thing I would learn in Europe. Most people say planes rides are boring and usually leave them out of travelogues, but I’m weird so I’ll explain some stuff to you. Being squished in between my friends, there was really only a few things you could do really. First of all, yes, I did try and do homework. No, I did not do homework. And yes, we went to sleep to avoid jet lag. Didn’t help, I’ll tell you. We landed at Heathrow airport and I and many of my friends safely got out into the lobby and met up with Lucia, our tour guide for the trip. Lucia, who was from Spain, loved traveling as much as I did and for the same reasons. I really found her interesting. She had brown hair, brown eyes, had a very distinct spanish look and a hint of a spanish accent in her english. The airport was mostly gray, I’ll admit, with the typical cloudy London skies hailing from above. However, the bustle of people from left to right to catch their flights was made me very excited as I turned and talked with my friend Steven. On our way through London, we explored the sights of London, learned that what most people think is “London bridge” is actually “Tower bridge” and the famously acquitted “London bridge” is a bunch of petty bridges that are numbered. (Fortunately, we went to the one that is most known by locals as “London bridge”). Fun fact, did you know that the children’s rhyme “London bridge is falling down” is based on Afeldred the unready’s capture of London from the Danish? Anyways, we also went to Trafalgar

square and Winston Churchill’s war cabinet. The war cabinet was actually not opened until recently apparently.

After two days in London, our next stop was Normandy in France. We took the ferry across the English Channel which took approximately 7 hours. I felt slightly seasick and felt like vomiting a few times, but overall the experience was splendid. Depressingly, after my short seasick full trip, I could not eat bread for a few days. Ironically, it was in France ruining my crepe and baguette eating experience. I loved my expedition in France, however, especially Paris, my debut there. My group traveled through numerous landmarks such as the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, and the arc de triomphe. When I visited the Louvre, I was amazed to see how many famous paintings were held there. For the most part, the pictures were in my History textbook, but to see it up close was amazing. I also got to see the “Mona Lisa.” With a little bit of assertive pushing, I fought my way to the front to take a picture. It was a nice painting, I’ll admit. We traveled to Napoleon’s tomb, and discovered a nice little surprise that Napoleon is egotistical (That was Sarcasm). Many of my friends said how annoyingly crowded Paris was, but in my personal opinion, it was blissful.

After France came Bastogne in Belgium. Frankly, the reasons why this town is important is because of its role in World War II and bicycles (no offense Bastogne, you were beautiful. No offense to bicyclists either, you’re extra cool). The city was at the center of conflict during the battle of the Bulge. The people of Bastogne were ever grateful for their liberation by the Americans, and even today, the town is littered with American flags. Funnily enough, the liberation of Bastogne is on September 11th, 1944, creating an awkward situation where 9/11 is infamous in America, but a great day for Bastogne.

Next was Cologne. We took a road trip from France through Belgium and into Cologne. Since EU borders exist, one can go through each country with no restrictions at all. Cologne was a Roman Colony and thus it has a great cultural diversity.

Finally, Berlin. It was shocking to see the effect that World War II had on Berlin. Many of Germany’s greatest artifacts have been ridden with something scarring relating

to the last major war in western Europe. In fact, most of the things we say in western Europe had the connotation “It was somewhat/completely destroyed in World War II.” Berlin’s historical buildings are mostly gone, and those that remain hold the scar of a grueling war. “Bullet holes,” the tour guide said, “you can see what war does to a city.” One of the most thought provoking sights was the Reichstag. After the Reichstag fire, the event that helped Hitler take control of Germany, the new Reichstag rebuilt its dome with glass. In fact, all governmental buildings are now made of glass as a message that the German government will never lie to its people ever again.

I still keep telling people about my adventures in Europe. The trip really accelerated my interest in culture and language. I had always traveled to Asia and so to me, this trip was a game changer for me. Not only did I see more of the world, especially Europe, I visited places and understood culture, ways of life, and most importantly, how history shapes the world.