EUROPEAN TRIP 2004.  Eastern Michigan University's Cultural Studies Progam.

Yeovil. Jackie and I went out to Dorset to see Rachel and Harrison and her family. We had the opportunity to climb a couple prehistoric sites, which we did with gusto. Harrison proved to be a good walker. Mid-May

Bill, Rachel and Harrison at Avalon (Glastonbury). Jackie at the summit. http://www.isleofavalon.co.uk/

At Maiden Castle (actually a prehistoric town with huge earth walls) near Dorchester.

http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/MaidenCastle.htm

Jim Clegg and Harrison. Rachel and her mother, Sue.

Scenes around Yeovil.

Bill with traveling gear: backpack, floppy bag, computer.

Orientation began in Oxford. We made a grand walking tour of the university and city, saw Christ Church (of Harry Potter fame), and had the introductory lectures.

Above right: Benita Goldman, tour director and art instructor, gives instructors regarding tomorrow's program. We had twenty students on the Cultural Studies program and ten 'Adventures' students (literature) who were with us through Paris.

Below left: Jackie near the old Saxon-era church

LONDON: A week of perfect weather.

The group at Trafalgar Square.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

 Great Band Music!

At the Tower of London:

Jackie at the Tower. Queens died here.

On a double-decker bus. Photo by Sophie Zawacki. Also below, at the British Museum, Assyrian section.

Below: Benita lecturing in the British Museum

The Globe Theater production of Much Ado About Nothing was excellent.

Below EDINBURGH.

The view of the castle from our hotel was spectacular. We did not delay in making the hike up there and taking a guided tour.

View from the castle, through Queen Victoria's cannon ports (She thought a romantic castle should have cannons, and the royal arsenal had plenty of antiques to spare.)  Below, Professor Urban on Arthur's Seat, a nice climb from the city.

Travel day. On the way to Paris. Photo by Sophie Z.

PARIS! As always, a delightful city, and the hotel was excellent! The meals were, alas, pricey.

Below: the Louvre.

We also visited the Orsay Museum, the Rodin Museum, Les Invalides.

Newspaper column on D-Day in France.

Below left: Chartres. There was a Catholic Youth rally there that day. The cathedral was never so spectacularly displayed. Below right: a cool and windy Monday at Versailles. We missed the fountains on Sunday because a train wreck closed the line.

Germany. See the Wurst! We spent two days on the Lorelei in the Rhineland.

The food was great.

Berlin. Near the Rotes Rathaus on our walk down Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate. The Story of Berlin museum turned out to be the students' favorite (and they had seen a lot of museums by this time).

Newspaper column on D-Day in Germany.

The Green Party was sponsoring a demonstration for alternative transportation methods. The downtown was filled with bicycles. We could hardly get through the crowd.

Potsdam: at Sans Souci with students. We finished the picnic before the police arrived.

Prague: As always, the Golden City. A bit of rain, and an interesting but short confrontation with pickpockets on the Charles Bridge.  Prague remains affordable, but that is changing. Below: Jen Page's picture from the town of St. Vitus cathedral.

We saw Rusalka at the National Theater. A great performance. Most students got standing places at $1.

Newpaper column on the European elections

Vienna: This stop was far too short, and with the museums closed on Monday, we saw only the Belvedere and the City of Vienna museum on Sunday. A great meal concluded a long travel day!

Salzburg: a picnic, then a walk into the city.

Several of us took an elevator to a viewing point, then hiked back down.

Munich: The group demonstrated its seriousness by studying instead of heading directly for the Hofbrauhaus.

The picnic was right on the edge of the nude sunbathing area in the English garden. You may notice that at first few people were looking the other way. But the bathers were sufficiently far away that one could not always tell what gender they were. Afterward we filled plastic bags with our extra food and dropped it with one of the homeless people.

The discussion of Eli Wiesel's Night combined with a visit to Dachau brought a note of somber recognition that our studies had not been irrelevant readings and lectures about times far away and faceless people we could easily forget. June 20 over and out. How quickly the last days went.

 My last week in Germany I spent with Peter and Rose in Ulm. Delightfully restful. Also the city was filled with the Katholikentag 2004, which we took part in, and there was a great exhibit on Einstein, one of Ulm's native sons. The bicycle ride through the streets of Ulm at near the speed of light was disconcerting (we were told that the dizziness would wear off in an hour). Evenings filled with conversation and the European championship in soccer. Peter drove me to Zurich to catch my flight to DC and on to Chicago.