Saturday, July 7, 2012

Photos...

Hey Everyone!

I hope all the travelers have recovered from our trip.  Here is a link to my photos https://plus.google.com/photos/102997095819644403881/albums/5762542524230432417?authkey=CIev9JiEwNTGbg

Please send me your photo albums as well.  If you email them I will post the link here on the blog or you can simply comment on this post with the link!

Thanks!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Day 11 - Potsdam and Berlin

We spent our last day in Berlin by first visiting the suburb of Potsdam where we toured the palaces of the Prussian kings. We returned to Berlin city and visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and various parts of the city and had out final dinner. We will be leaving very early tomorrow morning for the airport, so this post is very short. Please check this blog in the days following the trip for more photos and more info for trip follow-up.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Day 8 - Versailles and Paris

We began our first full day in Paris with a visit to the Palace of Versailles, the home of the French kings built by Louis XIV. We toured the massive structure with over 600 rooms as well as the beautiful grounds.

We then took a bus tour of the city, seeing various sites such as the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysses.
We finished the day will a filling Parisian dinner followed by a river cruise on the Seine.
On Friday we will be visiting the Louvre and taking the night train to Berlin, so there will likely be no posting to the blog for a day or two.
 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Day 7 - From Normandy to Paris

We left beautiful Normandy today and traveled to Paris. After a pleasant morning trip that included lunch and a quiz game, we arrived at our hotel in Paris and went out on the town for the afternoon. WE visitied central Paris on the Isle de Cite and Notre Dame Cathedral. We then enjoyed a fine dinner of traditional French crepes followed by a visit to the neighborhood of Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur basilica.


 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Day 6 - Normandy

We had a beautiful day to visit the sites in Normandy. We began the day at the American Military Cemetery on Omaha Beach. We visited the museum, beaches and cemetery. We then went to Pointe du Hoc to visit Rangers memorial. We then had lunch in the town of Arromanches and visited the D-Day museum there. We finished the day in the city Caen with a fabulous pork dinner.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Day 5 - From Reims to Normandy

We had a big travel day today. We spent much of the day on the bus on the way from Reims to Normandy. We did get to spend the afternoon exploring the countryside of Normandy. We then had a wonderful turkey dinner.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Day 4 - Verdun and Reims

We had a beautiful day today as we traveled from Metz to Reims via Verdun. We began the day by going to mass at the Cathedral in Metz.

We then traveled to the World War I fortress of Verdun viewing the fortified walls and underground tunnels. We then traveled to Reims and visited the grand medieval cathedral. We finished the day with a fine chicken dinner at our hotel.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Day 3 - Four Countries

We started our third day in Europe in one nation and ended up traveling across four countries in the course of one day (The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.) We began our travel day leaving Amsterdam and headed toward the Ardennes region of Belgium where the Battle of the Bulge occurred in 1945. Our first stop was at the American Military Cemetary in the Ardennes. There, many soldiers from the battle and from other battles in the war are burried. Some of our travelers were able to visit the graves of their fallen relatives.

We then proceded south toward the Duchy of Luxembourg, one of the smalles countries in the world. There, we visited the Military History Museum. We then moved on to Metz, France where we spent the evening with a fine dinner.

 

 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Day 2 - Amsterdam

We enjoyed another fun-filled (if sometimes rainy) day in Amsterdam. We began the day by visiting the Anne Frank House (pictured above). There we got to experience the living conditions faced by Anne and her family for the two years that they hid in the secret annex before they were discovered by the Nazis.

The group then took some time to explore central Amsterdam around Dam Square, enjoying the sights and sounds while getting finding some lunch. We then spent that afternoon at the Jewish Historical Museum learning about the deep history of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. We finished the afternoon with some food and fun at the Hard Rock Cafe. Tomorrow we leave Amsterdam behind and make our way into Belgium and France.

 

 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Day 1 - Amsterdam Sightseeing



After a long, but uneventful flight, we arrived in Amsterdam at 7:30am and met our Tour Guide, Christine. We proceeded to our hotel to drop off our bags and we headed out into the city. We had beautiful weather all day long as we toured the markets the city, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum. We then took a awesome boat tour of the channels of Amsterdam.
We then finished out day with a traditional pannenkoeken dinner (a dish similar to a crepe with various ingredients included.
All in all, we had a great first day and we are looking forward to a great day tomorrow as we get to bed.
 

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Monday, May 21, 2012

Travel and History Presentations

Below are the slides used for the travel and history presentations that we have had as part of our seminar series.







Monday, May 14, 2012

Welcome!

Welcome to the MSJ Battlefields of Europe Travel Blog.  On this blog we will update information about the upcoming trip and post updates while we are on tour.  Be sure to check the Explorica website with its Travel Diary for on-tour updates as well.