After World War II, a great cemetery was constructed in honor of the American men and women who fought to help protect their English allies. Technically the ground is American soil and we saw our first real American flag in a long time. It was a proud and patriotic moment for all of us.
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
Hello again! For the past almost two weeks, everyone at the Center has been on Spring Break! We’ve all been very excited for this break, and we’ve all been traveling to so many different places. For me, the place that I have always wanted to visit is Ireland. I am part Irish, and I wanted to spend a good amount of time there, more than just a weekend.
Dublin Castle
To start the break, four of us travelled to Dublin. We visited Dublin Castle, Dublin Gardens, Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, and the Guinness Storehouse, just to name a few things. None of us really knew much about Irish history, so having a tour of Dublin Castle was very educational, because we got to learn a lot about Irish history. The most interesting things had to do with the 1916 Easter uprisings, which led to the eventual independence of Ireland a few years later.
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
The next day, the other three went on a Cliffs of Moher bus tour, but I went on a bus tour to Belfast and Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Giant’s Causeway was definitely my favorite part of the entire trip. The causeway is made of up hexagon-shaped volcanic rocks coming up out of the ocean. Some are a few inches big, while others are several feet tall. It was so much fun to climb over all of them and look out over the view of the sea and the rocks. I could even see the coast of Scotland from the causeway.
Galway Bay
After another night in Dublin, I split off from the group and travelled to Galway on the western coast of Ireland. Galway is a very small town, and is most famous for the Claddagh friendship ring and the “Galway Girl” Irish folk song. I enjoyed walking around the small town and popping into pubs to hear the live Irish music. My hostel was right in the center of the city, so I was within walking distance of everything.
Dunguaire Castle
I travelled on two bus tours while I was in Galway. The first was a Cliffs of Moher and the Burren tour. Unfortunately, the rain and fog were so thick, and the wind was so strong, that I could barely see ten feet in front of me, and the Cliffs were not visible. However, I did enjoy seeing the Burren, which is the rocky landscape that covers the area. Our tour guide told us that the Burren has the same landscape as that of the moon, so that was interesting to see. I also got to get out and see Dunguaire Castle, which is iconic in that region of Ireland.
Kylemore Abbey
The second tour I took was of a northwest part of Ireland called Connemara. We stopped at Kylemore Abbey, which is a castle right on the edge of a lake in the mountains of Ireland. It was a gorgeous day (besides being cold and windy) and I got to walk around the grounds and explore the gardens. We also stopped and saw the Killary Fjord, which is 16 miles long, Loughs Mask and Nafooey, and the town of Cong, where they filmed the movie “The Quiet Man” starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. I got to see the mountainous parts of Ireland on this tour, and it was absolutely gorgeous.
I had a fantastic time in Ireland, and have had a great time staying at home in Cambridge for the rest of break and hanging out with people here. Up next is my week with my mom, who is visiting from the US!
On the last leg of our journey, C-95 journeyed to Stonehenge, one of the most famous prehistoric landmarks in the world. One of the interesting things about site is that the stones frame the sunset on the Equinoxes and we were there the day after the equinox so the sun would have been framed fairly well at sunset. However we were there in the middle of the afternoon. After Stonehenge, we visited Hampton Court Palace on the southwest side of London. This was the palace of King Henry VIII, and the monarchs William and Mary. It was a beautiful estate, both inside and out.
Stonehenge – (left to right) Emily P., Jessica, Sarah
Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Hampton Court Palace
Main Dining Room – Hampton Court Palace
a courtyard – Hampton Court Palace
For the next part of our journey, we traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon (the birthplace of William Shakespeare) and saw the play “The Jew of Malta.” The next day we traveled to Bath and saw the ancient baths that the Romans built on top of the natural springs in the southwestern part of England.
Live performances outside Shakespeare’s childhood home
Stratford-Upon-Avon downtown
Cathedral in Bath
The Roman Baths
The Roman Baths (statues of emperors around the top viewing gallery)
Roman Baths
The Royal Crescent
The Royal Cresent w/ Emily P.
The Royal Crescent w/ Emily P.
The Royal Crescent
On March 20th, all of us at the Cambridge program set off on our Castles Trip. Our first stop was to see Coventry Cathedral, which is actually three cathedrals… The newest one is actually still under construction and looks vaguely familiar… *cough cough* Chapel of the Resurrection… There are a lot of connections between Coventry and Valparaiso University. We even have our own designated bench!
Partial Solar Eclipse in England!
Second Cathedral which was bombed by the Nazis
New Coventry Cathedral! Look Familiar?
Old cross left after the Nazi bombing
Valparaiso University bench
“Father Forgive” – Forgive the Nazis of what they have done (first reaction from the people of Coventry)
From March 12-15th, six of us Valpo adventurers flew northeast to Norway! We landed in Oslo late at night and trained west to Bergen the next day. It was an amazing trip and the scenery was breathtaking.
Training through the mountains
Training through the fjords
Bergen, Norway
Up to the top of the Fjord at Bergen
Bergen from above
Bergen and her harbor
Wandering through the Norwegian forest
The Valpo Crew
Stephanie takes a picture of the not taking picture sign
Bergen at Sunset
Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Training through Norway
Training through Norway
On top of the arctic world
Oslo Harbor
Oslo Castle
We watched a Division Three profession soccer (futbol) match with Cambridge’s team. Unfortunately York was victorious.
York vs. Cambridge
York vs Cambridge
Last weekend, six of us travelled to Scandinavia to see fjords in Norway. When we came abroad and someone told us that we would have the chance to go any place in Scandinavia, we probably wouldn’t have believed them. And looking back on it, I am so glad that we went. It was one of the coolest and most unique trips I’ve ever been on.
We flew into Oslo on Thursday night, and on Friday morning, took a train across the country to Bergen. We wanted to see fjords and there are a lot of fjords in Bergen. The train was six and a half hours long, but it didn’t seem that long because we had gorgeous scenery the entire way. A lot of the way through, we saw many little mountain towns. But when we really got up into the mountains, all the trees disappeared and we found ourselves in a frozen tundra where everyone travelled either by skis or by snowmobile. It was a beautiful ride, and didn’t feel long at all.
Bergen was an amazing city. We got there in the afternoon, and took a tram up a mountain to a scenic overlook over the entire city. We wandered around the mountain on trails until sunset, where we watched the sun go down over the fjord and the city. It was a gorgeous sunset. For dinner, I had the BEST fish soup I’ve ever tasted. It was INCREDIBLE, and a wonderful way to end the evening.
We spent Saturday in Bergen before training back to Oslo. We walked along through an old castle in Bergen, and walked up to the top of what looked like it may have been the remnants of the castle keep. It had a great view of Bergen, and we spent an hour up there, taking pictures. After that, we wandered around the town before our train left, and all bought hats to let everyone around us know that we were tourists. But they’re really warm and will keep us very happy in the frigid Valpo winters.
Our last day was spent in Oslo. We walked to a castle that was built in the 1700s. Most of the buildings weren’t open, but the grounds were open, and we got to climb on top of the walls and walk around them. We also got to see a woman riding her horse around the grounds for awhile.
We were all so sad to leave, because it was such a beautiful place. We were very lucky to have good weather the entire trip, and it was amazing to see a country that not many people think to go to, and where the culture is so incredibly different from our own.
On Sunday March 1, I took a day trip to London. I wanted to take some time off and stroll through the royal parks of the city. I explored Regent’s Park and Queen Mary’s Gardens. Then I went to Hyde Park and rented a Barclay’s bike and road around the lake. It was brilliant outside. Later that evening I went to a Hillsong London service which was really cool and the lead pastor of their Sydney campus was there.
Regent’s Park
I found one rose in the entire garden in early March! – Queen Mary’s Gardens
Regent’s Park
Regent’s Park
Regent’s Park
Hyde Park
To end our Spain and Italy tour, we needed to stop in Barcelona! We spent two full days exploring the city. As agreed upon by the entire group, the bike tour of the city was our favorite part!
Barcelona – bike tour
Barcelona – bike tour
Barcelona – bike tour
Sarah and the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean
The Iberian Coast
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