Westminster

        The day after European Studies ended, I found myself in my parent's hotel, the Sanctuary House above Fuller's pub, right down the street from Westminster Abbey! Naturally, we spent nearly the whole day exploring the Abbey, which is one of my favorite churches in the whole world. It is very secular in its number of monuments significant to England's history as well as the graves of kings and poets. We took the Verger's tour which is a great way to get the details. I love the fan vaulting in the Henry VII chapel. The Abbey also has a gorgeous chapter house and gardens.

We had a delicious lunch in their Cellarium and I had a chicken pie with a huge pastry puff on the top.

In the afternoon we walked around Westminster and saw the changing of the Royal Horse Guard near St James's Park. In the evening we had a wonderful dinner and chat in Fuller's before beginning the arduous job of getting all my various stuff (including my hobo box full of stuff) consolidated for our journeys! We were lucky because the hotel offered to keep most of it while I travelled to Stratford and Paris with only a small clothes bag.

Oh hello blog!

        Well I've gotten a little behind in the excitement of the trip ending and being reunited with my parents, so I'm going to do my best to do an overview of the last few days of European Studies plus the next few big events in my adventures.
        After Nuremberg, we made our way to Bruges via Aachen, Charlemagne's imperial capital in the 8th century. It was fun to stop here and see his palatine chapel, which was modeled off San Vitale in Ravenna and still had his throne, built on stones brought from the temple in Jerusalem. They also had a treasury filled with medieval objects and also locks cut off the Virgin's reliquary there every 7 years and reflecting their time periods.

         Bruges was absolutely wonderful! It is almost colonial in its emphasis on brick buildings, and we had some beautiful fall weather very akin to the Northeast. It is also a canal city like Venice and very intimate in its size. Everywhere you look there is delicious food--mussels, chocolate, waffles. Not to mention their museums, housing a large collection of Netherlandish paintings including Jan Van Eyck's Virgin and Child with Canon Van Der Paele which honestly may have been the painting highlight of the entire trip! We had one last practice presentation in this museum and my group got to do a very Boschian Last Judgement which was a lot of fun! Alex and I went and got mussels and frites in a cellar-like restaurant and it was delicious!

         Before we knew it we were back on a bus (British this time--it had started in Oxford!) on the way back to England. In transit we stopped in Ghent to see the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck and his brother. It was housed in a strange aquarium-like glass barrier that made it hard to see close up but was still very impressive. No one paints like Van Eyck, that's for sure. I was so happy that Stevens bought us all a little fold-out version for our journals!

Ghent Cathedral

         To get back to England we went through customs again and then our bus was loaded INSIDE the Chunnel with us still inside it! This time it took only 30 minutes but it was definitely a strange experience to be on a bus, it a tube, under the English Channel! We were reunited with our luggage--for me that was a small cardboard box I had gotten for free in the covered market-- at our hotel near Paddington Station. Also we ate some Indian food at a place called Khan's nearby!
         The next day was our visit to the Houses of Parliament. It was a little rainy, but going inside this building which I had studied was really amazing! It was so interesting to learn about the House of Commons and Lords and figuring out how British government differs from ours. After our tour we got to hear an MP from Canterbury speak and have lunch with him, which was very enlightening.
         That afternoon, Alex accompanied me to an interview/admissions meeting at the Courtauld Institute of Art, probably the most prestigious postgraduate institution for art history in the world. I was terrified to go, but it went very well! They were eager to speak with me and answer my questions, and even let me see the library and cafe. The institute it too small and in use to allow tours most days, but they were so accomodating! There is also a gallery connected and Alex and I went in to see an AMAZING young Durer drawing exhibit that also included some prints by Schongeour. They also had Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergeres which is such an important painting, really attesting to the significance of the Institute! Right next door was King's College which is where I met my grandbig Michelle (she is doing her master's degree in English in London) and we went for fish and chips!

          The next day was the last day of European Studies.... I know, it is impossible for me to believe to. I woke up eager to see my parents because they had been flying all night to meet me, but there were things I needed to do first. The main one was my final exam for the course! We all had to do one final presentation at the National Gallery. Our group did wonderfully, presenting on the Wilton Diptych, Richard II's private altarpiece.
          I waited for my parents to meet me outside the Gallery underneath a statue of a giant blue rooster, and it was a reunion for the ages!

We transferred all my stuff to their hotel, and then I was back with the group for our last hurrah at the Royal Opera House for the ballet! We saw a production of Romeo and Juliet. I had never been to the ballet but it was such an interesting experience! It is really amazing how absorbed you can get in the story and its theatrics even with no dialogue!
         We had a very, very special farewell dinner at the Garrick club, an actor/gentleman's club with which we have a special connection. It was faaancy and we were the beautiful people in such an elite locale!

 Three fish appetizers followed by duck!

Sally got up to speak and we all cried saying goodbye, but that's how its supposed to be at the end of something so special. I shared a cab with Sally and her husband as I went back to my parent's hotel, and it was nice to have that private moment with them to say bye. I know I'm going to miss this semester--there is nothing like it.

Nuremberg

        Today is our first day in a long time not to have been on the bus at all, and I have to say it is a relief! Stevens gave us an extra hour to sleep in, so the morning was leisurely. This hotel has a great breakfast!  As a group we visited the two significant churches in the city, each dedicated to one of the important local saints, Saint Lawrence and Saint Sebald. They were both--like all of Nuremberg--heavily damaged in the WWII bombings, and one issue we have had to think about is the city as a rebuilt entity, trying to stay true to its medieval heritage while moving forward from the Nazi devastation. I think they have done a really great job; honestly you would never know what had happened now. Anyways in Saint Lawrence we looked at the hanging Anunciation of the Rosaries, another limewood sculpture but this time suspended from the ceiling in a way I have never seen before. Its setting and design are absolutely beautiful and came as a very pleasant surprise to me!

       In Saint Sebald we saw the Shrine of Saint Sebaldus which is a gothic monument with some very interesting attributes. Meg is stubbornly not telling us why until tomorrow, but the whole thing rests on the backs of snails, each individual and with a personality of its own. There are also cherubs playing with dogs, toads, mice, and mythical beasts and scenes along the bottom while sarcophagus is surrounded by apostles and topped with a heavenly cityscape--quite a piece!

 Clearly, I really liked the snails and this shrine in general... 

         When we were done with class, we got to go and explore the city! I sampled some delicious local cuisine (though they overcharged us for water and pretzels grrr), tried the famous Nuremberg gingerbread in the market, and saw the Albrecht Durer sights (I'll admit it, I'm a Durer fanatic) as well as the castle! All reconstructed but very honestly and lovely! We considered taking the bus to the Nuremberg Trials memorial but it was pretty out of the way and I may have had my fill of Nazi history for now. Tonight we have a group dinner YAYYY

 The city walls and Durer's rebuilt house!

Update: group dinner was delicious and so much fun! We went to a local wine bar type thing and got to order off the menu. I had a Frankish wedding soup with liver (i know I am brave) noodles and cut up pancake in it followed by wiener schnitzel! Also had a beer!

Road Trippin'

      Our travel day between Diessen and Nuremberg was a long one but really gave us a chance to see some of the Bavarian countryside. We may two main stops, in the medieval towns of Nordlingen and Rothenberg. Nordlingen has all its walls intact and we got to walk around on them. Interestingly, the town is situated in an enormous meteor crater and the church in the town is built from the rock native to the area caused by the collision. Essentially, a space-rock church! It had a beautiful interior with very organic columns and vaulting that made you feel like you were standing in a forest of stone. The town itself was also adorable, like a little fairy tale village, too cute to be real with bright colors and decorative embellishments on the steep-roofed houses.

      After a brisk, Stevens-speed walked around the city's medieval fortifications, we had a really fun group lunch just outside of town. I ordered a special German drink called applesofteschorle which is essentially apple juice with carbonated water. We had pork with a "mustard dumpling" and a pasta unique to Germany followed by a raved-about dessert of chocolate mousse! It was wonderful! At the end of the meal one of the members of the family who runs the restaurant came out to thank us and gave us all free beer to take with us, which was so nice of him! 

      Rothenberg also had a Halleskirch (a german style church with side aisle and nave of equal elevation and no transepts) this one housing a limewood altarpiece called the Altar of the Holy Blood by Tilman Riemenschneider. It was an interesting work because Judas is the central figure, which is probably not how I would commission my own altarpiece but was a very interesting change! The wood carving was beautiful and I especially liked the miniature bottle-glass gothic windows that backlight the scene.

       After that it was another two and a half hours (one Memphis to Little Rock length!) between us and Nuremberg. We are staying in a wonderful part of the city, very central and in a fabulous hotel that is one of the few surviving buildings from before WWII when the entire city was destroyed by the Allies. Our room has a really nice bathtub!

        Alex and I ventured out for food only to discover that there was a fish fair going on just across the street with rides, fish sellers and food stands. So naturally, we ate everything. We had brackwurst, fish and chips and then these desserts that were chocolate balls with a wafer bottom and cream filling. We had no idea what we were buying, but the vendor was so nice. Really everyone I've encountered in Germany has been so kind and accomodating!

German people dressed up as sailors selling fish and chips. One guy was like "Tennessee has very preeety girlz. Mebbe I come to Tennessee wiz you." Alex nodded uncomprehendingly so i'm pretty sure we have a new boyfriend. 

Gutentag!

       Our last few days have been spent in Germany! On Tuesday we left Cortina and wound our way down the Alps into Innsbruck, Austria, a charming city surrounded by snowy peaks! We were only there a little while, but it was so charming and really lived up to my expectations of Austria...Also I thought about The Sound of Music the entire time. The town really felt like a magical Christmas land!

While we were in Munich we stayed about an hour outside of the city in a small lake town called Diessen, which felt a little remote but had a very nice hotel! We had a delicious dinner there the first night of trout from the lake! Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo :( 

     The next day was our day trip into Munich, where we went to the Alte Pinakotek, an purpose-built art museum with a very nice collection of italian and northern Renaissance masters. The highlight of the gallery for me was Durer's Self Portrait at 28 which has been one of my must-sees for some time. Won't got into much art historical detail about it here because I've already raved and rambled in my journal but see how the artist paints himself as Christ? Also did a presentation on Van Der Weyden's Saint Luke Painting the Virgin which is fascinating even if it was probably one of the copies done by the workshop. 

      During my afternoon in Munich, after some careful soul-searching, I decided to take the train out to the Dachau concentration camp memorial site. As expected it was a very disturbing experience and provided no answers or feelings of resolution in this issue that is one I have grappled with and studied for quite some time. Still, it felt important to me to go and it still feels important to me that I went, and I wouldn't take it back--I think I needed to go and pay my respects. I didn't take any pictures at the actual site...that just didn't feel right. But I did take one as we got on the bus to go. 

        

        The next morning we boarded our trusty bus with our bags packed (yet again!) to make our way to Nuremberg! 

Alpine Day!

     Yesterday we said farewell to Venice with one final, exhilarating (some would say freezing, but not me!) ride on the vaporetto and began the journey to Cortina D'Ampezzo, a small skiing town in the Italian Alps! On the way we made a stop in Vincenza to look at some Palladian architecture which was very attractive though I think Thomas Jefferson did it better! We took a great group photo at the Villa Rotunda.

Also, Alex and I shared this delicious creation 

      It was a long ride up into the Alps. When we started it was about 70 degrees, and by the time we got off the bus an hour later it was like 40! The road was windy and arduous around the peaks, and it was so exciting to start seeing snow capped mountains and even some patches on the ground! We are staying at the adorable and rustic Hotel Impero, run by a brother and sister who inherited it from their parents and who have been welcoming European Studies for 26 years, since they were our age! They have a cozy downstairs room with a wood burning fire and bar, and Pierro loves to stay up late playing hard rock and roll music and talking to ES students! It sort of smells and feels like a more authentic Wilderness Lodge at Disney World. We felt welcomed right away. Even better, Meg took up our journals and Stevens very firmly ordered us not to think about them for the next 48 hours--heaven!

Our balcony, bathtub and room at Hotel Impero!

      We had group dinner at the Restauranto and Pizzeria Torri 5 with lasagna, pork and apple streudal then i fell immediately into bed at like 10:30--riding on buses and eating huge meals is very taxing!
      Today was our day to just relax and enjoy the mountain scenery. I dragged up just in time for breakfast then Alex and I took a leisurely stroll through the town, window-shopping and admiring the views. It is off season so many of the shops are closed, and there are not many people up here. I ended up taking a long 3-hour nap because I wasn't sure what to do with myself without our normal pace, but i think I must have needed it. Then Alex and I walked again, went to the grocery store for some essentials (toblerone and--the greatest desire of my heart--popcorn!) and went in a shop or two. We decided to go back to the place from last night for dinner and I had an excellent goulash soup that felt very alpine and wintery to match the cool weather.

      Everyone hung out down in the sitting room for a while and I had a great time visiting and just relaxing! Later on Alex and I went upstairs, popcorn popped and ready, to watch Shakespeare in Love! What a movie. This day was totally devoted to leisure in a beautiful mountain setting, but its back on the trail tomorrow as we head through Austria to Munich!