Facing History & Ourselves in Europe 2008

This morning we arrived in Paris around 11:00. After checking in to our hotels and freshening up, the first thing we did was meet at the Eiffel Tower. When we reached the tower we were all truly amazed. That’s when it hit us that we were actually in Paris! We were really standing in front of the Eiffel Tower! A few of us went up to the top of the tower and saw just how beautiful the city of Paris is. To get to the top of the Eiffel Tower was a long process. We had to take an elevator to the second level and wait in a very long line only to get on another elevator to take us to the very top of the tower. By the time we reached the top, the sun was setting and it was one of the most beautiful sights we had ever seen. After our visit to the Eiffel Tower we took a boat tour along the Seine River. While sightseeing we observed a lot of beautiful architecture, but the first thing that caught our eye was Notre Dame Cathedral. The Notre Dame Cathedral is a Gothic structure on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité and it holds the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. The French words Notre Dame translate to mean “Our Lady”. One fascinating aspect of the cathedral is that it has five different bells. The Great Bourdon Bell is also known as Emmanuel, is located in the South Tower, and weighs just over 13 tons. Its task is to mark the hours of the day for various occasions and services. The other four bells are on wheels that are swing chimed. These bells are also used for services and festivals. The bells were once rung manually, but now run on electric motors. The bells also have external hammers for tune playing from a small clavier. As the tour continued, we had the chance to see three of the most famous bridges in Paris. The first bridge, the Pont des Invalides, is the lowest bridge traversing the Seine of Paris. The next bridge, Pont Alexandre III, is known as the most elegant bridge because of its design and the beautiful gold sculptures surrounding it. The third bridge is Pont de la Concorde which is 400 years old and was constructed during the French War. Today, this bridge bears the brunt of the city’s road traffic. Also visible from the boat was the Louvre Museum, which is one of the most popular museums in Paris. The museum hosts a very famous painting, the Mona Lisa. The construction of this building was first proposed by King Philip II of France, and later many kings lived in this site and proposed new additions to it. It was Louis XV who transformed the Louvre into a museum. The museum opened to the public on August 10, 1793. Among other French royalties, Napoleon established residence in the building. He invited Leonardo Da Vinci to stay there as well, which is why Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was once stolen off the wall of the museum by an employee who was obsessed with the painting. After three years, the Mona Lisa was recovered and is still on display in the museum. We learned a lot about the city of Paris and know that one day we’re going to go back for another visit.

Today our group visited the concentration camp Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp, consisting of three camps: Auschwitz, Auschwitz II – Birkenau, and Auschwitz III – Buna Monowitz. Auschwitz was also unique in that it was the concentration camp where the most killings were conducted. Auschwitz served two certain functions; one, to act as a concentration camp for Poles and other “undesirables,” and two, to serve as an extermination camp for the Jewish people. Throughout the tour we viewed exhibits that provided us with a tremendous emotional impact. For instance, we saw a display of human hair which prompted Jason to say, “I couldn’t believe what I saw; that the hair actually belonged to people. It made me feel nauseous.” Another display presented the clothes and belongings of the babies and children that were killed during the Holocaust. Because they were so young, babies and children were deemed unfit to work and were immediately sent to the gas chambers. The brick building in Birkenau was so raw; there weren’t any appropriate sanitations, heating, or baths. All we could see were rows and rows of bunkers. Sights like these make us appreciate everything in life, even the little things. Chandler describes the feeling as “Someone ripping the ground from under you; that moment of suspension, like right before going down a roller coaster, or falling.” After an emotional morning at Auschwitz, a group of us went on a bike tour throughout the city of Krakow. Our tour guide, John, was very informative and made the tour interesting and fun. We visited the Ghetto where the Jews were sent from their homes. One day while they were in the Ghetto after about two years, they were asked to be packed and out of their homes in a couple of hours. Many people followed these directions while some stayed behind and hid. Later that night, the SS came to the Ghetto with dogs and stethoscopes to listen through the walls to hear if there were any people talking inside the buildings. Everyone who hid (about 1000 people) was found and was shot on the spot. We also peddled over the bridge that the Jews had to walk across to get to the ghetto from their homes. We even biked by a Jewish cemetery that is overgrown with grass and trees because there were no more families of the Jewish people to take care of the cemetery. The tour also included stops at Oscar Schindler’s Factory, three look-out hills in Krakow, and the former gates to the city. Learning about the rival soccer teams in the city was also interesting. My favorite part of the ride was biking past the fire-breathing dragon that actually blows fire. This tour was my favorite tour of all because the tour guide was awesome and the bikes just made it more fun.