Our entire study abroad group went to France and Switzerland for a group trip a week ago.
We flew into Germany on the border of France. We then drove a charter bus to Metz, France were we spent the night. The next morning we traveled to a few WWI sites. Our first stop was the WWI memorial at Verdun. The Douaumont ossuary is a memorial with the remains of unidentified soldiers from the battle of Verdun. In front of the structure are 25,ooo graves each marked with a white cross (or regular headstone for non-Christian soldiers). The view of the graveyard is eerie since it looks like the graves reach out in the distance forever. Inside the ossuary is a hallway of cloisters where large scale photographs hung from the ceiling. Each photo featured a WWI surviver holding a photo of how he or she looked during the war. It was a really great display that made the memorial seem even more personal. After the ossuary, we visited the "trench of bayonets," which is a trench that was covered by a blast during the war. The soldiers in the trench were buried alive. They are still buried with their bayonets sticking straight up out of the dirt, hence the name "trench of bayonets." We then visited the Fort Douaumont and a "disappeared" village. During the battle of Verdun, 9 villages were completely decimated. The one we visited had signs pointing to where farms, homes, and other buildings once stood. Our group took communion in that village and shared poems, quotes, songs, and Bible verses. The whole day was very somber and moving.
☜gravesite ossuary☞
From Verdun, we traveled to Strasbourg, France. We spent two nights in Strasbourg but there were only one thing worth mentioning. Our group took a tour of the Council of Europe. This was an interesting and informative tour, especially since I did not know there was a Council of Europe until the tour. Seeing how Europe is working towards peace was especially good after the previous day at the war sites.
After Strasbourg, we traveled to Switzerland. I'll tell you right now that the Swiss Alps is the prettiest place I have ever been. When we arrived, we were able to walk around the town of Interlaken before riding to our hotel which was outside of town. In Interlaken, I found out that the Swiss really know how to make chocolate... The next day, we headed to a ski area, some of the group skied, some sledded, some hiked, and the coolest of us snowboarded. Snowboarding in the Alps was awesome!
The view from my hotel balcony
Me on the mountain with my board.After Switzerland, we had a very unique experience; we spent three night in a monastery. Taizé is a monastery that has opened its doors to young people for the past few decades. We were able to worship, eat, and discuss with young Christians from all over Europe. The experience is hard to describe but it was emotionally and spiritually refreshing.
After Taizé, we went to Paris for less than 24 hours. The main things I saw were the Eiffel Tower, the area of Montmarte, Notre Dame, and lots of crepes.
The trip was long and busy but full of great experiences and bonding with people in my group. I did get pretty sick at the tail end of the trip, one reason for the delay in this post. But, I'm all better now.
This upcoming weekend is a 5-day weekend. A group of us were supposed to go to Berlin but just found out that we booked our flights for the wrong dates... So, we're going to Berlin the next weekend (23-27) and will be in Oxford for this weekend. Thanks for reading this post!
Oh and here's the link to the photo album: France/Switzerland
Sorry I didn't take more pictures...
