Rome Day 1 a

Hi, I am Katie Berenz Contreras and I am very excited to be on this tour. Italy and Germany have always been on my "must see" list so...yay me. 

After a very very long night last night and an even longer day, we finally arrive in Rome. There  are EF employees greeting us at the airport. 

After plenty of hours on flight. I was very happy to finally be in Rome and as very happy to see that the  Italian has many similarities to the Spanish language. As we continued our way into the beautiful city of Rome the scenery was full of gorgeous Italian style homes and oh yes! PLENTY of farmland. Lunch/Free Time in Rome 

What a better way to welcome yourself to Italy then getting a nice cold gelato on such a hot day!

Oh goodness did this gelato end up costing me a lot more than just the 2 euros I paid for it. 5 minuets into enjoying my gelato it starting dripping all over the side of my hand:( I didn't know what to do until I decided to go to another store and ask for a cup. Well they didn't like the idea of me buying a cup so, I just went and got some napkins instead. The man was displeased by this and let's just say I was escorted out for taking his napkins 😂😂 I didn't take it as an offense I just took it as a "Isn't that grand moment", because I got to learn what was disrespectful in their country,

 St. Peter's and the Sistine Chaple

This was my ticket in showing a famous Raphael painting called The School of Athens

This church was enormous !! Ah, it felt so good to visit this place, the room was full of positive vibes and breath taking master pieces.

This is our local guide Paula explaining the back wall of the Sistine Chapel - Michaelangelo's Last Judgement

The walk was totally worth it!! Pizza Night!!

We had delicious homemade pizza this night! Great conversations going on and we all got to get to know the members from other schools that were in our group! After some pizza and gelato we were just so happy to go to sleep after and exhausting day

This is one of the first cafe's where we ate on the Piazza 

Dachau

  I am Logan O'Connell and I am 18 years old from Colorado   

  A vacation to the forest filled European country of Germany sounds to most Americans to be a dream trip that most can only imagine. While the country is known for its beir gartens, breweries, beautiful views and massive octoberfest celebrations one cannot over look the morbid and sickening history the country houses known as the Holocaust to most. Today the Eaton High school EF tours travel group took a break from the dream to reflect on the sanctity of life with a somber walk through the Dachau Concentration camp. For the few readers who don't shiver at the name of this place Dachau was an internment, torture and execution camp constructed and run by the German Nazi party to eliminate potential political enemies and those that the party saw to be insufficient and unneeded in society. To visit a site where so much blood shed and torture/ degradation of human life took place is a moving experience that even those who have no connection to the atrocities feel pain for those mistreated. The site is an eerie walled in complex, surrounded by the walls and and guard towers from which German SS troops undoubtedly shot and murdered innocent inmates. One can still see the the foundations of the barracks in which thousands of souls were packed into cots to await their own deaths. The museum in the largest complex at the gate holds memorabilia that provides all the information one could desire on Nazi history and the life lost in the camp. Some of the group traveled to the back of the camp where the gas chamber and crematorium where located in order to hide them from the other inmates. Dachau is a place of pain but as the survivors stated we have to remember this atrocity to prevent it from happening again.

Rome Day 2 - The Colosseum

 Hello, my name is Kami. I am going to be a sophomore this year. So far this trip has taken so many unexpected turns. It is all okay though, because so far everyone is okay. I have really had a blast these past couple of days running, walking and flying.

Wednesday June 8th: Today we went and saw the colosseum. Can I just say breathtaking. It was so amazing. Let me just say that those were some steep stairs, but it was definitely worth the view. 

This is a panorama from the upper rows. They say it could seat 50-70 thousand people. You can see where they have reconstructed half the stadium floor because underneath was a series of tunnels and rooms and cages where they would hold wild animals and gladiators. Our guide said that those fights weren't usually "to the death" like they show in the movies because gladiators were so expensive to train and worth a lot of money. They could fight to win their freedom. He also said Christians weren't killed in this stadium.

After the colosseum, we went looking around at some ruins and such. Our tour director was a great guy, he knew a lot of the colosseum. We saw the very first basilica built in Rome (or at least a third of it.)

After some sightseeing we said our goodbyes and were on our way to Florence. After an hour or so of driving we stopped to get some lunch.    We then drove to Florence on the drive everyone was out. We certainly have been exhausted because these past couple of days have been exhausting and hot! Finally we arrive at our hotel, Hotel Victoria.

It is certainly a very cute and European feel hotel. We all went and enjoyed a very delicious dinner and went walking around Florence. 

Walked right past all this one the way to supper. We didn't know it was the Duomo and Giotto's Bell Tower.

Prague

Hi I'm Chase. I'm excited to be on this trip. Today is the last day of our trip but we still had a great time! We started off our adventure at the Prague castle. There we got to witness the changing of the guard. Next we approached the golden lane which were previously a small row of houses along the castle wall. After a walk along the Charles Bridge we got free time for food and shopping. Later we took a spectacular river cruise which consisted of sightseeing and learning about the beautiful town. Hence we had the opportunity to eat near the Prague castle. We took the bus back to the hotel for more free time and to get ready for bed. During our free time we found chocolate and a pet monkey.

Bus Ride to Prague ❤️

Hello! I'm Ana and I'm supposed to blog about my experiences on this trip so far. ✈️ Well, currently we are on the bus to Prague and we just left Germany. 🚌 Yesterday, we took a trip to Dachau Concentration camp and THEN we received a wonderful and insightful tour of the city of Munich. We learned about everything from Beir Gartens to Glockenspiels.⛪️  Little did I know that this was a city of deceitful kings and crazy rulers. 🏰 I don't remember what the first duke of the Prague territory was named, but I do remember that he was great friends with the one and only Napolean.💂🏼 It was Napolean who put the Prague kingdom on the map and promoted its current duke to a king. 👑 The son of this king was eventually handed the throne. He unlike his father did not appreciate Napaolean's worldly powers, so instead of marrying into the French family, he married a German girl. 👫 This marriage lasted an ENTIRE WEEK! Yes, yes, Germans know how to party.😏👯 Shortly after this celebration, the king and the queen wished to celebrate for yet another week. This celebration today is known as October Fest 🎃 And is celebrated world-wide.🍻 Speaking of beer or bier, I learned some rules of the bier gartens in Germany. 🇩🇪 Rule #1: you must purchase an alcoholic beverage at the bier garten. That's not too hard for most people. 😉 And you are welcome to bring your own munchies and snacks.🍖🍇 Rule #2: There must be an abundance of Chesnut trees in the garden. 🌳🌰 As we continued on our tour, we traveled to the suburb of Nimfenburg where the Queen's summer home was built. The current duke of München currently resides there now. The palace is surrounded by beautiful canals 🏞 and swans.  Here are some pictures of the GORGEOUS city of Munich.   

     

    A local bier garten.🍻  

    The canals that surround the suburb of Nimfenburg.🏞  

      The Queen's Palace👑🏰  

  Adolf Hitler's office building in Munich.☠

  Some goslings and their mother 🐣  

  The symbol of Munich: a monk-child.🙇🏻  

  We only have a few more adventures before we fly back home. 🛫🏠 Thank you for letting me blog Mrs. Jones! 💻

Austrian Alps

Guten Tag everyone! Ashton Baker here taking over while we make our trip through the Austrian Alps. I've personally never been on a more beautiful bus ride than the one we had to Tyrol, Austria. Everything was so green, lush, and pristine. The air was fresh and crisp, resembling the Colorado mountain oxygen. Throughout this trip, everyone usually sleeps on the bus. However, driving through the Austrian Alps, it was impossible to sleep. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. God laid his hand to work there first.  Then we arrived to the sweetest little family owned traditional inn. It felt as though the location was taken right out of "The Sound Of Music". We were nestled near the top of the mountain and we were able to see the entire city from the back porch of our temporary home. It was a struggle to take your eyes off of the view. As soon as we got there, we knew we didn't want to leave. Dinner was served almost immediately after we arrived. The same woman who served us, was also the owner of the inn. This "bed and breakfast" had been passed down from generation to generation. It was quite impressive to see that it had been well maintained and was extremely clean. For dinner we had noodle soup, schnitzel, rice with vegetables, and homemade yogurt made with the cream obtained from one of the woman's 30 cows. I, along with my travel mates, were amazed that this little Austrian woman ran this business pretty much on her own. We spent time on the balcony after dinner, soaking up each other's company with laughs, tea, and inside jokes. It was so refreshing to be away from the city with no access to wifi and being secluded from the large populations of people we've been constantly surrounded by on this trip. My travel buddies and I appreciated the natural beauty of this amazing paradise of a place!!! Next we're off to Germany and I can't wait for more memories and laughs!  Thank You!

Ride to Verona

Wake up & smell the cappuccino, world-travelers! My name is Jayde Contreras, and I'm one of these said "world-travelers." This is my second international trip, and this one is just as life-changing as the first. I've decided that I'm going to move to Florence--maybe you gives that an idea of how precious this city is. This entire trip has been so incredibly surreal, and it's terribly saddening that it's already half way over. But we've so much more to see!      Today we left beautiful Florence behind us, and we got to embark on a new journey, this time to Verona, Italy for a short tour. Florence was full of strong coffee, loads of gelato, too many carbs, a few terrifying bus experiences (thanks, Luciano), bargain shopping, a hilarious lack of sleep, a number of gorgeous views, Courtney Leafgren's many pastry shop homes, and a whole lot of cigarette smoke. We had a long day of travel ahead of us, and the first chunk was a three hour ride to Verona. All of the travelers were open-mouthed and snoring (Liza Nelson) within the first couple hours, catching up on some sleep. Verona was gorgeous as ever and presented a few last-minute shopping opportunities for those of us that needed a few things extra from Italy. The trip was short lived but still full of adventure as always. Our tour guide, told us all that "touching Juliet's breast brings good luck," so most of us couldn't pass up an opportunity such as that. We walked the same streets that appear on "Letters to Juliet," and we got a little taste of expensive Verona. Then it was back to the bus for the ride to Austria. Ciao bella, Italy, and we'll see you again some day! ❤️

Florence free day

Hi! My name is Courtney and I am another one of the world travellers on this Europe adventure! Today I had the opportunity to venture about the beautiful city of Florence. We did A LOT of shopping, but it was neat to discover all the unique Italian shops. We bartered with street vendors and visited fancy leather stores. My mom even purchased wine from a cute little wine shop. We purchased gifts for allllll the relatives! My personal favorite things to find in Florence are pastries! 😍 We sure have done a lot of eating here, and today was no exception! I was on a mission to find a delicious crepe place and I did exactly that. How does a Nutella crepe with fresh fruit sound? That's right, delicious! 👌🏼 The second sweet of the day was some gelato, but I suppose that had been a daily occurrence here!! It was a wonderful day in Florence. How could it not be in such a magnificent place?! 🙈 I look forward to the days to come and hopefully many more visits to Italia in the future! Arrivederci! 🇮🇹

This is everybody who did NOT go to Pisa for the day. We are in the Piazza de Signori where there is a duplicate of The David where he used to stand. We are posing, it appears, beneath the statue of Triton, or Poseidon if you're Greek.

Horse manure, new castles, Bavarian history lesson, and München!

Chad Shaw, social studies teacher, added to the trip at the last minute who loves the dichotomy between America and Europe.   Oh my gosh. Where to begin. Today we laughed all the way to Neuschwanstein castle. From Nyc accents and hot chocolate. As a group we have been opportunistic in getting off the path both literally and metaphorically. We have seen member of the group in such a new and personal light that it makes trips like this so much fun. The spirit of "la adventura" is alive with these people. As we hiked the hill up to the castle constructed by Crazy Ludwig II, we witnessed beautiful horses leaving the fine scent of the farmland of Bavaria. This was a mere nuisance to the pure joy one witnesses when seeing the castle up close. The group toured through the castle constructed in the 1860-1880s, we gained an appreciation of the whimsical building and oddity that is the this castle. Meanwhile we experienced the welcoming German tour guide and found new heights of humor. Some serendipitously taken photos were presented to us within the castle. At lunch we got a taste of the gastronomical wonders of potato salad, that tasted just like my Swiss mother's, and braised chicken. The best part was we could immediately tell it was food produced within minutes of the restaurant. Eat local! Post meal, the herr produce historical relics of May pole celebrations. Interesting and quaint. From there we travel on to Munich. What a city. Clean. Orderly. German. City hall glockenspiel chimed at 5 as we walked through the Marienplatz. Travelled to the hotel and we settle in for a heavy but important lesson tomorrow. As we learn we find struggle and hard topics teach the best lesson. Guden nacht.