|
 |
2001 Annual Grant Issue
Jamie Murray: Kast Grant
Middle School History: European Traveler
After I was granted the opportunity to tour and study in Europe this summer, I was faced with many difficult decisions. How would I make the most of my twenty-five days? At first it sounded like plenty of time, but as I planned my trip, more and more cities landed on the "Must-Visit" list. I would need a year to hit all of the sights! Obviously, my intended plan to travel by Eurail pass, stopping at B & Bs, pensiones, and guesthouses would never work. Quickly I realized that a bus tour of continental Europe would be the most efficient use of my time. In this way, I would not be slowed down by transportation or lodging problems. I knew that there was a trade-off in being a part of a tour group, but the budget tour that I booked visited most of the countries I hoped to see, and it afforded me the flexibility to explore on my own once we arrived in new towns. Another bonus to traveling with a group is that I would meet interesting people from all over the world. It turned out that my group of fifty was comprised of people from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Malta, India, the Philippines, and of course, the United States. I got to know many of them quite well - I guess it was hard not to since we covered 3,500 miles in 16 days on a bus.
The focus of my project was to study the European transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Once I returned to the States, over the course of the next school year I would develop a website for seventh grade students to visit during their study of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. I took a digital camera to capture as many images as possible to use on the website. I was somewhat naïve in believing that I would be able to maintain my focus as I experienced so much history from so many different time periods. I quickly abandoned my narrow approach and soaked up as much history as possible from Classical Rome to the present. I knew that I could regain my focus on the Middle Ages once I returned home.
Our last faculty meeting ended at 3 p.m., and I raced home to pack before catching my 9:30 p.m. flight to London. I made it with plenty of time to spare, as there was an unexplained two and a half-hour delay in Philadelphia. I became a little testy as this brought back memories of Lee Burnett's Middle School Latin trip to Rome that I chaperoned last spring - it took us thirty-six hours and three modes of transportation to get to Rome due to an air traffic controllers' strike! Fortunately, the plane delay was the only transportation trouble I encountered for the rest of the trip.
I arrived at my hotel in London on Thursday afternoon, fatigued but excited to have a day and a half to explore on my own before catching a ferry to Calais, France to meet my tour group. I dropped my luggage in my room, showered, and headed for the nearest Underground station. My first stop would be the British Museum. This was a wonderful place to begin my tour because it contains countless exhibits and collections that connect to our seventh grade history curriculum. I spent several hours looking at Medieval European art and archeology exhibits. I learned about and took pictures of Byzantine mosaics, which I will use with my students when we study the Eastern Roman Empire. There was a fascinating exhibit on the Vikings with artifacts from the Sutton Hoo burial mound, which was discovered in 1939 on a farm near Woodbridge, England. This exhibit was particularly exciting for me because I was only inches away from artifacts that I have only seen in black and white pictures. I could have easily spent a full day in the British Museum, but jet-lag and hunger were starting to get the best of me, so I took the Tube to Leicester Square for fish and chips and then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep.
The next morning I woke up early and headed to Greenwich to visit the National Maritime Museum where there were excellent exhibits covering exploration, the spice and African slave trades, and the Spanish Conquistadors. These displays really impressed upon me the immense wealth that was created in Europe at the expense of African and Ancient American cultures. One anecdote that drove this point home was that of Francisco Pizarro who, between 1591-1600, took nineteen tons of gold and 3,000 tons of silver from the Inca Empire and gave it to King Phillip II of Spain. Interestingly enough, this large influx of gold and silver created serious short-term economic problems for Spain because the currency became dramatically devalued. King Phillip II was actually bankrupted twice before he was able to take much of the gold and silver out of circulation to decrease the supply and increase its value.
From the Maritime Museum, I walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory, home of the Prime Meridian. The Observatory was founded in 1675 by Charles II to "perfect the art of navigation at sea" by making precise measurements of the positions of stars. In 1884, the International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. recognized the Greenwich Meridian as longitude zero for the world. As I walked through the Observatory, I enjoyed exhibits centering on early navigational instruments and techniques that tied in well with our seventh grade study of the Age of Exploration. In addition to the astrolabes and compasses, there was an excellent exhibit describing the contributions of the Italian astronomer, mathematician, and scientist, Galileo Galilei. Galileo's heliocentric view of the universe brought him before the Inquisition after he was quoted as saying, "The Bible shows us the way to go to heaven, but not the way the heavens go." For this blasphemous statement, Galileo was placed under house arrest in Florence, Italy, a city I would visit later in my trip. Clearly, the work of Copernicus, Newton, and Galileo was posing a threat to the power of the Catholic Church, as the Scientific Revolution was in full swing, and people began to explain the natural world through observation and experimentation. I was brought back to the present when a security guard informed me that it was six o'clock and the Observatory was closing for the night. Where had the day gone?
The next morning was an early one. I boarded a bus for Dover, where I would take an hour and a half ferry ride to Calais, France. Once the ferry pulled out of port, I had a beautiful view of the White Cliffs of Dover. As I crossed the English Channel and approached Calais, my thoughts shifted to World War II. My eighth grade classes completed an in-depth study of the Holocaust and World War II in mid-May, so much of this history was still fresh in my mind. Calais is just south of Dunkirk, which was the site of the evacuation of 340,000 Allied soldiers from May 26 - June 4, 1940. I imagined the skies over the Channel filled with Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force planes, the Channel dotted with destroyers, fishing boats, and even private yachts acting as rescue boats. As the ferry approached Calais, I envisioned the fictitious invasion planned for this location by the Allies in 1944. They knew that tricking Hitler would be the key to success for their D-Day invasion at Normandy, so General Patton was placed in charge of this phantom operation. The Allies hoped that this would force the Nazis to concentrate their defenses away from Normandy. Over the past few years, I have studied many aspects of World War II, but none of the books that I have read or videos I have watched were able to conjure up images as vivid as those I envisioned as I crossed the English Channel.
I met up with my tour group in Calais, and we headed for Brussels where we would stay for the night. Our guide, Wauter, was Flemish and was quite well versed in Belgian history. I later discovered that he was a history major in college. While we drove through the Belgian countryside in heavy rain, Wauter gave us an overview of the local history and an interesting account of the importance of cloth manufacturing and trade in the 13th through 16th centuries in towns such as Ypres, Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp. Perhaps I could weave some of this history into my website - pardon the pun!
As we approached Brussels, we were fortunate to miss the typically heavy traffic for which the city has a reputation. We made it to the hotel in good time, and after I dropped off my luggage in the room, I located a city map and headed out to see the sights. I did not have much time, so I went straight to the Grand Place, which was formerly home to the craft guilds. The ornate guildhalls lined the square, and in the center was a live band playing Frank Sinatra songs. Needless to say, the band seemed a bit out of place in a well-preserved, Medieval town square. I left the square and wound my way through a series of alleys lined with small restaurants. I could not resist the temptation as I passed displays of fresh seafood, so I stopped for dinner. My meal topped off a great start to the tour.
From Belgium, we journeyed southeast into Germany. The countryside was beautiful with lots of rolling hills, woods, and farmland. Eventually we made it to the Rhine River Valley, which was quite scenic. I was surprised to see numerous wine vineyards situated on steep slopes along the Rhine. This climate would typically be too cold for grapes however volcanic particles in the soil hold enough heat through the winter to protect the roots of the grape vines from freezing. We had lunch in the quaint town of Boppard and then boarded a boat to cruise up the Rhine to the town of Oberwesel. Although rain was threatening for much of the cruise, it held off and I thoroughly enjoyed the sights. We passed a number of medieval castles, of which, Burg Rheinfels was the most impressive. From Oberwesel it was off to Wurzburg for the night and then to Nuremburg the next morning.
I had mixed feelings as I entered the ancient city of Nuremburg, which was the center of propaganda and Nazi rallies during the Holocaust and World War II. In addition, it was the town specifically chosen by the Allies for the Nazi war-crimes trials. In my mind, I think of evil when I hear the name Nuremburg; however, I did not sense this as we entered the city. It actually was a very pleasant town in appearance, but I was reminded of the pernicious Nazis as we drove along a high stone wall with lookout towers every few hundred feet. Images of armed Nazis formed in my mind as we passed the towers. Since Nuremburg served as a Nazi headquarters it was heavily bombed by the Allies in 1945. Much of the town had to be rebuilt after the war. We had a local guide in town, and she took us to beer cellars, which had served as bunkers and escape routes for Hitler and the Nazis during the Allied bombing. It was eerie to walk the same halls as such a wicked man. While our guide explained how the beer vaults were constructed, I had a very difficult time removing Hitler from my mind. I was not surprised that our guide did not care to talk much about the Nazis; she was clearly ashamed of that portion of German history.
We left Nuremburg and traveled west towards the Czech Republic. After a half-hour border stop, the highway led us through dense, pine woodlands, known as the Bohemian Forest. Once we were out of the forest, we traveled for a few more hours before approaching Prague. It was interesting moving from the rural Czech Republic towards its capital city. With each mile, I could feel the western influence on the area. At first I noticed drab apartment buildings, which were built during the communist era. Then I slowly noticed more and more western-style signage lining the highway. While the Czech alphabet was completely foreign to me, it was evident that they were advertising the same types of products that we have in the United States - cars, real estate, beer and liquor, cigarettes, restaurants, etc. After the Velvet Divorce between the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1992, the Czechs began to form a western-style capitalist society, while the Slovaks did not. Today many Slovaks would like to rejoin the Czech Republic because they see the prosperity that this country is experiencing. As we entered Prague, the city was bustling with activity. It seemed that every block had scaffolding set up marking the site of a renovation project. Clearly, a renaissance is underway.
Prague was by far my favorite town on the trip. It was certainly the most foreign in terms of the language, but it also struck me as having the richest history. Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was not bombed during World War II, and therefore, it retains much of its medieval character and charm. We had an excellent guide for our tour of the town. She clearly took pride in sharing the city's history with us. We visited the Old Town Square, which held examples of Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance art and architecture. We visited Prague Castle, built in 870 CE. One of the most memorable stops was Charles Bridge, which was built in 1357 during the reign of Charles IV. Our guide related the history of the bridge to us and explained that the Old Town Bridge Tower was used to display the heads of murdered Hussites during the Hussite Rebellion from 1420-1433. The Hussites were peasant followers of John Hus who spoke out against corrupt church practices. Christian crusaders hoped to send a message to all who entered the city - religious dissent would not be tolerated. I look forward to sharing this story and pictures of Charles Bridge with my seventh graders when we begin to look at the Protestant Reformation. They always seem to take an interest in the gory aspects of medieval history.
I left Prague feeling like I would have to make a return trip and stay for at least a week to have adequate time to see the sights. Nevertheless, the bus kept rolling, and I was off to Vienna, Austria.
Vienna is a beautiful city with a much more formal feel to it than the other European cities I have visited. Certainly, it is steeped in history, and I acquired a wealth of knowledge about the reign of the Hapsburgs who called Vienna home for nearly 600 years, before the Treaty of Versailles broke up their empire in 1919. We spent a day touring the city where the wealth and power of the Hapsburgs were noticeable at almost every turn. We visited the State Opera, the monumental Parliament buildings, and the impressive Town Hall. One of my favorite features of Vienna was the numerous gardens, which lined the walks throughout the city.
From Vienna, we headed south to Venice where we would stay for two nights. I had heard mixed reviews about this town from friends, so I was not sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. Our boat ride into town began in a rather unattractive industrial area, but once we approached the Venetian islands, I fell in love with the city. I am not a fan of large crowds, but for some reason the hordes of people did not bother me. Our guide led us on a tour of a portion of the city and explained how Venice was built during the Frankish invasions of the 5th century. The Venetians moved into the lagoons to avoid the Franks, and they built shelters on wooden pillars covered with sand and clay. They were able to navigate the maze of lagoons in their flat-bottomed boats, whereas the invaders regularly ran aground when pursuing the locals. Eventually, the Franks gave up. Without the threat of invasion, Venice developed into a prosperous trading city providing silks and spices from the East to wealthy people of the West.
We also toured St. Mark's Square, which was the cultural, political, and religious center of Venice. The architecture of the buildings in the square was amazing. I was most impressed with St. Mark's Basilica, which had a clear Byzantine influence. The domes of this church reminded me of Justinian's Hagia Sophia in Turkey. The façade of the basilica was decorated with beautiful mosaics, which told various stories from the Bible. In addition, the columns supporting the five main arches were all of different shades of marble. I later learned that this marble was booty seized in various battles, and it served as a large trophy case for the Venetians.
After a wonderful visit in Venice, we headed south across the Po Delta into the heart of the Apennines, which were largely untamed except for the occasional village perched on the mountainside. We then dropped into the Tiber Valley as we approached Rome. My experience in Rome was quite different in June than it had been in March with the Middle School Latin students. I realized how spoiled we had been to have our hotel centrally located and Lee Burnett as our guide. Lee had done a much better job introducing us to this magnificent city than our local guide did. In addition, our hotel was well outside the city. This is one of the trade-offs to using a budget tour company. Nonetheless, I did enjoy touring Rome on my own. It was a particularly festive time to be there because Rome's soccer team defeated its archrival, which it had not done in years. I thought that Philadelphia sports enthusiasts were fanatical until I saw the people of Rome celebrate this victory. Red and yellow banners, streamers, and flags decorated the entire town. Over a million people attended a free concert to honor the soccer team. I actually got chills watching the live concert on TV as the entire crowd sang an anthem to Rome. Earlier in the day when I encountered thousands of fans in the Metro station, I expected to see some drunkenness and fights. It seems that most of the championship rallies for professional sports teams in the United States end with riot police and overturned cars. I did not see or hear of any such behavior during this rally. I was impressed.
Swiss Guards, Vatican City
Having seen the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, St. Peter's Square, and the Pantheon, we left Rome and headed for the home of the Medici family and the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence. This town was amazing! I only had a day to see the sights, but what I did see was magnificent. We first visited the Basilica Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo and a memorial to Dante. Interestingly enough, Dante was exiled by the Florentines who did not realize his brilliance until after his death. He settled in nearby Ravenna after his exile, and once he died, the Florentines came to their senses and requested his remains be brought to Florence. The Ravennans refused, and therefore, the people of Florence had to settle for a memorial to Dante rather than his tomb.
I had a spectacular day in Florence. I was exposed to captivating Renaissance art, architecture, and history. I learned about Galileo's relationship with the Medici family. Evidently, had he not been patronized by this family, he would have likely been killed for proving Copernicus' theories to be fact rather than just hypotheses. I also learned about Michelangelo's strong republican beliefs and his frustration with the Medicis, who were tyrants. Eventually, he moved away from his patrons and settled in Rome. The Medicis may have been tyrants, but they won the hearts of Florentines forever when they gave all of their works of art to the people of Florence before the Hapsburg-Lorraines seized power in the 18th century. Over the course of my day in Florence, I was also able to visit the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Palazzo Vecchio. I had just skimmed the surface of the sights, and it was time to leave.
From Italy, we had a scenic drive north into the Swiss Alps, and we stopped in the medieval town of Lucerne, which was charming but touristy. The town is located on Lake Lucerne, which made for a beautiful setting. After a brief stay we headed for the last city of the tour, Paris. By the time we made it to Paris, I was ready to travel independently of the group. I enjoyed most of the people on the tour, but sixteen days in a bus was enough for me. I was now looking forward to Scotland, which was still a few days away.
We only had an afternoon to tour Paris, which made it difficult to see much. After visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, I decided to spend the rest of my time at the Chateau de Versailles, former home of Louis XIV. The grounds surrounding the chateau were expansive, and the gardens and fountains were beautiful. I toured the inside of the chateau, and I was excited to walk through the famous Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.
In the evening, we ended our tour with a visit to Montmartre, the heart of Bohemian Paris, and the Sacre-Coeur Church. After taking in a panoramic view of the city at sunset, we proceeded to a special four-course farewell dinner, where I tasted my first escargots - they were not appetizing in appearance, but they were tasty!
In the morning, we said our good-byes, and I exchanged addresses with a number of my traveling mates. It was then off to Dunkirk to catch the ferry back to Dover. As I had anticipated, my visit to continental Europe had come and gone in an instant. I had seen an amazing number of sights and had been exposed to numerous cultures, but I still felt as if there was so much left to see. I will have to return.
The final week of my trip was spent in Scotland. I stayed another night in London, before catching a plane up to Edinburgh. I was quite anxious to get to Scotland to trace my Murray roots. I rented a car at the airport in Edinburgh, and was off to the Millfield Guest House, which is on the outskirts of Edinburgh. After a highly stressful drive, in which I cut off a motorcyclist in a traffic circle, missed my turn and entered Edinburgh's business district at rush-hour, I finally made it to the guest house and was never so happy to park a car.
I checked in, dropped off my luggage, and headed for town -- on foot. I planned to tour the area known as the Royal Mile, but I was distracted by volcanic hills to the southeast of the city. I noticed a number of speck-sized people ascending and descending the slope, so I veered off-course to investigate. I entered a park with acres of well-manicured lawns at the foot of the rocky hills. I passed a number of picnickers, frisbee-throwers, hacky-sackers, and hikers as I approached the hills in search of a trail to the peak. I found a single-track path, and next to it was a sign welcoming visitors to Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat, the name of this rock formation. After about a forty-five minute hike up some fairly steep slopes, I reached the peak, 800 feet above Edinburgh to the north, and the Firth of Froth to the south. It was a stunning view as I gazed out on the North Sea and then looked over my shoulder to see Edinburgh Castle well below me. I thought to myself, a pink sunset would top it off, but then I remembered I was in Scotland and that I should be happy that the threatening clouds had not yet poured down on me.
That night I walked into town for dinner, and I hoped to find a pub with live Celtic music. I was not disappointed. I had dinner at a restaurant recommended by Mrs. Broomfield, the owner of Millfield's Guest House (why is it not called Broomfield's Guest House?). After dinner I walked a few blocks up the hill to Edinburgh Castle, former residence of Scottish royalty, and the site where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James VI of Scotland, also known as James I of England when he succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603. It is easy to understand why this location was selected for the construction of a castle over 900 years ago. It sits high on a steep and rocky cliff creating a natural defense on three sides. The castle was closed for the evening, so after taking in the view for a few minutes, I headed back down the hill and was quickly drawn to a pub with live Scottish folk music spilling onto the cobblestone street.
I entered the pub, and it appeared that the four-piece band was just getting started. I thoroughly enjoyed the music and the company in the pub. In the course of about an hour, the seats of the pub were filled, and I met a number of interesting people: a few locals, a group from Greece, one from Poland, and yet another from Italy. I was amazed at how well these people were able to communicate. Everyone could speak English to some extent. One of the women from Poland could speak French and Italian. One of the Italian men spoke Polish because his girlfriend was from somewhere in Poland. At first I was slightly embarrassed that I did not speak more than English and a little French, but as I listened to them, I also realized that these people traveled around Europe like I have traveled in the USA. If Americans were immersed in a foreign language every time we traveled to a state outside our own, more of us would be multilingual. I left the pub at the end of the first set and returned to Millfield's.
Over the next five days I logged quite a few miles, as I became increasingly comfortable maneuvering from the left side of the road. I first visited the seaside town of St. Andrews, which is home to medieval ruins, university students, and obsessed golfers who come from all around the world to be humbled by the famous 16th century Old Course. From St. Andrews, I drove southwest to the town of Stirling to see Stirling Castle and the William Wallace Monument. Stirling is considered the meeting place between the Highlands and the Lowlands, and it was the site of numerous battles between the English and Scots. The two most celebrated victories in Scottish history took place here -- the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 led by William Wallace (Braveheart) and the Battle of Bannockburn led by Robert the Bruce in 1314. Next I drove northeast into the Highlands to Birnam, a sleepy town along the River Tay. The last oak tree remaining from Birnam Wood, made famous by William Shakespeare's Macbeth, was just behind my hotel. I discovered the tree while running through the woods along the River Tay. The trunk of the oak was massive, and at the base of the tree was a small plaque explaining the history of Birnam Wood.
I stayed in Birnam for my final two days in Scotland. From there I spent a day driving in the heart of the Highlands. The scenery was dramatic - bald peaks, grassy meadows, rushing streams, and scattered herds of sheep set against a charcoal-gray sky. The purpose of this day trip was to find Nessy, the mysterious monster of Loch Ness. I circled the deep, narrow, glacial lake stopping on several occasions to take pictures, but I never caught a glimpse of the serpent except on the lawn of the Loch Ness information center.
I reserved the last day of my trip to visit Atholl, home of Blair Castle and occupied by Murray chieftains since the early 1700's. The castle was nestled in the Grampian Mountains, and the grounds of the estate consisted of open meadows, several streams, and coniferous forest. The castle was beautiful in its simplicity - white stucco, several turrets, and very little other ornamentation. It seemed that they saved the adornment for the interior. The entrance hall reminded me of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia. The red wall-coverings served as a backdrop for polished swords and firearms of all shapes and sizes, which were framed by numerous stag antlers. It was quite a statement of power. The castle was built in 1269 by the Atholl family. The Murray clan, who are originally from the province of Moray to the north of Atholl, gained possession of the estate through marriage in 1703. The Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who hoped to reclaim the British throne for the house of Stuart, seized Blair Castle and used it as a headquarters during the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46. Once the rebellion was put down, the Murrays repossessed the castle and have occupied it ever since.
As I drove down the tree-lined drive away from Blair Castle, I was well satisfied with the Scottish leg of my journey and with my European adventure as a whole. Without a doubt, I had made the most of my grant. I had seen more sights, met more people, and learned more European history in a little over three weeks than I ever would have imagined. My experiences in Europe will be ones I will never forget. My comprehension of European history was advanced immeasurably. After twenty-three days of traveling solo, living out of a duffle bag, and sleeping in unfamiliar places, I was ready to return to the comforts of home.
