Monday, April 29, 2013

Week Twelve: München, Deutschland

Ich liebe Deutschland. Ich liebe München. Ich liebe dich. Und ich liebe frühlingsfest. As my final large weekend trip for the semester, I went to Springfest in Munich! Now, I may just be the only person in my friend group who took German as a language in high school, so it was with great anticipation that I traveled to Deutschland. 

Munich is a relatively metropolitan city. It's fairly industrial, so not the most "picturesque" European city, but it has a couple of architectural treasures hiding within its walls. 


We first went to this quaint market, where I fell in love with everything there. 





Afterward, we went dirndl shopping. Then we went on a bike tour of the city. 


 Here's the opera house. 


Der Glockenspiel.



And this building:


This was a church built solely out of limestone.


This building was almost entirely destroyed in WWII - only the center remains. As you can see, the glass construction on either side is a reconstruction of the original building. 


And Springfest! This is the inside of one of the beer tents - the Hippodrom. 


This is me trying a beer that's larger than my face. 


At the festival, I saw this poster of the American flag with the Springfest icon - two children, a girl in a dirndl, a boy in lederhosen with a beer, a pretzel and a Munich heart cookie around their necks.  


On Saturday, we took a day trip to Neuschwanstein, the castle of the mad king Ludwig II - who stole money from the government to construct his castle. Neuschwanstein is also the castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle - and understandably so. It's absolutely gorgeous. 



And the area surrounding the castle is simply stunning. There's this lake surrounded by hills and mountains.


This is the view from the castle. 


After Neuschwanstein, we got ready for the second night of the festival. This time, I tried Weissbier - "white beer" - which is absolutely amazing. 



On Sunday, we went to the Dachau memorial. It was an incredibly sobering experience. The gate to the camp contains the words "Arbeit macht frei" - translated work makes freedom.


This wall reads, "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men."




These are the reconstructed barracks. 


One of the two crematoriums.




This is the entrance to the gas chamber. It's a large room with a couple spouts on the wall. Above the door is "brausebad" or "shower room". 


At the edge of the camp - a trench and a barbed wire fence on the other side. 


After the memorial, we hopped back onto our eight-hour bus back to Florence. 

An amazing weekend spent. Munich is a gorgeous city, Neuschwanstein was absolutely incredible, and Springfest was so much fun. Dachau, such a sobering memorial, was insanely informative. Words can't suffice to explain what an experience it truly was. 

♥ Em 










Monday, April 22, 2013

Week Eleven: Cinque Terre

Italy is a beautiful country. When the lush, fertile rolling hills of Tuscany meet with a painted clear blue sky, my soul flies. I love being caught between the soaring peaks of the Apennine Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It's a captivating country. But I can easily say my favorite part of Italy is Cinque Terre - a set of five small towns right along the northern coast in the region of Liguria. 

Because the towns lie so close together, it's a single train ticket to travel from the first town, Riomaggiore, on to Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. All of the cities look like they've been etched out of a very colorful stone. The colorful houses that are built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean are perfectly picturesque. 

We went first to Corniglia and climbed a set of 368 steps leading up to this view over the sea. 


After Corniglia, we headed to Vernazza and explored the town a bit. We settled for a lunch spot in Vernazza. Cinque Terre is best known for pesto, seafood, and focaccia bread. 



In Vernazza we also took some photos on the edge of the shore. Monterosso al Mare is really the only one of the five towns that has a physical beach, but I loved the jutting rocks of the other towns.



After Vernazza, we headed to Monterosso al Mare and my group split up. Because my friend Alyssa and I were looking for more of a climbing experience, we headed back to the first two towns, Riomaggiore and Manarola. Riomaggiore's hiking trails were closed because of recent mud slides, so we headed on to Manarola. 

This is Riomaggiore:


Manarola was exactly what I was looking for. Even though the physical hiking trails were closed, we found a couple beaten semi-off-limits trails that gave beautiful views of the village. 


It was easily my favorite. 


After climbing up and above, we snaked down and around the village to see this:


Finally, we settled on a couple rocks and watched the ocean for an hour before heading back to Florence. 



I couldn't have been more pleased with visiting Cinque Terre. My only complaint was my lack of time. I could spend an endless amount of time exploring each of the towns! 

♥ Em




Monday, April 15, 2013

Week Ten: Venezia Again!

What's the best way to see Venice in two days? Camp outside of the island, in a little cabin with bunk beds, mosquitos, and old camp stories. I ventured back to the island, the little piece of paradise on earth, and fell in love with it all over again. 

Juliet, Me, Emma, Christina, and Melissa
Venice is just so gorgeous. When we arrived, we set off for the Rialto Bridge and San Marco. San Marco is so picturesque. Below you'll see the church and the bell tower.  


Then we walked to the water's edge. 



As we continued to explore, we stumbled upon a fruit market - on a boat. I want to get my produce off a boat. 


We took a side trip to one of the more picturesque Venetian islands - Murano. Murano and Burano are two small islands right next to Venezia. Murano is the source of the infamous Murano glass. Burano is famous for lace. We visited Murano - and upon arrival, got to watch glass blowing. Absolutely fascinating! I purchased a couple Murano glass pens, because they're gorgeous.


And another photo of Murano:


Adventuring through Venice:


The second day, Juliet and I toured Teatro La Fenice, one of the most famous European opera houses. It's simply stunning. The original theater burnt in 1774. Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini all produced productions there before it was destroyed yet again by a fire in 1836. After its restoration, Verdi premiered numerous productions here. 


The weekend was filled with wonderful memories. 


Sunset on the Grand Canal. 

Dancing through Europe,

♥ Em




Monday, April 8, 2013

Week Nine: Ancient Etruria

The art history course I'm taking here is on the Etruscan civilization. It's one of my favorite classes, and over my birthday weekend, we traveled to five different ancient Etruscan sites: the cities of Chiusi, Orvieto, Cerveteri, Tarquinia, and Norchia. 

The Etruscan civilization absolutely fascinates me. They were a people that settled the Po Valley in Italy from what is estimated to be between 8,000 and 7,500 B.C.E. to 80 B.C.E. when the last of their independent city states was completely destroyed by the Romans. 

Our first visit was to the city of Chiusi, where we visited the archaeological museum and toured two tombs - Tombe del Leone e La Tomba de Pellegrino. This photo below was from the first tomb, the tomb of the lions.  


The three sarcophagi at the back would have held the primary member's inhumated bodies. You can see the generational progression, as urns for cremated remains are held on the left hand side of the tomb. 


Here's another urn in the tomb. The figure on top would have resembled (somewhat) the person held inside. This urn, if I remember specifically, was carved out of marble - an expensive material in Etruria, this guy was probably pretty loaded. 


Our next stop was in Orvieto. Orvieto is a gorgeous medieval city located on a hilltop. Their archaeological museum also holds a lot of Etruscan artifacts, but what's most unique to Oriveto is its underground city. Carved beneath the city, by what is thought to initially be the Etruscans, the caves of Orvieto were used for olive pressing and as wine storage during the middle ages up until mid-1800s. This photo is of the countryside before we descended beneath the ground. L'italia e bella. 






This is a shot of the countryside from a window in the caves. 



In Orvieto, we also visited the Necropolis there. The Etruscan civilization had a tendency to build their cities on two hills - one to serve as the acropolis, and almost a mirror version on the other hill for the necropolis. Up until the late classical period, the Etruscans believed in a seamless continuity of life. At death, the soul was ferried to the necropolis, to continue living as they were with their old belongings in a mirrored house in the necropolis. 

The Etruscans were known for the idea of the "Banquet of Eternity" - they would throw a giant feast when someone died, usually lasting for days. However, much of the Etruscan ideology shifted around 350 B.C.E. - with the introduction of Greek mythology. Paintings and sculptures begin to reveal mythological scenes, portraying Greek gods, renamed by the Etruscans, but serving similar purpose. The idea of death changed drastically with the introduction of demon figures and the underworld - which was controlled by the Etruscan's Hades - "Aita" and his wife, "Persepnei". 

However, Orvieto was one of their civilizations, where there wasn't a physical hill to build the opposing necropolis on. Instead, the tombs were dug into the ground - and as you'll see below, carved out of the soft rock. 

 The Etruscans loved putting their name on things. Find an Etruscan pot? Named. Find a bowl? Named. Find a tomb? Definitely named. The Etruscan alphabet is sort of similar to the Greek alphabet, but there are very few written records of the Etruscans - most of their writing was destroyed. However, in many places their tombs were clearly marked - read right to left with their name.


This was an ancient Etruscan temple. 


On Saturday, bright and early, we headed to the Etruscan necropolis of Tarquinia. An absolutely gorgeous necropolis, we saw so. many. tombs. The tombs of Tarquinia are best known because of their extravagant wall paintings. The tombs have been sealed since their discovery with a plexiglass door and the temperature is monitored in order to better preserve the already decaying wall paintings. However, with the conservation effort - many tombs have been relatively well conserved. They're absolutely beautiful. This is the view from the necropolis of Tarquinia. 


Here's one of the painted tombs - it would have dated to the classical period. The demon figures on either side of the door are the tomb guardians Charu and Vanth. They appear solely in the classical period onward, and were introduced with the new mythologies that the Etruscans adopted at that time. 


This tomb is perhaps one of the most famous Tarquinian tombs - the tomb of the leopards. As you'll see below, the tomb has two leopards painted above a banqueting scene. The scene was a representative painting of the Banquet of Eternities - a man and a woman reclining on a couch (the Greek word, kline) and being fed by their servants on either side. 


Our next city was Cerveteri, known for their mounded tombs - they were carved out of a volcanic rock specific to the area in and around Cerveteri, known as tufa. Tufa is a soft volcanic rock that hardens once exposed to the elements. As such, it became the perfect carving material for the Etruscans. The entrance to each tomb led down into the ground where there were usually multiple burial chambers, carved in the shape of a house - complete with living room and sometimes windows!


An example bedroom in the tomb. Either "bed"  - sometimes carved with headboards and more elaborate decorations - would have held the inhumed bodies of the dead. The rest of the tomb would have held other sarcophagi or urns and usually housed multiple generations of a single family. The Etruscans practiced both inhumation and cremation. Earliest Etruscan civilizations solely cremated, burying their ashes in long, straight shafts in the ground known as "tombe a pozzo".  But during the orientalizing period, burial shifted from cremation to solely inhumation. In the next couple of centuries, the Etruscans practiced both. 



Nancy Drew in the Etruscan Tomb:


And our final stop: Norchia. 


More than anything, Norchia was just really pretty. It's the prime example of an acropolis and necropolis on opposing hills, but because it started to rain, we couldn't visit the acropolis. 


The tombs of the necropolis are carved into the side of the hill - they're really steep, and most of the rock has been eroded by water. Regardless, I climbed them. 


We got rained out, and wound up soaked before we made it back to the bus... but it was beautiful. 


As interesting as the Etruscans are as a people, so much still remains unanswered about their civilization. As a pre-Roman civilization with little to no written records, their lifestyle patterns are largely inferred from their tombs, paintings, artifacts, and sculptures. Regardless, they're absolutely fascinating to study. 

Adventuring through Italy,

♥ Em