Photographic EU Studies Retrospective the Third (and final)

Our final weekend outing as part of the EU studies program consisted first of a day trip to Heidelburg. Beginning very well, we had a brunch-time local beer at a family-owned restaurant while waiting for our tour guide. After meeting her--a knowledgeable if slightly frazzled middle aged academic--we were given a tour of the old city. This included the location of the medieval fortress walls, the famous university, and the ancient bridge over the river Neckar. Included here are pictures of the old bridge as seen from Heidelberg castle and Heidelberg castle as seen from the old bridge.


The next day was an excursion along the wine route again, but this time the occasion was more solemn; we were operating on the knowledge that our day would end with a visit to a concentration camp.

In the morning, however, we attended a tour of the castle Haut-Koenigsburg. Nestled in the Vosges mountains, it is now a major tourist attraction along the wine route. The castle has changed hands many times and has been under renovation since 1900 after the orders of Emperor Wilhelm II.

Finally, our afternoon concluded with a trip to Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp built on what is now French territory. The camp was operational from 1941 to 1944 and includes dormitories, guard towers, medical and dissection labs, a crematorium, and a gas chamber. Pictured here are the gas chamber and the entrance to the camp.






To finish on a cheerier note, I leave with this picture of a happy occasion: a group of us in the last weeks of our stay here who attended the Strasbourg Carnival. This is French merry-making.


We'll be done with school this week, and most of us are taking the opportunity to travel. I'll be heading off to Jerusalem, Cairo, Athens, and Rome before returning home for the summer. Best wishes to everyone.

Joshua A.