Wesel, AFS 2005-2006

Just a few photos from my year-long exchange with AFS in Wesel, Germany in 2005-2006.

The Berliner Tor, the gate to Wesel.

The Wesel Cathedral.

The "Esel von Wesel." Esel means donkey in German, so since Wesel sounds like Esel, they have taken it as their symbol.

The Music School, where I spent numerous hours each week in rehearsals and lessons.

Among other ensembles, I played in the pit orchestra for the music school's production of Annie (in German).

I got to be great friends with the other exchange students in the area. Here I am with Katri from Finland and Rachael from California.

My family! Hannah, Micot, Heike, Garlic and Chilli.

I had a huge extended family! Here I am with most of my host cousins.

Tromso 2008

In January 2008, I took a course in Tromso about the music in Norway. Here are some photos of the beautiful area.

The harbor of the island city of Tromso, Norway.

The Arctic Cathedtral.

In winter above the arctic circle, the sun doesn't come above the horizon. The "day" consisted of about 3 hours of this beautiful sunrise/sunset.

Our last week in Tromso, the sun returned. All classes were briefly dismissed, so we could see the sun out the window for the first time! (It set again about 20 minutes later.)

The group of musicians from St. Olaf College taking the course in Tromso.

Russia: C4W 2003

I went to St. Petersburg, Russia with the organization Computers for the World (C4W) (now World Technology Academy). We rebuilt donated computers, and took them to schools in Russia.

We didn't have a truck, so we carried the computers about a mile from where we stayed to the school.

I became good friends with one of the girls we met at one of the schools, here we are walking through a garden in St. Petersburg.

St. Catherine's Palace, St. Petersburg.

We were given tea and cake breaks every few hours.

Once we installed the computers and network, we taught them how to use the computers. Most of them had never seen one before.

Red Square, Moscow. We were also able to spend one day in Moscow.

Wewelsburg Internship, Summer 2008

Some photos from my internship at the Kreismuseum Wewelsburg:

The Wewelsburg Castle was originally built in 1603 for the Prince-Bishop of Paderborn, but in 1934 was taken over by Heinrich Himmler to be a center for Nazi ideology.

Himmler had a concentration camp nearby to do construction on the castle. This photo is of the building used as the cafeteria and kitchen in the concentration camp. It is now used as low-income housing.

This is the concentration camp memorial.

The roll-call grounds of the camp. This is one of the few memorial sites of the camp, where nothing else can be built.

My desk in the library of the Wewelsburg Museum.

European Adventures

Here's a compelation of photos from my various European adventures over the years.

Waterways through Amsterdam.

 Berlin Cathedral.

 The British Museum in London.

Cologne Cathedral.

Eiffel Tower in Paris.

 Frankfurt Skyline.

 

 Highest Point in Denmark, Møllehøj.

 

 The Louvre, Paris.

Marburg, Germany.

Notre Dame, Paris.

Oslo Palace.

Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross Station, London.

Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo.

Wellington Arch, London.

Westminister, London.

Rebuilt Roman architecture at the archeological dig at Xanten, Germany.