Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy made up of 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by lots of bridges.  According to tradition Venice was founded in 421 AD although no one really knows for sure.  Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto  It was also a very important centre of commerce, especially for trading silk, grain, and spice.

Venice is like a labyrinth!  I was in Venice for three days and still had no idea where anything was.   The New York Times says it’s “the most beautiful city built by man".  I think it’s the most confusing city built by man, although it is very beautiful.

The biggest Canal in Venice is The Grand Canal.  It runs all the way through Venice.  There are only four bridges that cross it.  The oldest bridge that crosses it is called the Rialto Bridge.

Rialto Bridge

Some call Venice “the floating city” though they may have to change that nickname to “the sinking city”.  Flooding from high tides always begins in St. Mark's Square and the cathedral courtyard, the lowest points of the city. Water bubbles up through the manhole covers, first slowly, then more steadily.  Unfortunately, because the water is from the sea, it smells like fish.

To show you how flooded the square can get, here is a picture of a guy actually canoeing in the square.

St Mark’s Square is a fun place to be day and night with lots of cafés and music.  At night they even have dueling café orchestras!  One of the orchestras played a song from one of my favorite movies, Phantom of the Opera!  I was very happy with that!  During the day people also love feeding the pigeons, (even though the locals don’t like them) and they try to get them to jump on their arms and sometimes their heads!

 St. Mark's Square

St. Mark’s Basilica dominates the square.  It was built in the 11th century and is the most famous and most recognizable of all the churches in the city of Venice.  It is an architectural mixture of Byzantine, Roman, and Venetian.  The whole Basilica looks a big work of art.

 St. Marks Basilica

Rome and The Vatican

Rome

Rome was my favorite place that we visited on the trip!  The History of Rome goes back 2,800 years.  It grew from a small Italian village to a huge empire that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries.

Everything in white was the Roman empire.

There is a legend to how Rome was named.  It starred twin brothers named Romulus and Remus.  It was told over the generations in schools and almost became set in stone.  The legend goes like this:  “Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They were abandoned by their parents as babies and put into a basket that was then placed into the River Tiber. The basket ran aground and the twins were discovered by a female wolf.  The wolf nursed the babies for a short time before they were found by a shepherd. The shepherd then brought up the twins.  When Romulus and Remus became adults, they decided to found a city where the wolf had found them. The brothers quarreled over where the site should be and Remus was killed by his brother. This left Romulus the sole founder of the new city and he gave his name to it – Rome.”  This is only a legend however and no one really knows how much, if any, is real.

Kings governed early Rome, but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves.  Instead of kings they then had a council known as the senate which ruled over them. 

The Roman Empire in the end was overrun by millions of barbarians from the north and east of Europe. It is believed to have happened two or three times in history that huge migrations took place across Europe, where people moved to settle in new places. The great migration proved too much for the Romans. Their armies were designed to defeat other armies, not entire villages flooding toward them. The collapse was completed when the Visigoth Odoacer and his men conquered Rome itself in the year 476 AD.

My absolute favorite place we went in Rome was the Colosseum! The Colosseum was originally called the Flavian Ampitheatre.  It is “one of the greatest pieces of Roman engineering and architecture in existence today”.  I, however, think it’s THE best piece of engineering and architecture in Rome!  The Colosseum was started sometime between 70 and 72 AD and only took about 10 years to be built, not including the years of improvements done on it.  The Colosseum could seat as many as 50,000 people.  There was a variety of “entertainment” in the Colosseum such as animal hunts, battle reenactments, drama, mock sea battles, executions, and gladiator games.  I was amazed that the Romans thought all of that was entertaining, especially after watching the movie “Gladiator” and really getting an idea of what went on in the Colosseum.  It truly was revolting.  By the medieval period however, the building was no longer used as a place of entertainment, and throughout history it was reused to house people, as workshop space, as a fortress, as a quarry, and as a shrine.

The Colosseum on the outside. 

The Colosseum on the inside.

Some other things we saw in Rome besides the Colosseum that I thought were cool were the Forum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain.

The Forum is located in the center of Rome and was originally a market place.  On one side is the Basilica of Constantine.  It was the original design for many of the large cathedrals even though it was used as a government building.  Although only one side of in remains, it was the largest building in the Forum.

 Basilica of Constantine

This is the place where Julius Caesar's body was burned.

This is a little hedgehog we found wondering around the forum.  Cutest part of the whole trip!

The Pantheon was originally built by Marcus Arippa around 27 BC as a temple of pagan worship but was later destroyed by fire and replaced by Hadrian.  At the beginning of the 7th century it was turned into a place of Christian worship by Pope Bonifacio.

 The Pantheon

In the middle of the Pantheon there is a big hole in the roof called the oculus.  No one really knows why it's there but there are many theories.  Some say it's to let in light and air.  Some say it's a sundial, or an opening to allow the sun to shine on a certain god's statue at a particular time of year.  None of them have been proven though.

This is the place where the famous artist Raphael is buried.

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous fountains in Rome.  It was built in 1762 at the point where the main aquaduct ended.  It is said that if you toss a coin over your opposite shoulder that you will return to Rome which is why thousands of people visit the fountain everyday.

Trevi Fountain

The Vatican

Although The Vatican is in Rome, it is also a country.  It’s the smallest country in the world.  The Vatican is home to the Catholic Church and the Pope.  The Pope is in charge of not only The Vatican, but all of the Catholic Churches all over the world.

St. Peter’s Basilica, which is in The Vatican, is the largest Christian church in the world and “one of the most impressive sites in Italy”.  St. Peter’s Basilica was first built by Constantine in the 4^th century AD on the spot where St. Peter was buried.  Most of the basilica, however, was built by the pope Julius II.  The dome of the Basilica was designed by Michelangelo when he was 72 years old but he died before it was finished.

 Inside St. Peter's Basilica

 This is a Michelangelo sculpture.  This is the only sculpture that Michelangelo signed because one day he overheard some men talking about how someone else had made it.  He got so mad that he just marched right up to the sculpture and engraved his name.

 View of the Vatican from St. Peter's Basilica

This is me at my favorite gelato place with the girl who served us gelato every day!

Norway

After the Luther students went on break, we decided we would tour parts of Europe.  The first country we visited on our four-week break was Norway.  We wanted to visit Norway because my great-great grandparents came from Norway.

Norway and parts of Sweden were the original homeland of the people known as Vikings, who in the Middle Ages raided and settled in several other parts of Europe, and are also believed to have sailed to North America.  In early modern times Norway was ruled first by Denmark and then by Sweden, but it achieved independence in 1905.  During World War II, the country was occupied by the Germans.  Since the end of the war, it has achieved great wealth, mainly thanks to oil reserves discovered in the North Sea in the 1960s. 

Thanks to its oil wealth Norway is one of the richest countries in the world, with a per capita gross (per person) national income of 87,070 US dollars in 2008.  Norway is the fifth largest exporter of oil and the third largest exporter of gas.  It also has major fishing, forestry, hydro-electric and mineral industries.

I found the following two facts about Norway interesting because it shows how independent in thinking and action they are:  In 1913, Norway was one of the first countries anywhere to grant voting rights to women.  Its voters have refused on two occasions, in 1972 and 1994, to join the EU.

The first city we went too was Oslo, the capital of Norway. Oslo is the largest city in Norway with over 600,000 people and covers 454 square kilometers, 242 of which are forests.  Oslo has been the capital since 1814, when Norway gained its independence from Denmark. The city is one of Europe's fastest-growing capitals, with annual population increases exceeding 2 per cent in recent years. 

Two of my favorite things we went to see in Oslo were the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and the Vigeland Garden.

The newly renovated Holmenkollen Ski Jump officially opened in March 2010 and is the “world’s most modern ski jump”.  It’s also one of the first designer ski jumps ever to be built.  The start house is some 60 meters above the ground and the structure is made of 100 tons of steel and is the only steel ski jump in the world.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

This just makes me sick looking at it.  It’s so straight down!

Vigeland Sculpture Park is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist, with more than 200 sculptures.  It is the most popular tourist attraction in Norway, with between 1 and 2 million visitors each year.  All of the sculptures in the park were made by Gustav Vigeland.

The focus point of this park is the monolith which stands in the middle of the park. It was started in 1929 and completed in 1943.  The monolith represents all of humanity.  It is 60 feet high and has 121 human figures carved into one piece of stone.  It shows the cycle of life.

The monolith

This is my favorite sculpture!

We spent the second part of our trip visiting some of our relatives in Norway!  Norway is where the Ranum family comes from.  In 1855, my great-great-great grandfather, Jul Ranum, was born on a farm outside of Fagernes Norway.  Fagernes is in the Valdres region, which is north of Olso.  There are still many Ranums that live in this area.  We were lucky to be able to spend a few days visiting and meeting a number of them.

This is Arild and Astrid in front of their cabin.

This is my Dad and Arild eating rakfisk...fermented fish with lefse.  My dad did not have another.

This is me and my mom skiing.  I had never skied before but I really liked it!

This is Arild and me sledding on some very interesting sleds that actually have a steering wheel and brakes!

We also got to meet another cousin, Anne.

 Me and my dad along with Arild, Harald, and Olav Ranum.

 My cousins Kari, Hedvig, Ingvild, and Havard Ranum.

This is Jorn and Havard working on a puzzle.

Sherwood Forest

Anyone who has heard of Robin Hood would most likely have heard of Sherwood Forest.  Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire and famous because of its association with Robin Hood.  It once was a royal hunting forest but eventually all of it was sold off to farmers.  Sherwood Forest today is 1,050 acres and in the thirteenth century, what most people call the time of Robin Hood, it was about 100,000 acres.

One of the main roads between London and York was called the Great North Way.  This road ran straight through Sherwood Forest and travellers were often at the mercy of robbers living outside of the law.  

Sherwood’s ancient oak woodland is as rare and as threatened as a rainforest.  Between 1609 and 1790, 80% of the Sherwood oaks were cut down for shipbuilding and housing.  Today the 450 acre country park is the largest remnant of the original forest.  It receives well over 600,000 visitors each year.

Sherwood Forest is home to the Major Oak.  According to the stories, the Major Oak was Robin Hood’s hideout.  The oak tree is about 1,000 years old.  Since the Victorian era, its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding.  In February 1998, a local company took cutting from the Major Oak and began cultivating clone of the famous tree with the intention of sending saplings to be planted in major cities around the world.

 The Major Oak

Oxford and Cambridge Universities

Oxford University is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.  There is no clear date for when Oxford was founded, but teaching existed in Oxford in some form in 1096.  Oxford became very popular starting in 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. 

There are 38 independent, self-governed colleges at Oxford University and all of them are very hard to get into.  First,  you have to apply to the University.  If you are accepted you then have to apply to one of the 38 colleges in the university.  If they like your application, you are then called in for an interview.  If your interview goes well, then you're in.

A student’s life at Oxford is often very different than it would be if they went to a normal college.  For starters, you have three eight-week terms starting in October and ending in June.  Because the school year is so short, while you’re in school it can get very busy.  You would probably have at LEAST one essay a week.  This also means you will have to work a lot harder and have a lot less free time.  Some parts of Oxford life, however, can be the same as any other college you go to.  You can still join clubs and sports where you can make friends and hang out together.

Cambridge University is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world.  The university grew out of an association that was formed in 1209 when a group of scholars left Oxford after an argument with the town’s people.

Cambridge and Oxford are very similar when it comes to how you are selected, the teaching methods used, and the prestige that goes along with attending.  When it comes to classes however, they can be very different.  For instance, you can do politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford, but not at Cambridge.

Throughout the years, many famous people have come out of Oxford and Cambridge.  Stephen Hawking (a physicist), David Cameron (the current British Prime Minister), and Dr. Seuss were some students from Oxford.  Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister during World War II), Isaac Newton (who discovered the laws of motion), and  Cockroft and Walton (who split the atom) were some students from Cambridge.

 This is one of the colleges at Oxford.

 Kings College Chapel at Cambridge.

Kings College Chapel is the only place where Queen Anne's initials (RA, Regina Anne) because King Henry VIII had them all removed.

 The tables of the dining hall at Oxford had a certain Harry Potter feel about them...

Liverpool

Have you ever heard of the Beatles?  They are one of the most famous music groups ever so I'm guessing you have.  The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) were originally from Liverpool which is a city about 3 hours by train to the northwest of Nottingham.  Before I went to the Beatles museum in Liverpool I didn't know really anything about the Beatles.  After I went though I found out that a lot of songs I like were actually written and performed by the Beatles!  One thing that really surprised me about the Beatles was that they split up in the end because their manager died and they were having lots of disagreements!  I had no idea that they weren't friends anymore, especially since they'd made over 200 songs together!  The Beatles started in 1960 and split up in 1970.  There are only two of the Beatles left now because in 1980 Lennon was shot by a deranged former fan and in 2001 Harrison died of lung cancer.  McCartney and Starr remain musically active however. 

In the middle of the Beatles museum there was all of a sudden this loud beeping noise!  At first my mom said that she thought either dad or I had touched something we weren't supposed to but it turned out it was just a fire drill. =)

 This is the front of the Beatles Museum.

This is a replica of the Cavern Club where the Beatles first performed.

The other museum we went to in Liverpool was the Merseyside Maritime Museum.  This museum had stories of three famous ships that were linked to Liverpool.  They were the Titanic, the Lusitania, and the Empress of Ireland.  Each of them sunk in a famous and tragic disaster.

Many people don't know that the Titanic was owned by the White Star Line which was headquartered in Liverpool.  If you look at the back of the Titanic, you can see the name Liverpool written right under the name of the ship.  Many of the crew were also from Liverpool.

The Lusitania and Empress of Ireland were both liners like the Titanic.  The Lusitania sailed during World War I.  On the way from New York to Liverpool the Lusitania entered the war zone.  The Germans sunk the Lusitania and 1153 people died.

The Empress of Ireland was a very impressive liner designed to be competitive in the lucrative transatlantic trade.  The Empress was a very safe ship.  The crew was very well trained and it could float even if two compartments were flooded.  This did not matter however, when it collided a Norwegian collier (coal ship) and 1012 people died.

King Richard III found in Leicester

You may have recently heard of the big news that happened over here!  If not I will tell you.  During an archaeology dig they found the skeleton of King Richard the III!  Weirdly enough he was found in a parking lot in Leicester where there used to be an old church!  Richard the III was one of eight kings that they did not know where they had been buried and was the last Plantagenet King which means he was the last king of the Plantagenet family that started with King Henry II and ended with King Richard III (1154-1485).

Richard III

Before Richard was king he was Duke of York and pretty much ruled the Northern part of England while his brother, King Edward IV, who was actually king at the time, ruled the south.  When Edward died, his two sons, the eldest of whom was now to become king, went to Richard to be taken care of.  Richard put them in the Tower of London to be kept safe but after that they were never seen again. Some say that Richard had them killed so that he could become king while others said that it was King Henry VII who killed the two boys and then spread the rumor that Richard killed them so that Henry could eventually become king.  Most people think that it was Richard who killed the little boys but no one knows for sure.

The missing nephews

King Richard died at the Battle of Bosworth Field and was the last king to die in battle.  Until about two weeks ago no one knew how he had died or where his body was.  People had suspected that he was buried in the Church of the Grey Frairs but until recently they weren't sure where it was.  Now that they have found the church and Richard's skeleton they are going to have to update a few history books.

As you can see, Richard III had severe scoliosis.

This is the Leicester Cathedral where Richard will be buried.

                                                

This is the current memorial stone in the Cathedral.  This is where they will likely build the new tomb.

 Richard is Leicester's claim to fame.