A European excursion

The+group+of+BAHS+students+who+traveled+to+Italy+in+the+summer+of+2018.

Miss Heather Fry

The group of BAHS students who traveled to Italy in the summer of 2018.

By CATHERINE K.

 

Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to experience the cultures of Italy, Austria, and Germany. I traveled with a group of other Bellefonte students, art teacher Miss Heather Fry, math teacher Mr. Jonathan Virgilio, and “Papa Virgilio” (Mr. Virgilio’s father). Our group was also accompanied by students from California and Ohio on this European excursion. Our journey started in the parking lot of the high school by the theatre entrance early one June morning. The drive to the Philadelphia airport was roughly three and a half hours, which was nothing compared to the eight-hour flight to our first stop, Italy.

Many other students experienced jet-lag, but luckily I could not relate to their struggle. We checked into our homey hotel located in the outskirts of Rome. After a night of catching up on sleep we hit the ground running the next day. The Colosseum was the first destination on our list. This historic site was packed with tourists, and navigating through crowds of strangers in the heat was a bit of a challenge; however,  it by no means compromised the experience of the Colosseum for any of us. We explored the ancient buildings in the city and stopped for lunch followed by gelato later on in the day. Flatbread pizza with artichoke, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella was the first thing I ate in Italy. The servers always seemed amused by our attempts to order in Italian, but it became easier over time. One of the most important Italian phrases used on the trip was “posso,” meaning, “may I?”  “Posso” was used when ordering foods or purchasing clothing from vendors. I also used “posso” to ask if I could pet the dogs I saw while on my stay in Italy.

Our second hotel was located in Tuscany. The scenic drive to our hotel passing the countryside of Italy is something I will never forget. It was like a landscape painting found in every small Italian restaurant in central Pennsylvania come to life. Later on we visited the Sistine Chapel and the museum within it. Photography was not permitted in the chapel and I was secretly thankful for that rule because I firmly believe that photography would not do the artwork justice. It is a sight that should only be viewed in person. To say it was breathtaking would be an understatement. In the days following our time in Italy we drove to the small mountainous neighboring country of Austria.

Our stay in Austria was convenient because it was a direct passage to our third stop in Germany. Austria was delightful; it was filled with quaint houses, winding roads and lush forests. After a mildly nerve wracking drive up a winding hill in a European charter bus we had time to put our things in the hotel room and later explore the nearby woods behind the hotel. Moss covered the forest floor and the quiet woods were filled with the sounds of the other students running around and exploring the hills of Austria. Although we only had enough time to stay in Austria for one night and one day, it was a personal favorite for me.

The next day we hit the ground running to Germany. On our first day in Germany, we went through a guided tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle. By the end of the tour everyone was left in awe of the history and phenomenal architecture of Neuschwanstein. We walked through a trail leading to a waterfall and natural spring behind the castle with a view that made our jaws drop. Later that day, we ate at a popular restaurant in the heart of Hohenschwangau. Once we got on the bus to get to our new hotel the kids from Ohio and California joined us in singing the whole way there. The next morning was a more somber day as we took an early trip to Auschwitz. The air was cold and stagnant and everything we had ever learned about the Holocaust suddenly felt like more than a sad story from our ninth grade textbooks. After that we drove to one of the largest summer homes owned by one of Germany’s historic royal families.

The best part of being in Germany was the surprise bike tour we took. Though it was open to everyone, the only group to join the bike tour was exclusively Bellefonte kids (with the exception of kids who didn’t know how to ride one). The bike tour allowed us to see Germany in a new way and experience life abroad in motion.

Traveling outside of the states is something I am more than thankful for and it is something that has changed me and the way I see the world forever.