BEARS ON THE ROAD

Bamberg is a small town, full of cobblestone roads that intertwine in a confusing manner and scaffolding. We started our visit in the cathedral, which was darkly lit and mostly made of stone. In the entryway was the memorial for the only pope buried north of the Alps. Several small golden and wooden altars lined the sides, and at the front was a large silver altar. The main feature of interest was the small dark staircase down to the tombs of the bishops. Our next stop was the Residenz, which wasn’t quite as impressive as Ludwig II’s magnificent dwellings, but which still featured glorious tapestries and paintings. However, the main feature of interest was the large rose garden.  Our big adventure of the day was the beginning of the Bayreuth Festival. Das Rheingold (2.5 hours long) is the beginning of the Ring Cycle, a four part opera by Wagner. It tells the story of Albrecht, a hideous gnome, who is told of the magical properties of the Rheingold by the Rheinmaidens, whom he is

We awoke in Nuremberg and began the self-guided walking tour. We first passed Lorenzkirche, a Lutheran church. We were unable to go in because there was a service, so we decided to try again later. We also passed a giant fountain that said it depicted ‘scenes of married life’ but which featured screaming people, bea rs, and skeletons, among other things. Other highlights of our tour were: the Albecht Durer house, the giant rabbit statue, and the giant clock on the tower of Frauenkirche, which goes off at noon and whose ritual, called the mannleinlaufen, includes people blowing horns, ringing bells, and bowing in front of Karl IV. In the church of St. Sebalduskirche, we found a Playmobil Martin Luther and decided it was a necessity. We also visited Handwerkhof, where old shops and buildings have been replicated and are still in business (ie. the tin store). We stopped at the biergarten here for some pretzels and beverages. Interestingly, my water was given to me in a champagne glass

The next morning, we drove into the town of St. Gallen, Switzerland, so that we could see St. Galle, the former abbey and current cathedral. The inside was large and domed, and pale green enamel fixtures were interspersed with intricate golden ornamentation. All of the wood fixtures were beautifully carved. We wandered the town for an hour or two before heading back out and going into Triberg, in the Black Forest. We purchased a bag of peanuts, as advertisements about the large number of squirrels littered the entry to the trail. We walked up to Triberg Falls, the tallest waterfall in Germany, and looked down at the amazing view of the city. We did not, however, find any squirrels, which was extremely disappointing. Our next stop was the House of 1000 Clocks, since my mom insisted that we couldn’t leave Germany without a cuckoo clock. I was in favor of the floor to ceiling clock with a mill and host of wildlife creatures rendered in authentic Black Forest wood, but since it “was too

We left Ettal early in the morning and drove through charming village after village, finally ending up in Hohenschwangau, the site of the childhood home and dream palace of Ludwig II. We began the day by touring the eponymous castle, the home of Ludwig’s parents, Maximilian and Maria. The outside was a collection of buttery yellow cylindrical buildings, interspersed among large fountains. Most of these depicted swans- the symbol of the Bavarian royal family. Our tour started in the billiard room, from whence we proceeded to the dining room. Every room of the palace contained numerous paintings of scenes from German history and legend, as well as lavish furnishings and decorations. For example, the dining room depicted in murals the tale of Lohengrin, the swan king. On the table were bronze tiered trays, gifts for Maximilian and Maria. We passed into the queen’s room, which portrayed the role of royal women in medieval times. The queen’s interconnected reading and writing rooms had s

We left the hotel early to get our rental car and began the long, winding road to Linderhof Palace, the vacation home of Ludwig II. It was largely a tribute to Versailles. The palace is in the Baroque style and therefore symmetrical. We began in a red room decorated with gold and lined with paintings. The highlight of the room was a large peacock statue. We moved from here into a series of waiting rooms, each one themed with a different color. On the ceiling of the first one were golden depictions of the zodiac signs. Everywhere were portraits of French aristocracy and rulers- for example, the “purple room” contained the likenesses of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. Ludwig collected vases, many of which could be found perched on shelves on the gilded walls. While he had basically no power, he was incredibly wealthy, and as a result, his entire private palace is magnificent. Among the amazing furnishings and decorations were: a table that retracted into the floor, a set of lapis la

We woke up in Munich, and after a quick breakfast, we headed for the Residenzmuseum, home of the Wittelsbach rulers. We wandered throughout the intricately decorated palace rooms, marveling at the lavishly adorned walls and furnishings. I saw some familiar names from AP Euro, including Count Palatine of the Rhine. Among the amazing rooms were the Grotto Court (made primarily of painted shells arranged to make huge figures), the Ornate Chapel (an almost indescribable overload of golden decoration on a blue background), and the Room of Mirrors (an almost funhouse like room covered floor-to-ceiling in gilded mirrors). After this maze-like treasure trove, we went over to the actual Treasury, which was filled with beautiful pieces or work. Crowns, necklaces, swords, dishes, and various other heavily jeweled items lined the walls, each with a unique history. After finishing the exhibit, we left in a daze and began to stumble to the Vikualienmarkt (farmers market). On the way we stoppe

A little bitter about having to surrender the outline and evidence of both our cases, my partner and I walked into the sub-arctic temperatures of the 2nd floor of the Hilles building, where our first round in the tournament would take place. We lost the coin flip and ended up speaking first. My partner and I had previously agreed that con was the stronger side, so we chose that case. Our opponents were incredible speakers who made some points I hadn't previously considered, but it was a close round. In the end, they won. However, my partner and I won the next three rounds, going con for all five of the prelim rounds on the first day. We ended with a precarious 3-2 record. Winning the next round meant we would advance to elimination rounds. The night was spent going through evidence and seeing if we could find anything new and better. The next morning, we walked into our final round. Our opponents won the coin toss, and in a moment of indescribable horror, chose to read their c

I was dropped off at the airport quite early in order to catch my 8 AM flight to Boston. As I stood in line at the Starbucks, hoping to find some breakfast, I noticed a magazine depicting the star of my favorite musical. I fought the temptation to purchase the magazine- and the temptation won. I waited at the sign that had my gate number for about an hour and a half before realizing that the door for my gate was actually on the other side of the terminal. Luckily, I managed to score a seat. I slept and awoke in Boston. A confusing set of subway rides later, I arrived at Harvard Square, and made my way to Currier House. After checking in, I had a slight issue opening the door to my room. Eventually I figured out that you had to pull the door in a little bit while turning the key. I was relieved to see that I didn’t have a roommate. After setting up my room, I went down for dinner and met my lab group. We had some practice debates in which I advocated for Androids and waffles. The

I was assigned a partner, and after a lecture about utilitarianism and deontology, our lab met up to do some practice solo debates comparing the two philosophies. I won the first round but then lost to one of the state champions in my group. After the practice debates, we met with our partners to divvy up cases and evidence. I chose to write the con case. Hours later, I was well-versed in the 1 st Amendment, Tinker vs. Des Moines, the chilling effect, and the slippery slope, as well as the various connotations of the word “regulate”. Once I had a draft with framework and three contentions that I was pretty proud of, I worked on compiling evidence for our group file. The next day was when our lab would do practice debates in our partnerships, in order to develop our cases. Unfortunately, my partner had fallen ill without finishing the pro case, so in the 30 minutes preceding my round, I threw together a pretty decent pro case, considering the circumstances. Maverick debating is

I rolled up to Sanibel Sea School for the first time as a CIT. I've been going there as a camper for as long as I can remember, but this was entirely different. First, I received my coveted red STAFF shirt and met my fellow CITS and the counselors. We then waited for the kids to show up. The morning was for the most part quiet, since no one really knew each other. We joined for circle time and then split into our groups to go to the beach and look for trash to clean up. However, since the tide was all the way to the dunes, we didn’t find very much, and most of my time was spent getting to know the campers. We went back to the camp to have lunch, and then took the surfboards out to the beach. I managed to score a deal to drive to sea school every morning rather than bike 6 miles there and 6 miles back, which was only really an improvement because no physical exertion was required, but at least I wasn’t subjected to the burning heat every morning and evening. We took the campers