Avery

Phew! That airplane flight is finally over! 8 hours in the air. Not to mention the wretched food. Also traffic in Detroit was awful. Well I still have my all expenses paid trip in Europe to 6 countries of my choosing. When I arrived in Portugal, the sun was blinding. The temperature was also at least 40 degrees warmer here than Michigan. This is going to be one warm trip.In Portugal, in the summer many people from other countries go to Portugal because of the warm weather. Portugal was originaly,settled by the Celts but gets its name from the Roman name Portus Cale. In 1948-1949, Portugal was affected by the Black Death (A pandemic spread by fleas on black rats) In 1373, Portugal made an alliance with England. This is the longest lasting alliance in the world. In 1415, Portugal began colonizing places such as the Azores and Ceuta (An important trading center in North Africa) Finally, in 1498, Vasco de Gama reached India and gave Portugal economic wealth. Then in 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral dicovered and claimed Brazil in the name of Portugal. From 1595 to 1663 the Dutch-Portuguese War took place. This war was started by Dutch companies invading Portuguese colonies. This led to loss of Portuguese colonies. On November 1,1755, Lisbon was shaken by a 9 magnitude earthquake. A tidal wave and fire came after it. In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte's army closed in on Lisbon. The prince transferred his court to Brazil and made Rio de Janerio the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1822, Brazil gained its independence. Portugal was a founder of NATO, EFTA and OECD. (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) In 1947, India gained its independence.In 1986, Portugal joined the European Union. __**Day 1: Old Market Hall**__ Today I went to the Old Market Hall and bought some food for my trip. I bought some Lemons Bananas and The place smelled of Citrus, Fish, and Vegetables. It smelled so good that I spent the whole day there. In the building there was a variety of shops. I saw everything from a shop selling fish to a shoe-repair guy. At the market, I saw an ad for a monument called the Santu·rio de Cristo Rei. Maybe I`ll go there tomorrow.
 * __Arrival in Europe:__**
 * __Country 1: Portugal__ **

__**Day 2:**__ __** Santu·rio de Cristo Rei **__

The temptation was killing me so I decided that today I am going to the Santu·rio de Cristo Rei. It is a statue built in 1959 in thanks to God for having spared Portugal during WWII. It is 90ft tall and was inspired by the famous statue (Christ the Redeemer) in Rio de Janeiro. In order to get to it from Lisbon you have to take a ferry or drive across the 25 de Abril Bridge. The bridge is also known as the Golden Gate Bridge`s sister. __**Day 3: S.L. Benfica **__ S.L. Benfica is a multi-sports club based in Lisbon.On Febuary 28, 1904, this club was formed They are best know for their Football (Soccer) team.They also have the most members in the club. Their stadium has a capacity of 65,647. Today they will be playing Porto, one of their biggest rival. In the 1972-73 and 1977-78 seasons, they went 30-0. They won the 1960-61, 1961-62,1962-63, 1664-65, 1967-68,1987-88 and 1989-90 European Cups. S.L Benfica were also runners-up in the1961 and 1962 Intercontinental Cup and in the 1982-83 UEFA cup. Even though Portugal doesn't have very soccer teams and are usually in the shadow of teams such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona. __**Country 2: Ireland**__ Just arrived in Ireland after my trip in Portugal. The temperature is much colder here than in Portugal. Its also much wetter here.There are many rolling hills with grass as green as four-leaf clover.Ireland borders the island of Great Britain by the Irish Sea. The Republic of Ireland shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland. The RoI (Republic of Ireland) takes up five-sixths of the island. 6.4 million people live on the island. (4.6 in the RoI,1.8 in Northern Ireland) Because Ireland is surrounded by water, it does'nt suffer from extremes in temperature. Around 8,000 BC, people started arriving in Ireland from the Iberian Peninsula bringing goods such as livestock and cereals. The last of the Celts divided the country after conquering it. In 7 AD, the idea of having a king to rule the divided tribes started to come the many of the people. (People nowadays think this dream became a reality somewhere in the 8 AD) Each tribe had its own king, but each of those kings and his tribe was subject to the High King of Ireland. In 9 AD, the Vikings invaded Ireland and settled it. When they were there, they settled the cities of Dublin, Cork,Limerick and a few others. The title of King of Ireland was reinstated in 1542. From 1739 to 1741, the Great Frost ruined the potatoes and other important crops in Ireland. This caused many people to starve. About 250,000 had died during this period. In the 1840`s, this would be repeated. In 1921, Ireland gained its independence from England. __**Day 1:Giants Causeway**__ Today I went to the Giants Causeway, a abnormal rock formation in Northern Ireland. Its rocks are hexagonal shaped and are in a tiered pattern. Legend says that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. The legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. When Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed that Fionn must be monsterously big. Therefore, Benandonner retreated home in terror, tearing up the Causeway in case Fionn followed him. __**Day 2:Marble Arch Caves**__ Today I am going to the Marble Arch Caves. They are located in Northern Ireland in County Fermanagh__**.**__ They were made by water running down the slope of Cuilcagh Mountain. The caves were first explored by Edouard Alfred Martel and Dublin naturalist Lyster Jameson in 1895.In 1908 and 1935, groups of English cavers from Yorkshire Ramblers Club explored further and discovered more chambers. This group found the extent of today's known passages.Then in 2009 and 2010, underwater connections were made to the nearby cave systems by Artur Kotowski. Extensive drainage in parts of the nearby bog has damaged the bog's ability to retain water, resulting in flooding and abnormally high water levels in the caves. __**Day 3: Rock of Cashel **__ Today I am going to the Rock of Cashel. The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. Cashel is rumored to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick.According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devils Bit, a mountain 20 miles north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in Cashel.In 1647, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Cashel was sacked by English Parliamentarian troops under Murrough O`Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. The Irish Confederate troops there were massacred, as were the Roman Catholic clergy, including Theobald Stapleton. Inchiquin's troops took or destroyed many important religious artifacts. __**Country 3:Germany**__ For the next three days, I will be in Germany and my final Western European country. What I will try to do is eat a bunch of meat and visit some World War Two battlesites.The present day country of Germany was once a Roman province.In 1517, a German man named Martin Luther challenged the Roman Catholic church and started the Protestant Reformation. In the November of 1918, the German Revolution led to Germany becoming a republic. But in the August of 1919, Germany was no longer a republic. By 1932, most of Germanys parliament was either in the German Communist party or the Nazi party. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by the German president Paul von Hindenburg. On March 23, 1933, Hitler passed an Enabling Act which made him the dictator of the Germans. Hitler made most of the industries focus on weapons and armed vehicles. On September 1, 1939, Poland was invaded by the German and Soviet Red armies. When Poland was invaded, World War Two was started. On June 22, 1941 the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and broke the pact between these two countries. During the Holocaust, Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Jehovahs Witness, Soviet POWs, people with mental or physical disabilities,people who opposed Hitler, and homosexuals were murdered during the Holocaust. More than 40 million died between the Holocaust and World War Two. After the war Germany was divided into five different zones. The Allied powers had Western Germany, while the Soviet Union got Eastern Germany. Eastern and Western Germany were reunified on October 3, 1990. __**Day 1: Cologne Cathedral **__ today I am going to the Cologne Cathedral. The Cologne Cathedral was commenced to be built in 1248.With the commitment of the Protestant Prussian Court, to complete the cathedral. It was achieved by civic effort; the //Central-Dombauverein// (Central Cathedral Building Society of 1842) raised two-thirds of the enormous costs (over US$ 1 billion in today's money), while the Prussian court supplied the remaining third.The cathedral suffered many hits by aerial bombs during World War Two. It did not collapse, but stood in an otherwise flattened city. The great twin spires are said to have been used as an recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war, which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed. The repairs to the building were completed in 1956. __**Day 2:Neuschwanstein Castle**__ The place I am going to today is Neuschwanstein Castle.The palace was commissioned by Ludwig the Second of Bavaria. The palace was the inspiration for Disneyland`s Sleeping Beauty castle. During the 19th century people started constructing or reconstructing castles for looks and not so much for protection. The foundation stone for the castle was laid on September 5, 1869 and was completed at the end of 1873.The palace was made brick, limestone, and sandstone. Ludwig the Second liked the art of theater so he had a theater built in the castle. The interior of the castle is beautiful in many peoples opinion. Today I`m going to the city of Bamberg. In the city of Bamberg, I am going to FC Wacker Munchen, a sports club in a borough of Munich, Bavaria called Sendling. It was founded in 1903.The term //Wacker// is German for //brave//.Alfred Schaffer, one of the great stars of the early years of the game, played for FC Wacker Munchen. He was Europe's top goalscorer in 1918 and 1919 and coached the team at the end of the decade.Then in 2004, the club became bankrupted through the fraudulent management of the club's finances. The club has since been part of the country's third and fourth lowest divisions __**Country 4:Poland**__ Poland is a country in Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south;Ukraine,Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea, a Russian exclave, to the north. Poland is the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe.Poland was formed around the middle of the 10th century.In 1569, the Polish-Lituanian Commonwealth, which was a federal agreement between Lithuania and Poland. From during World War Two, Poland played a part in sea convoy protection, and they also would revolt against the occupying Germans.From 1945 to 1989, the Polish people were led by a Communist leader. Turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union Solidarity, which over time became a political group. Today I thought I should visit the Palace of Culture and Science.The Palace of Culture and Science is in Warsaw the tallest building in Poland, and the eighth tallest building in the European Union. The building was originally named the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science. But destalinization(which is the process of getting rid of all objects that had bee used as a shrine to Stalin and yes it is a word) Construction started in 1952 and didn't end until 1955. The building was a gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland, the tower was constructed by using Soviet plans.But many Poles initially hated the building because they considered it to be a symbol of Soviet domination. The building contains its own cinema, food court, community center, swimming pool,a large conference hall that can hold 3000 people, and a colege all in one building. The building currently serves as an exhibition center and office building.It is 757 ft tall (The tower being 141 feet) and has 3288 rooms on 42 floors. __**Day 2:Warsaw Zoo**__ Today I`m going to the Warsaw Zoo. Its official name is the Warsaw Zoological Gardens and covers more than 99 acres of land in downtown Warsaw.This zoo opened on 11 March 1928, and will be celebrating its 85th year next year. The zoo sees about 600,000 visitors a year. The zoo contains 4203 different animals from 433 different species. The zoo was bombed in September 1939, and many animals died. After the surrender of Warsaw to the Germans, most of the remaining animals were taken to Germany and the zoo was closed. The zoo reopened in 1949. __**Day 3:Auschwitz**__ Today, I will travel back in time. Back to the time of World War Two. Today, I will go to, (Lightning strikes) the Auschwitz concentration camp. Heinrich Himmler, (Germany's Minister of the Interior) as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". From early 1942 until late 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. Auschwitz was divided into three different camps. Auschwitz 1 was the main camp. Auschwitz 2 was the camp for the Roma (Gypsy) people. Finally, Auschwitz had a weapons factory in it. There were also 45 sub-camps of Auschwitz. They would give or receive people to torture. __**Country 5:Latvia**__ Today I arrived in Latvia. The weather here is cold near the Baltic Sea. Latvians are culturally related to the Lithuanians. Around 3000 BC, the first people arrived in Latvia. German crusaders attacked the people and forced them into Christianity. In the beginning of the 13th century, Germans ruled most of Latvia. In 1282, the port city/capital Riga was built. This helped to start trade with Western Europe. The Livonian War (Livonia was what Latvia used to be called) led to Polish and Lithuanian rule. Then after the Polish-Swedish War, Livonia came under Swedish rule. During the Great Northern War, Peter the Great of Russia had his army set fire to the land. During this time, Latvia suffered through plague and famine. On November 1918, the Latvian people gained their independence. The Molotov-Ribbontrop Pact gave Northern Europe to the Soviets and Germany and the Soviets shared got Eastern Europe. Then Germany invaded Soviet Poland. This broke the pact.On June 17, 1939, the Soviet Red Army invaded Latvia to change its government. 34,250 Latvians were either killed or deported to Soviet Russia. Before Germany`s invasion, at least 27,586 people were arrested and 945 people were shot in Latvia. The Soviets governed Latvia with an Iron Fist. More than 200,000 Latvians died during World War Two.
 * __ Day 3:FC Wacker Munchen __**
 * __Day 1: Palace of Culture and Science__**

__**Da****y 1:Riga Castle**__ Today I`m going to the Riga Castle. The Castle was built on the banks of the Daugava River in Riga. The castle was founded in 1330. This structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. The castle was captured the Swedish. Then the Swedish constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The castle was built on the basis of a treaty between Riga and the Livonian Order. The castle served as residence of Master of the Livonian Order, but due to continuous conflicts with Rigans the residence was moved.After the city came under Russian rule in early 18th century, the castle housed administration and courts of Rigan Governate and served as residence of Governors General. In 1922, the Castle was home to the Latvian President. After Soviet occupation the castle housed Council of People Commissars of Latvian SSR in 1940-1941. In 1941 Young Pionner Organization of the Soviet Union moved into northern part of the castle, which therefore became known as the Pioneer Castle. Several museums are housed in the southern part of the castle. The President of Latvia got his housing back after the Soviet Union left Latvia. __**Day 2:The Three Brothers**__ Yesterday I heard about the Three Brothers in an ad, so I thought I should go today. The Three Brothers are the oldest inhabited building complex in Riga.The house`s addresses are 17, 19 and 21 Maza Pils Street. Each of the houses represent various periods of development of house construction in the Middle Ages. The white house (White Brother) was built in the 15th century. Also, the Latvian Museum of Architecture is housed in the White Brother. The yellow house (Yellow Brother) was built in 1646. Finally, the green house (Green Brother) was built in the middle of the 18th century. __**Day 3:The Academy of Science**__ Today is my final day in Latvia and Europe. So on the final day I decided to go to the Academy of Science. The building looks like the Palace of Culture and Science in Poland, but they are different buildings. This building is the working place for the countries top scientists. The academy was founded as the Latvian SSR Academy of Sciences. (Remember that the Soviets ruled Latvia after World War Two) Construction started in 1953 and ended in 1956. The buildin was a gift from the people of other former Soviet republics to the Latvian people. Hammers and sickles (the Soviet insignia) cover the building.The building is 354 ft. tall. Local Local nicknames for this building like //Stalin's birthday cake//. __**Lansing, Michigan, USA:**__ That was a good trip, but I started getting tired of not knowing what people were saying. But I still liked the trip. My favorite countries were probaly Germany and Portugal. Germany had lots of meat and had a high standard of living.Portugal was so warm I did'nt want to leave. But I got a major sunburn on my back and had to stay inside for the rest of the day.