Busy Busy Busy

All is well back here at the Castle. Everyone returned safely and happily from their excursions after Venice...some remained in Italy, while others explored Barcelona and Nice. I couldn't have been happier about my decision to see Switzerland and Paris, as I definitely an an unforgettable time in each place. Switzerland was refreshing and unlike anywhere I had ever seen before. I will always remember it as a place where I conquered a fear and was left continuously awestruck by the landscapes. Paris was also a lot of fun, as we basically just decided that walking around the city, attempting to visit as many sites as possible in a day, would be the best way to see the city in such a short amount of time. When Sunday approached, I was definitely anticipating my arrival back to the Castle...unfortunately, however, so were an infestation of mosquitos residing my room! I guess its one of the downsides to having your own moat. ;)

Anyways, yesterday we were assigned all of our final projects. We have about a week to complete them all, and they include:

-10-12 pg paper, comparing two portraits (Venetian and Flemish), and further comparing them to a digital photo we must compose ourselves, attemping to reconstruct our own version of a Renaissance portrait in a modern setting
-4-5 pg paper, comparing the same digital photo to another Renaissance portrait of our choice
- Portrait assignment, shooting a person who lives in the village of Well; this will ultimately be presented exhibition-style in the local supermarket here in Well
- take all of the above, and compile them into a book that will ultimately be sent back to Boston for the Emerson President and Department head's to evaluate and critique

It's definitely a lot of work to complete at once, but it is feasible. The only potential bump in the road is that this upcoming weekend is our group excursion to Amsterdam, so we'll all be gone from Friday morning-Sunday afternoon...so that means working VERY hard in the free time we have before then!

With that said- I should get back to work! Talk to you soon!

a very quick update

Hello from Paris!

I'm at an internet cafe across the street from my hotel, but i can't write too much now.

The past week and a 1/2 have been INSANE! Venice was more than I ever could've imagined it to be...we saw so many incredible museums and churches, and just really got to know the city through the eyes of the locals. I'll definitely share more when I get the chance on Sunday.

On Wednesday, we took the train to Interlaken, Switzerland, where we had yet another amazing time. Our hostel, called "Funny Farm", was settled right at the bottom of the Alps, with the most serene, breathtaking views of the mountains and lakes i've ever witnessed. I'll definitely be sharing pictures from this soon. Since we only had a full day to explore and take part in the extreme sports, hiking, kayaking, etc. they had to offer. Like I mentioned, heights, planes and I do not really mix well, so I decided to pass on the sky diving. However, I really wanted to do something challenging and where I could somewhat conquer my fear (in a little safer way), so I decided on hanggliding.

I can safely say that I have NEVER experienced anything like what I did during hanggliding. It went as followed: Drive up to the very top of one of the many surrounding mountains (probably about 3,000-4,000 ft), strap onto the glider with the instructor, spend about 5-10 minutes freaking out, then run and jump off the cliff, and ultimately experience the closest thing to flying like a bird as possible. It was AMAZING, and I would do it again in a second! Flying over the Swiss Alps and all that is enveloped within it, what a freedom! I'll put one picture below to accompany.

That's all I can write for now-- I'll be in Paris til Sunday afternoon, then back to home sweet home in the Netherlands!

Tomorrow- Venice!

Tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving for Venice! We will be flying into Cologne Airport, then traveling by train through Venice, where we will then go by boat to our Hotel on the island of Lido. Lido (we are told) is only about a 15-20 minute boat ride to the city of Venice, and I believe our hotel is located directly on the beach.

While in Venice, we will be spending our days exploring the many museums and churches around the city, focusing primarily on Renaissance, Gothic, and Romanesque architecture and art. The lectures should be very interesting and unlike the average tour guide's presentation, as my Art History professor, Dulcia, has her master's in Venetian architecture, and has already provided us with detailed framework for what we can expect. We will also partake in a day excursion to the small city of Padua. So overall, we will be in Italy from May 31st-June 6th.

Once June 6th arrives, we are able to travel anywhere we desire, as long as we're back in the Netherlands by the evening of the 10th. My friends and I just finished booking the remainder of our plans, and are plans consist of two days in Interlocken, Switzerland, and then the weekend in Paris, France. While in Interlocken, we'll be staying at a hostel that is located right in the Alps, and offers many activities such as sky diving, hangliding, swimming, cliff jumping, and more. While some of my friends are already set on sky diving...I'm not sure if I'll have the courage to join them, I'm not so great with heights and flying. But who knows! Then for Paris, we have a hostel that is a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, and seems to be pretty great in terms of location, security, and comfort. I've already been to Paris when I was about 12 or 13, and I just remember how beautifully romantic and breathtaking it was, so I'm very anxious to return.

We're going to be relying quite heavily on the train to take us through all the different locations and ensure our safe arrival back at the Castle, and if we do our best to stick to our schedule, all should go smoothly. Overall, the next few weeks will surely be BUSY, but will also be insanely memorable, exciting, and unlike anything I've experienced before. :)

A Weekend in Bruges

I just returned from my excursion to Antwerpe and Bruges! I had such a great time, both cities were unlike anyplace I've ever seen before. The architecture, people, food-- EVERYTHING, simply amazing. Bruges is only about 3 1/2 hours by train from Well, so we left on Thursday morning to get a head start and ensure that we'd have as much time as possible in both locations. We only stayed in Antwerpe for a couple of hours, and went to the Museum of Fine Arts, then explore the city for a short while before catching our train to Bruges. I didn't know much about Antwerpe prior to arriving, so I didn't have a set picture already in my mind or know what to expect. I'm glad it worked out that way because I definitely felt I was able to appreciate being there in a totally fresh, overwhelming way. The city was a mix between the oldest, most elaborate buildings and churces, blended completely with American consumerism and fast food. Literally every 2 blocks another MacDonald's would pop up. That was sort of unfortunate, because it was that very mentality and those places I wanted to escape.

After Antwerpe, it was about another hour or so to Bruges. There are still so many places I will be visiting while abroad, but I have a feeling that Bruges will definitely remain as one of my favorites. The antiquity and beauty was completely overwhelming. The canals, the cobble-stone streets, the chocolate...just unbelievable. We kepy very busy during the days, as we toured the city, took a boat ride through the city's canals, studied in 12th century Churches, and analyzed the works of some of the most amazing Medieval artists in a variety of museums. At night, we enjoyed ourselves and went out as a group to some of the restuarants/bars that James had recommended. There was one in particular-- Cafe Pick-- and prior to going, James told me the names of a few waiters he had become friends with. So, I took a longshot and asked around, and eventually found them; James left quite an impression, they even had a photo of him hanging up in one of the back rooms.

There is so much more to be said about beautiful Bruge, but a lot of it is just too overwhelming to describe; it's hard to give a city like this one justice through words. I'm going to try and put some pictures up tonight or in the morning, so definitely take a look!

Tomorrow we have our first day off, so I'm estatic to finally catch up on sleep and relax. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

**more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianhorn

Monday

Classes began today! There was a lot of talk about the intensity of the courses (as there is a full semester's worth of information packed into 5-weeks), however everything seems to be pretty do-able. The Digital Photography course seems like it will be interesting, but I was suprised at how captivated I was by the Art History class already. The professor is this extremely intelligent woman who has a real gift for speaking and engaging her students into her lecture (which for Emerson, is unfortunately pretty rare). This particular class will keep its focus largely on Renaissance Art, and our supplemental excursions (Bruges and Venice!) will accompany our lessons perfectly.

We're in class from about 10am-4:30pm, with a short break for lunch. We eat breakfast and lunch here at the Castle, however every night we walk about 20 minutes to this small Inn (called "Grote Waay") where we are served a 3 course meal. It has been absolutely amazing...I've surprisingly been getting some pretty amazing vegetarian meals, and the most delicious desserts. The food is unreal... I guess it's definitely a good thing a bunch of us have started playing pick-up soccer games before dinner to stay in shape!

We leave for our first excursion on Thursday morning, and that will be to Bruges and Antwerp, in Belgium. It's only about a 3 hour train ride from the Netherlands, and we'll be going to many museum's and other sites to further develop our knowledge of Renaissance art. James (my brother) spent about a month studying in Bruges last summer and completely fell in love with the city, so I'm excited to explore!

I'm going to try and post some more pictures of the Village of Well, keep checking back at the photo link:

PHOTOS

Also, if anyone is interested in checking out the website for my Digital Photography course, I believe we will be updating it almost daily with images we create during the trip.

I hope everyone's doing well back home! Keep in touch!

Digital Photo Images of Castle
Digital Photo Images of Students

Orientation continues...

Nothing really new to share. We've just been continuing with orientation this weekend, getting familiar with the Castle, the village, and life in the Netherlands. I'm posting some photos of the Castle so you can see just how unbelievable it is; words cannot do it justice! Later tonight we have a boat cruise that departs about a mile away from the Castle on the River Maas (I think that's the correct name...), which is one of the most important rivers in Europe, beginning in France and flowing throughout the Netherlands and Germany.

We begin classes tomorrow and have a relatively easy schedule compared to what a regular semester usually entails. We have our Art History course from 10-2, then Digital Photography from 2-4...not bad at all.

Here's the link to my photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianhorn/

Arrival at the Castle...

(INote: I haven't had a chance to sleep yet since our arrival, so I apologize if the writing is a little choppy)

After about 30 hours of traveling and getting situated, I am finally settled down at the Castle... it is AMAZING. The flight arrived an hour earlier than scheduled, so we had a lot of time to kill in Amsterdam before catching our train to Well. So, Brett, Alex, and I decided to store our luggage at the train station and wander around the city for a bit. We only were able to get a taste of what Amsterdam had to offer and remained pretty close to the main Central Station, however just that bit was so beautiful and exciting. We walked around, taking different paths to different areas of the city, and admired the canals and beautiful architecture. We will definitely return to the city at some point so we can go explore more of the city's district's, go to museum's, etc.

Once the lack of sleep really began to settle in, we decided it was best to head out to the Castle. This would include a 1 1/2 train ride to the city of Nijmegen, and then an hour bus ride to the city of Venlo, where we would be able to walk directly to our new home. The city of Well is extremely small, with only about 2,500 people, and a tiny "downtown" area, with one supermarket, an inn, bike shop, and a few other stores. There are also acres upon acres of farmland-- plenty of cows, sheeps, horses, and more, which I have so far found refreshing compared to my urban-life in Cambridge. There is so much greenery, so many people just taking their time to get from one place to another, and so visibly content living so simply and carefree. It's wonderful.

The Castle itself is an amazing structure, built originally in the 12th century and restored and acquired by Emerson. There are moats, swans, horses, and beautiful flowers surrounding the property, and even a peacock...how strange! The 16 other kids on the program are all very nice and in the same position as me: eager to begin our photo class and enjoy what Europe has to offer. So far, everything is off to a great start!

Link to my Trip Photos