The Mark Uhlenkott Blog

Switzerland!

2008-04-13T14:07:00.001-07:00

Outstanding! On our train ride to Gimmelwald.

Arriving at our destination at over 4500 ft called for some needed celebration...

As soon as we arrived, the snow and fog settled in for the weekend.

At the end of our trip. This picture was taken outside of the entrance to the major falls which drain the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau mountains. The falls were absolutely phenomenal.

On our way to Gimmelwald, we stopped by the tiny country of Liechtenstein. This is sunrise, believe it or not.

10 Day to England, Scotland, Paris

2008-04-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

Johann Fabius in his 11 meter squared apartment.

The shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Paris

A peculiar speciman I found in the Louvre...

England sheep pasture
Some locutions taking place at a "stone henge" in northern England.
Some more English countryside....

Our B & B at which we stayed. It was situated on a sheep farm right near a lake. This is in the Lake District of England.

A picture of Edinburgh, a very beautiful city in southern Scotland.

Easter Weekend: Lisieux, Normandy, Lourdes

2008-04-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad outside the Basilica in Lisieux, France.

Overlooking the easternmost portion of Omaha beach.... The monument in the background displays the names of the five or so hundred Americans that died in this area of the invasion. By the way, several of them received the Congressional Medal of Honor...

A few hay burners in the Normandy countryside....

St. Bernadette's perfectly incorrupt body as seen lying in state in Nevers, France several hundred kms north of Lourdes.

Our group chillaxin' at a Cafe in Lourdes.

That's why it was a cloudy day.

In front of the grotto at Lourdes. The massive Church of the Immaculate Conception is directly above the grotto.

Pompeii and Greece: A Journey to the Lands of the Pagans.

2008-03-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

This trip was one devoted to history and relaxation...with a little pilgrimage mixed in (not pagan). A friend of mine and I decided to skip a week of classes to travel down to Pompeii in Italy and into Greece. We took the train down into southern Italy to Pompeii and then took a 10 hr ferry across the Adriatic Sea to the city of Patras on the mainland of Greece. From there we travelled north to Delphi where the oracle of the Greek gods resided 3000 years ago. After that we went to Athens and took a ferry to the island of Patmos just off the west coast of Turkey. Patmos is the island where St. John was exiled and where he wrote the book of Revelation. Afterward we went back to Athens and saw the sites there, and then flew home. The trip was indeed one to remember.

A view of Mt. Vesuvius looming over the ancient city of Pompeii that it destroyed.

in Pompeii as well...

A view overlooking the temple to Apollo in Delphi, Greece.

A woman in meditation outside the temple of Apollo in Delphi. Apparently some people still take the whole pagan thing seriously.

A view upon our arrival into Patras, Greece.

A view over the bow of our sea vessel...on its way to Greece after leaving Italy.

on the island of Patmos.... The Suzuki Jimney that we rented for 3 days to get around the island.

Greece is 98% Eastern Orthodox. The island of Patmos was no different. Priests are everywhere and their little white churches are everywhere as well.

A view of Patmos in the Aegean Sea from a monastery up on a mountain.

A view of the Acropolis in Athens Greece... I am standing on a huge rock/ancient meeting place where St. Paul preached to the heathens...

the Acropolis...

This is a picture of the most intact building in the ancient city of Athens. It is another pagan temple and I believe it is fairly old.

10 Days of Florence, Orvieto, Rome, & Assisi!

2008-03-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

Forgive the lack of order in these pictures. We first travelled to Florence with a group of 17. Afterward, three of us went to Orvieto on our way to Rome to meet up with the rest of the school. After Rome the whole school then travelled to Assisi. There we met the sis and are now in Gaming. Gute Reise!

Three charming young men in Orvieto

The charming landscape of Orvieto

Our group in Florence over the Arno River

Florence Cathedral

An Italian gangster

A friend of ours now studying in France (center). We just happened to run into him at the Papal Audience

Al Capone himself

...and his wheels.

Above Assisi

Back in Rome

Benie 16!

Budapest Weekend Ever!

2008-02-10T22:58:00.001-08:00

A monument to George Washington by the Hungarians. Not sure why.

Believe it or not, he was trying to tell us where to go.

A master indeed.

The Hungarian Parliament... on the Blue Danube

Just chill'n outside St. Stephan's Cathedral.

Some gangsters showing off their wheels.

A night shot of the Buda Castle in Budapest

Enjoying Hungarian beer.

Another view of the Parliament building as the sun is setting.

A feast indeed. This was taken at a huge market where some unknown festival was taking place.

A Pilgrimage to Poland

2008-02-04T04:10:00.000-08:00

This weekend most students travelled by bus to Poland. It was a long haul but as far as I know, all of us made it back safe and sound.... We visted several sites, most of which had something to do with the life of JPII. It was an incredible 3 days!

Divine Mercy Shrine- In the chapel where Jesus appeared to

St. Faustina over 100 times. St. Faustina is buried right near there.

Auschwitz.

St. Maximilian Kolbe's starvation cell. The bunker in which this cell was located, and the surrounding bunkers was the location of countless executions, tortures, and human "medical" experiments

This place is known as Auschwitz II or Brikanou. This was a much larger camp than the camp most commonly known as Auschwitz. Brikanou was almost solely an extermination camp. Those people arriving on trains would be told that this was merely a train stop on the way to Krakow. When arriving at night, however, they couldn't see that the train tracks ended here at the far end of the camp. About 80% of those that arrived would be screened and then immediately sent to one of five gas chambers which were located both to the left and right of this location about 300 ft away. Much of the camp was demolished to hide evidence of the genocide. I don't think it hid anything.

The Black Madonna-- Our Lady of Czestochowa.

JPII's sash that he was wearing when he was shot. He gave it to the shrine of Czestochowa.

The Church in the small town of Wadowice, where JPII was born and baptized.

The altar in the crypt underneath the cathedral in Krakow. This is where JPII celebrated his first mass. By the way, John Sobieski, the Polish General who drove back the Turks from Vienna was buried right behind where I was standing when I took this picture.

Jake and Mark about to begin a not-so-European-sized meal.

A couple trial movie clips from a couple beer halls...

2008-01-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

Wunderbar!

I don't believe it at all.

2008-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Outside the history museum in Vienna... the weekend before the Salzburg/Munich trip.

The Augustiner Beer Hall, Salzburg... PROST!

No comment.

This man couldn't handle the European MC-withdrawal. Here he is, alone and ashamed...

Outside the cathedral in Salzburg by a statue, the meaning of which I am not sure...

The cathedral in Munich.

I don't know him...

The Hoffbrauhaus in Munich

A view of the City Hall (right) and cathedral (left) in Munich. The terrific view is from the top of a nearby church steeple.

On the top (almost) of the Salzburger Castle. A crazy group of American tourists.

A Weekend in Salzburg and Munich

2008-01-28T01:45:00.000-08:00

A couple pictures of the two engines of an old German U-Boat in a massive science museum in Munich.

A grand picture during an evening hike up the cliffs overlooking Salzburg

Overlooking Munich from the small confines of the St. Peters Church steeple...

Up above Munich in the very small confines of the St. Peters Church steeple