Belgium

The Political Science department took us on a trip to Brussels, Belgium to visit the European Union and NATO headquarters (which no pictures where allowed to be taken). With a group of about fifty, we had a wonderful time.

We visited the village of Bruges, located outside of Brussels. Lots of chocolate was consumed!

In Bruges, the lake of love is a beautiful spot.

Over looking Bruges

Inside the European Union Council, behind us is artwork of the many European stereotypes

Our group dinner was a lot of fun!

My classmate Heli is entertaining herself

I'm enjoying a great seafood dinner

Manneken Pis, little boy pissing, is a famous landmark in Brussels

The famous Atomium was built for the world fair

Heli and I representing her home country of Finland in the European Union Commission

Andy, Judy and I sitting in the European Union Parliament

End of the Term

Here are some random pics from the autumn term...

Birmingham celebrates Christmas with a German Market

My roommate Angela and classmate Kelli, eating some weird cream treats at the German market

Andrey and I enjoying the same

My classmates threw a little birthday party for me

My friend Deniz and I at my birthday party

Classmates posing for a pic at the Political Science Christmas party

A another pic of the University campus

My Indonesian colleague, Najam, and me

Windsor, Stonehendge and Bath

Some classmates and I rented a car for the day and did a little road trip. First, we drove to Windsor castle, which is the largest working castle in the world. One of the homes to the Queen. Then to Stonehenge, which is in the middle of nowhere, we made just before the sunset. Finally, we made it to the city of Bath, which is named for the roman baths that still stand in the city.


We ate at this great restaurant for lunch, it was located across the street from the castle

One of the entrances to Windsor Castle, there was also a little Christmas parade that afternoon, which is what all the people are waiting for

Jenna and I sitting on a bench waiting for the parade to start

Stonehenge, obviously, was great to see... however, a little smaller than I thought

Jenna and Kelli posing for a pic, unfortunately the park was closing when we arrived, so this is the closest we could get

In the city of Bath, we visited a German market located behind an Abby

Paris, France

I went to Paris for a long weekend with one of my classmates. Luckily she spoke French so I just sat back and enjoyed my time. We packed a lot in the four days we were there, I would have to say my favorite was probably the Louvre Museum. Where we saw the Mona Lisa, the armless Venus, Code of Hammurabi... You could spend days there and not see it all.

Jenna and I in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral

Not too far from our hostel was the Sacre-Coeur Basilica

Here is the Effiel Tower from a far on a cloudy day

We went up the Effiel Tower at night, then walked around the Tower which has a little light show every so often

Here we are at the gates of the Palace at Versailles, a massive palace with a beautiful garden

A part of the garden at the palace which flowers would fill during the spring time

The famous Arc de Triomphe

We managed to make it into the Catacombes of Paris, there are thousands of humans bones in the catacombes that were moved here from cemetaries in the 18th century.

The outside of the Louvre Museum

More Birmingham

This is a picture of Victoria Square, the Council house and a fountain; a naked women sitting in a pool of water (when the water is on), the locals call this the "Floozy in the Jacuzzi"

This is a picture of the entrance way to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallary

This Greek looking building is the Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham has a system of old canals

This is the Church of St. George