Rome, Italy: 28 December to 1 January

Kristie and I departed from Heidelberg on 28 December for our next destination, Rome. We stayed at a hostel but spent most of our time out and about exploring the city.

Trevi Fountain

St. Peter's Square

Queue for entering St. Peter's Basilica

Entrance to St. Peter's Basilica

Inside the massive basilica. The main altar with the dome above can be seen in the distance.

Glimpse of the front section of St. Peter's Basilica

The Pietà sculpted by Michelangelo

The main altar

The dome above the main altar

Listing of all the Popes in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, starting with Saint Peter

Kristie and I with the dome in the background

View from above of St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro)

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These next few photos are from within the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

Head of a statue from Thebes, ca. 2000 B.C.

Mummy of a woman from Thebes, ca. 1000 B.C.

Statue of Hercules, ca. 1st century A.D.

The School of Athens fresco, Raphael

The Disputation of the Sacrament fresco, Raphael

This fresco symbolizes the implementation of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Note the shattered pagan sculpture lying at the feet of the crucifix. This fresco was painted by Raphael.

The magnificent frescos of the Sistine Chapel

Ceiling adorned with frescos painted by Michelangelo

Video from within the Sistine Chapel. First you see 'The Last Judgement' on the wall straight ahead, then you will see 9 stories from the Book of Genesis depicted on the ceiling. Sorry about the shaky footage.

The double helix staircase in the Vatican Museums

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Piazza del Popolo. This is the plaza we went to for viewing the fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Sign describing the history of the Spanish Steps

Below the history section on the sign are the rules and regulations for the area around the Spanish Steps. Please note the fourth point.

Kristie and I at the Spanish Steps with Trinità dei Monti church in the background

Mopeds were everywhere.

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Inside the Colosseum

Colosseum with the Arch of Constantine to the left

Check out the size of this pinkie toe, Kristie's hand on it gives perspective


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Inside the Pantheon

Entrance to the Pantheon


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On New Year's Day (our last day in Rome) we went back to St. Peter's Square to hear the Pope speak and give a blessing.

The crowd was gathered outside in the square while the Pope was saying mass inside St. Peter's Basilica. After the mass he came out to address the crowd.

Video from the Pope's address

Heidelberg, Germany: 23-28 December

Our journey started in Heidelberg, Germany, where we stayed at a friend's house. The group consisted of Kristie, Travis and I for this leg of the trip. I must give credit to the Heidelberg travel guide we used for a lot of the information mentioned here.

'Hauptstrasse,' reportedly the longest pedestrian precinct in Germany

German Lego man + dog

'Giant House' building, Baroque architecture, built 1707

Old University Building, Baroque architecture, built 1728

The Corn Market with Madonna statue by Peter von den Branden, 1718.

S-Printing Horse in front of the Print Media Academy of the Heidelberg Druckmaschinen.

Former Jesuit College Building

Inside the Jesuit Church, constructed 1712-1759

The Heidelberg Castle with a dormant Christmas market in the foreground

Travis and Kristie, on our way up to the castle

My personal favorite from Heidelberg: The Great Tun. Constructed in 1751 from 130 oak tree trunks, this 8.5 meter wide, 7 meter high spectacle can hold 221,725 liters (58,000 US gallons). Claimed to be the biggest wooden barrel in the world ever to have been filled with wine. This tun comes complete with a dance floor on top, too. Amazing.

The dwarf Perkeo was appointed 'Guardian of the Tun'

The Heidelberg Castle

In the courtyard of the castle. An interesting combination of different architectural styles that blend together well...the Baroque Frederick Building (1607) on the left and the Renaissance Otto Henry Building (mid 16th Century) on the right, connected with the bell tower in the middle.

Panoramic shot

The Gate Tower

We took a little journey along a path up a hill known as the Philosophers' Walk

The amphitheater atop the hill at the end of the Philosophers' Walk

Travis and I enjoying the super tire swing on our way along the walk

Just 10 km southwest of Heidelberg is the city of Schwetzingen, home to the Schwetzingen Castle and an impressive 178 acre expanse of gardens.

Sporting the Christmas colors

Around Oslo, December 2008

Kristie arrived on Sunday, 21 December, and we spent a couple days in Oslo before embarking on our holiday journey. I took her around to see my campus on Monday morning and later in the day we met up with Lucas (another American with a Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship) and his mother for a tour around Oslo.

Aker Brygge (trendy waterfront development) and the Oslo fjord seen from atop Akershus fortress

Kristie and I on our tour of the city

In my classroom. I spent a lot of time in this classroom last semester...like 20-25 hours a week.

Outside of my institute

Kristie and I enjoyed making a gingerbread house (pepperkakerhus på norsk) in my apartment

This was the side of the roof she decorated

And this was my side

A horrible tragedy occurred overnight...we found the house in ruins the next morning

It appears the moist frosting made the structure soggy and weak. I've taken these photos to send along to the insurance company.

January update

Dear friends,

I hope you all had a pleasant holiday season with family and friends.  I enjoyed spending the holidays with my girlfriend, Kristie, who came to visit me in Oslo for a few weeks.  We utilized the time to visit a few European sites, starting in Heidelberg, Germany, and moving on to Rome and Barcelona before returning to Oslo.  The past couple weeks have been a bit busy, but I look forward to posting photos of our travels soon.  I realize it has been a while since I've given an update on my status, so I want to fill you in on recent events.  

I began my master's program courses last Monday, 12 January.  Last semester I had class lectures 4-5 days a week, and this semester will only begin the first few weeks with such an emphasis on in-class time.  Then from mid-February on I will have more time for independent work on investigating my research topic.  Although still tentative, I am planning to focus my research on health care access and its effects on diabetes care amongst Hispanics in the US.  I will be completing my stay in Norway in June and return home to the US.  The fall 2009 semester will be devoted to conducting my field research and the spring 2010 semester for drafting my master's thesis.  In order to deliver my thesis and graduate from the University of Oslo, I'll return to Norway sometime in the latter part of the spring 2010 semester.

My Norwegian language course began yesterday and I anticipate a slight increase in the speed of my language acquisition.  This Norwegian course bears a few more credits than last semester and should be a bit more intensive, with more time for class meetings and regular homework assignments.  Also, I've finally found an environment for complete immersion into the Norwegian language, which leads into my next item of good news that I have established a volunteer position at the nursing home I mentioned in previous communications.

I had my first official visit to Nordberghjemmet last week on Wednesday, 14 January, and have visited the residents two other days since then.  I look forward to visiting about 2-3 times each week for a few hours each visit.  I started my time focusing on a group of 8 residents in one section of the nursing home,  establishing relationships and familiarizing myself with the environment.  I'm excited for a meaningful and productive few months helping at the facility.  I help with preparing snacks, read (i.e., attempt to read) the Norwegian newspaper and articles with residents, help putting residents to bed, assist in other daily care activities, and, of course, socialize with everyone.  I am pleased with the variety of activities in which I am allowed to participate.

I started this semester strong with Rotary Club presentations also.  I gave two presentations last week, Monday to Nordstrand RC and Tuesday to Eiksmarka RC, and have another presentation scheduled for this evening to Hønefoss Øst RC.  I am integrating more Norwegian into my presentation as I progress through the year, and my ambitious goal is to deliver around 90% of the presentation in Norwegian by the end of the semester.  

I'm looking outside my window now and watching an amazing snowfall.  We accumulated about a foot and a half of snow Sunday afternoon/evening, and we have snow in the forecast for most of the next 7 days.  All this snow brings up one very important aspect of Norwegian culture: SKIING!

I went cross country skiing once last semester before winter break and enjoyed falling on my rear and side numerous times.  The learning process was fun and only slightly painful.  Now I'm getting a bit better with the technique, and the fresh snow makes the XC skiing a bit easier, as you don't slide down the hills as fast and recklessly as is the case with an icy trail.  I've logged 38 kilometers thus far and look forward to seeing what my cumulative distance may be by the end of the season.  As you may have already noted, I'm greatly enjoying this ski culture.  The word 'ski' comes from the Norwegian language, and indeed skiing is ubiquitous in Norway during snowy winter months.  Yesterday one of my Norwegian classmates actually skied to class from his home.  Seeing how much is coming down now I might have to follow his example and do the same today!

Have a great week!

Dan