I need a good title

So yea, I am definitely feeling, thinking, and acting different since I got back from SAS, what that mean's I have no idea, I'm learning more about it each day.

I do however, finally have a car, which should help with, I don't know, getting around town. Maybe working once or twice.

I rekindled my role as "The Don" this past Sunday at the Dolphins game, which they lost by the way, 20-14? I'm not actually sure what the score was. The Don is actually Don Shula, and what I actually do is walk around dressed up as him with a bobble/big head of him and take pictures and do whatever I would like. I attempt to get beers from the bar, annoy the cops, hit on young ladies, you know, the norm. I tried playing football, but dammit, it's really hard to do anything when your head does not move. If someone throws that ball at my chest I can't see crap.

I also applied for a job with Revolution. They are a local music venue here in Fort Lauderdale. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working in the A/V booth on ship, and I wanted to continue working in that capacity, so Revolution it is. I got an interview set up for the 20th at 5 pm, so wish me luck.

Back in the States

So I have been back in the United States of America for a little over a week now, and all I can say is it has truly been a strange experience being back. Everything just seems different, without me being able to put a finger on what exactly it is. I feel more out of place here, in America, then in any of the other countries we visited, and I find that odd to say. I find myself thinking on past ports, and not really believing that I won't wake up tomorrow in a different country. I keep waiting for the next port, the next country, the next adventure. I don't want to bash on being home, because I am happy to be here, but I am already contemplating my next place to go. The travel bug is infected within me, and I only plan on feeding it. I've talked to a lot of kids that I traveled with this summer, and we all seem to be having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I don't miss my tiny room, but I do miss almost everything else about the ship, even the constant feeding of potatoes. I'm bummed I can't look out and watch the waves pass during class, now I actually have to listen to what my teachers have to say. I don't like not feeling the ocean rolling beneath my feet, and waking up and not seeing the ocean is disappointing. I definitely miss SAS and my summer, but it was only the beginning, and soon I'll set it out my next adventure. I have friends studying abroad in China and India...I think I might have to pay a visit...

Voyage Reflections

I feel like each summer is better then the last. People are always saying, “This has been the best summer of my life.” So for me to say, this has been the best summer of my life just does not do my summer justice. I spent last summer living at my friend’s apartment, working a summer internship with the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, as well as working my normal job with the chocolate and coffee business. I went to a fencing tournament, help put together and run a golf tournament, research sporting events to bring to Miami, and all and all had a pretty good summer. I spent the fall and spring semesters going to classes, working, hanging out with friends, going to bars, dancing at clubs, being with my girlfriend, and all and all having a pretty good year. I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I just can’t properly describe what a ride I went on this year. The anticipation of this trip, the unreal feeling of it finally arriving, the settling in of shipboard life, the rollercoaster that we call a port, and now the unwinding of a life changing voyage. That is the first time I’ve called this trip life changing, and I believe it to be true. I’ve spent the last couple days at sea, as we sail back to America, laughing at how strange my life will be when I get back. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to get back, but everything from my major to my views on life have been looked at in a different light. I saw so much of the world this summer, and it changed me so much. It’s funny, my buddy wrote to me on facebook and all he wrote was, “I bet you miss playing video games.” You know what I wrote back to him? I said, “no dude…I miss hiking in Norway, walking along Nevsky Prospect in Russia, riding bikes in Denmark, drinking beers in Belgium, climbing mountains in Italy, seeing the pyramids in Egypt, going to the birthplace of Democracy in Greece, and cliff-diving in Croatia…besides, I brought my PSP.” (I didn’t actually cliff-dive, but I was all fired up and wrote it anyway) My buddy didn’t have much to say about that. I know what I am going back home to, my girlfriend, my family, school, a job, friends and its good. It’s what I want, but at the same time, I wonder about what else I could do. I plan on taking up hiking and camping more often. I want to buy a small 2-man tent as soon as possible and go on weekend trips. I want to see more of the world; I want to do more with the world. I want to climb mountains again, hike through valleys, see more ruins, and learn more about other cultures and ways of life.

It seems like such a long time ago when I was walking around in downtown Halifax, viewing the ship and getting ready to board. Finally getting on the ship and telling people how unreal the whole thing seemed, and waking up early before our first port, and seeing Norway for the first time. I was giddy with anticipation, and I still am giddy with what is still left out there. I want to go back to every single country and spend a whole month there. I missed out on sailing on fjords in Norway, going to Moscow in Russia, seeing the Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, touring the EU in Belgium, going to Rome in Italy, going to Luxor and the valley of the kings in Egypt, sailing to a Greek Island in Greece, and traveling to Bosnia or Serbia in Croatia. I did so much during this trip, and there was so much more I could have done. I don’t regret a thing on this trip. I firmly believe I will be back and I will be able to spend more time and do more things. Heck, I practically have my honeymoon all mapped out at this point. My honeymoon, my 30th birthday present to myself, my 40th, my 50th, vacations, business trips, mid-life crisis, lottery winning spending. I want to come back to these countries; I want to go to other countries. This trip has me thinking a lot about my major and what I want to do with my life. I am a sports administration major, but I desperately want to travel and see the world. I hope I can stay involved with Semester at Sea, maybe get a job on another voyage, and maybe sail again as a student or lifelong learner. The program gets so many things right. It creates a true community onboard the ship, and gives you just a taste of what the world has to offer, leaving you salivating for more. It is going to be hard going back to sitting in a regular classroom, when I spent an entire summer with the world as my classroom. I am already wondering what I can do next summer. My friend Elena is spending next school year in India, and how I envy her fortune. I want to travel. I always knew I wanted to travel, and this past summer has given me such a taste of what is out there, I want more.

Some shipboard related things I want to write down. We had a meteorite shower the other night. The ship dimmed its lights on the bow, and we all were out there at 2am, laying on deck and watching shooting stars, it was an incredible thing to witness. The oohs and ahhs as we saw streaks flash across the sky.

We had a crew talent show that was awesome to watch. We have an amazing crew, and it was cool to see them relaxed and having fun showcasing their talent.

We had a play performed, A Doll’s House. It was well done and very enjoyable.

We also had a Work Study Appreciation Social. We got ice cream and the staff thanked us for working this summer, but really, we should be thanking them. They gave me $5,000, not the other way around.

We had our Ambassador’s Ball last night, and it was a ton of fun. I wore my Egyptian robe and turban, and it was a hit. We had a really nice sit down dinner and I sat with Erik, Danielle, Alli, Beth, and Sarah. We had a nice dinner of soup, salad, and an amazing steak dinner. Afterwards there was a dance, and I got to DJ it more or less in the AV booth. There was a play list of songs, and I added a few more. Overall it was a nice way to cap the voyage and relax and hang out with friends in a more formal setting.

One last thing, I’ve spent a few days since I last wrote this, and I want to continue rambling a bit on my thoughts and ideas. I want to travel. I got inspired to travel my freshmen year in college by my professor, but up until this voyage it was all talk. I don’t want to talk anymore, I want to travel and experience the world. I hope to come back to SAS and do a full semester voyage, maybe as a life long learner or even as staff. I don’t want to go back to sitting in a classroom and thinking about traveling, I want to go and do it. There is so much the world has to offer, and I don’t want to get comfortable in one place. I also need to educate myself more on my own country. I met people who understood our politics more than I, and I don’t want that to continue. It is strange referring to America as a country. I don’t think I can possibly explain this, but it was interesting that as we traveled, I felt distanced from my country. My country, that is what is strange. I never referred to it that way, I just felt like I was living in, I don’t even know. I gained a great sense of pride for the country I came from. I think that might be where I’m going with this. I met people from all over the world that were traveling all over the globe, but they all had such pride for their own country, and that is what I gained in these travels. A sense of pride to call myself an American. I know I lied and told that camel driver I was Australian in Egypt, but it was more as a joke than anything else. I am proud to be an American. I had such an amazing time on this voyage, and so much happened, I can’t even properly analyze it right now. I think revelations and reflections will come to me more and more as time goes on.

Triumph of the Will

This is a film essay I wrote based off of Triumph of the Will, a German propaganda movie.

I chose to watch Triumph of the Will, the German propaganda movie directed by Leni Riefenstahl. It is known as the epitome of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl used many film techniques that were revolutionary in the 1930s, that are taken for granted today. It is noted as one of the great films in history, and won a series of awards from countries all over. It was an interesting movie to watch from a modern day perspective, because while it seemed innocent enough during its time, it was simply showing the rise of Germany with Hitler at the helm, it seems like a film that toes the line between morality and just filming a documentary once it is viewed again today. It was originally released in 1935, and it really showed Germany’s rise to power, with Hitler as the forefront for this movement back into a great power. It was intense to watch all the German faithful, showing their support and loyalty for a man who went on to murder so many people. From the Labor Service rally to the Hitler Youth rally, you could see the entire German nation rising up at the words of Hitler and his staff, and the willingness to do whatever was asked. It was interesting to listen to the speeches from the heads of all the different departments, and one staff member, who I believe was in charge of the press, asked that the rest of the worlds press tell only the truth about Germany, and not the lies it was evidently telling. I wondered what the world’s media outlets were saying about Germany in 1935, and I wondered who exactly was telling the truth. Some of the men who spoke were people I have even read about, men such as including Joseph Goebbels, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Fritz Todt, Robert Ley, and Julius Streicher. They were all important men for the Nazi party, and I’ve read about a few of them, so it was interesting to listen to their speech and see a true picture of them for the first time. Hitler even spoke to the German youth about hardening themselves and being prepared to make sacrifices, which I viewed from a military sense. I saw all those German youth, and I just wondered how many of them eventually died over the course of the war. It was interesting to note how many times peace was mentioned throughout the film, but history shows us that the words obviously did not ring true. The scene where Hitler marches through all the SA and SS troops is particularly enlightening, as it just shows how many people were willing to do whatever this man asked. I have grown up with history books describing Hitler as a monster, and a madman, and while he was, this film shows him with the support of an entire nation, attempting to unify the nation and raise it from the remnants of what it was after WWI. The closing words of the film resonate loudly and describe exactly what Germany was like during that time. Hitler is Germany, and Germany is Hitler. It’s incredible to view the film, and then realize that in about ten years Germany would lose a world war it started, Hitler would kill millions of people, and ultimately succumb to his own weapon, and the words of peace he spoke of, would in fact lead to millions of deaths from all nations all over the world.

After watching the film, and then visiting Norway and Russia, it is easily evident to see the long lasting affect the war had on the world, and in these two nations in particularly. The Norwegian people proudly proclaim, and I heard it multiple times ranging from the US Consulate to guides giving tours, that Norway attempted to resist the German invasion. All the tours I went on eventually brought up WWII and Germany. The Theta Museum, which I did not get to visit, showed the resistance that was kept up even after Germany occupied the country. I was on a guided tour of the city, and our guide was showing us the great hall near Rosenkrantz tower that a king had built during one period or another. He was saying how it was a great hall, that the people are proud of, and is still used in one capacity or another to this day. He then showed a building directly across from it, and mentioned how the Germans built it. He did not mention what the building was used for, but simply mentioned that they had let weeds overgrow it, and they were quite ashamed of it. He then took us behind the famous buildings on Bryggen, and again mentioned Germany. He pointed out that the buildings were used by the Germans during the occupation, and that the Norwegians in the city would try to disrupt and bother the German occupation however, and whenever they could. Norway in general, and Bergen in particular, were under German occupation for four years, and it was evident from the tour guides and from talking to the people, that it was not the best four years of the cities life, and they had still not gotten over their German resentment. While it seemed like Germans were more than welcome in the city, the people would not forget what their ancestors did to them over 50 years ago. So it was interesting to note, the movie, which showed all this German pride and rise to power, to what it led to, the resentment of an entire nation.

I spent my visit in Russia not particularly seeing any of the same German resentment I noticed more of in Norway. I realized this was because while German invaded Russia, they never truly occupied the country. I saw a lot of capitalist movement in Russia, but nothing I could make note worthy between the movie and Russia. I knew the city was under siege during the world war, but I could not entirely wrap my head around the impact. That is, until my last day in Russia. I went on the Siege of Leningrad trip. We visited the memorial that was erected in honor of the more than one million people who died in Leningrad defending the city when German tried to occupy the city. The very same city I had spent five days enjoying had seen more than one million people die directly because of Germany. The country who less than 7 years before had talked about peace and a great Germany, had caused the deaths of one million people in Leningrad alone, not even including all over the rest of Europe and in the Pacific. I was told, and it is an unbelieving number, that 27 million Russians died during the course of the war. It was a very moving, sobering, and eye opening experience. I wondered how many of those German youths I saw in the film, had fought and died here in Leningrad, trying to occupy the city, but never being successful.

It was incredible to watch this German propaganda film, and then going out into two different countries and seeing what all that German propaganda led to. It lead to death, destruction, and a whole lot of resentment. To raise a great Germany, Hitler destroyed lives, countries, and changed the world. And in the end, there was no great Germany that they preached and spoke about during the film. For a few years they terrorized the world, and not just them, it involved Germany and her allies. It gave me new appreciation for just what America and the rest of the world did to stop this German war machine. From a propaganda film that spoke of unity and power, to the death and destruction of an entire world. That is what I saw when I viewed the film. I correlated the film to what eventually happened. I wondered how many of those Labor Service members, those German youth kids, the SS and the SA, how many of them, so proud and strong, died. All led by this man Hitler, who they so revered, with an almost religious fanaticism. It is easy to watch the film now and see where it was leading, to war. I understand that at the time Germany was starved for a great leader and wanted something to be proud of, and I understand Hitler and the Third Reich gave that to them, but even with that understanding, it was an intense and wrenching film to watch, and then go out into countries that were directly affected by Germany and what this film showed.

Comparison of Scandinavian people to Russian people

This is another report I wrote for my global studies class. It is a comparison of the public two Scandinavian countries we went to, Norway and Denmark, compared to public life in Russia.

Public life in Scandinavian countries, like Norway and Denmark, seemed remarkably different compared to public life in Russia. But only on the surface, because as you look closer to organization of public life in these two different regions, such as this paper will argue, there is some significant differences, and some remarkably similarities, and they all are based on the organization and work of their respective governments.

Both of the respective Scandinavian countries enjoy constitutional monarchies, with a prime minister overseeing the government. But it is what the governments do for their people that really define the public life. Both Norway and Denmark enjoy the benefits of beings a welfare state. That is, while they get taxed quite heavily, up to almost 60%[1], all citizens enjoy benefits from the state that include, but are not limited to, free or universal health care, free public education, unemployment benefits, pension benefits, free child-care, paid paternity leave, etc. Beyond knowing the facts about Norway and Denmark’s benefits to public life, it became even clearer the prosperity of these separate countries just by walking around in the country. In both of these Scandinavian countries, I could witness these benefits in the everyday life and actions of the citizens. People looked well, dressed nice, and were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They loved to talk about their government, politics, or just help out a stranger who seemed lost. What I sensed most about the people was that they trusted their government and its actions. People were out and about, shopping, eating, drinking, and showing all the signs of a highly developed, highly prosperous country. The cost of living in both these countries is high, but people enjoy such high salaries and wages that it baffles me when I compare it to America.

My time spent observing the citizens of Russia were quite the contrast to the people of the Scandinavian countries. The people were aloof, distant, and wanted nothing to do with tourists in general, and it seemed Americans specifically. That is not to say all Russian’s acted like this, as some were more than friendly, but in a general observation of the people, it seemed that way. With Russia being a federation, with a president and prime minister representing their democracy, I was expecting to see a lot of the capitalism I had heard so much about since the USSR fell and Russia became a democratic country. And I did see the capitalism in the country, as I actually had to pay 100 rubles to sing karaoke one night. What was also evident was the poverty, even though only 14% of Russians live below the poverty line.[2] It just seemed like a dirtier, poorer, and more crime-ridden country then what we visited in Norway and Denmark. Economically however, that is not the case, as Russia has become one of the richest countries in Europe, with oil, natural gas, metals, and timber accounting for about 80% of Russians exports.[3] Because of this wealth, Russia enjoys many of the same benefits for their citizens as Norway and Denmark do, such as free education and healthcare. Russia has a literacy rate of 99.4%.[4] The problem that arises in Russia, and why its public life is so different from the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Denmark, is because of its past. The people have a hard time trusting a government that for the longest time spent all its time and money building bombs, sending men to space, and buffing up their army. The people of Russia fell into such poverty during the cold war, which a lot of the older citizens are still adjusting to this new post-soviet life. I believe it was Allen Lynch that mentioned during a global studies class that for the youth of Russia, it is a great time to be a citizen of Russia, because there is plenty of opportunity ahead, but for the older citizens, times are very rough, and it shows because of the mortality rate haven risen by 60% since 1991, with most of the causes being preventable such as alcohol poisoning, stress, smoking, traffic accidents, violent crimes.[5] It is a startling contrast to Norway and Denmark, where all citizens alike are enjoying good times economically and socially. Even with Russia’s economic wealth, the citizens still face many hardships, and it might help to explain why even with the tax rate a low 13%, many Russian’s do not pay their taxes.

I think the main similarity between Scandinavian countries and Russia’s public life is that they enjoy many benefits given to them by the state, such as free education and health-care, but it is the attitude of the people that marks the main difference. They have similar public life on paper, but when one gets on the streets, and sees the people for themselves, the real picture begins to come into focus. The citizens of Denmark and Norway have, for a long time, enjoyed a prosperous lifestyle, and it shows with the character and happiness of the people, while the people of Russia have seen a lot of hardship and poverty. While both governments try to help the people, it is evident as to which governments are doing it better. The Scandinavian governments are much more successful in their quest to help the citizens of their country. That is not to say that Russia is failing, as their education system is highly developed, and the competitiveness to get into higher education is great.[6]

All and all, I believe that while the prosperity of the citizens in Scandinavian countries is more evident within the public life than in Russia. Norway, Denmark, and Russia enjoy a similar approach to help their citizens, as their respective governments employ many benefits that all citizens can enjoy, including free education, and free health-care. Like I mentioned earlier, it is when one ventures out into the streets of these respective countries, and mingles with the people, and sees the public life for themselves, that you can really see the true similarities and differences of the different countries.

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[1] Denmark wins highest tax competition. http://jp.dk/uknews/business/article1292920.ece

[2] "Russia’s economy under Vladimir Putin: achievements and failures". http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080301/100381963.html

[3] The World Factbook. "CIA". Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html

[4] The World Factbook. "CIA". Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html

[5] "Heart disease kills 1.3 million annually in Russia — chief cardiologist". http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070214/60721668.html

[6] Smolentseva, Anna. "Bridging the Gap Between Higher and Secondary Education in Russia". http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/News19/text13.html

Impressions

I just wrote this for a field report paper due for my global studies class. I thought I would post it here, since it has a lot to do with my trip.

I had an interesting time coming up with my topic for the field report, and I was struck by it in a rather usual way. I was sitting on top of Srd, the hill overlooking the Old City in Dubrovnik. I had climbed up to the top of the mountain and was touring a small museum in honor of the cities defenders that they have set up at Fort Imperial, an old fort built during Napoleon’s time, but used rather extensively during the defense of Dubrovnik in 1991. I was walking around outside the fort, finding foxholes and trenches built by the defenders, and I even found shell casings and the remains of mortar rounds still scattered around the hill. I was in shock over seeing just how relatively close this war was to our present time. I mean, AK-47 shell casings were still littering the hill. It caused me to stop and seriously consider on this trip cities we have visited that had to defend their city, and how some of them were successful. I thought back on Bergen, Norway, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Dubrovnik, Croatia, and realized they all were attacked by a superior force, and in the case of Bergen, they were able to successfully defend their city. I decided right there, at the top of the hill, staring into trenches less than 20 years old, where people died defending their city, and I thought it would be awesome to write this paper on the defense of the three cities we have visited, Bergen, St. Petersburg, and Dubrovnik.

Bergen, Norway was our first port of call, and it is interesting to think back on the city and look at it in a different light than how I looked at it almost two months ago. The city was so alive and vibrant; it was odd to think of it as being occupied during a war time. Obviously this is rather a naïve viewpoint, as Norway actually played quite a role during WWII, and even though the entire country came under German occupation, they did quite a lot to continue to fight the Germans. Bergen itself came under German occupation on the first day of the German invasion, April 9^th, 1940. The Norwegian army was still trying to fully mobilize when Germany invaded, and even though the war lasted 63 days, they did not have much of a chance. The Norwegian army put up resistance wherever they could, and the allies attempted to help, but it was too little to late. While Norway could not achieve a military victory, the citizens resisted the German occupation all the way through the end of the war. The Theta Museum in Bergen was a tiny room where the resistance movement in Bergen was held. They kept in contact with the true Norwegian government that had relocated to England, and they conducted sabotage operations to harass and hamper the German occupation. Church members refused to preach the Nazi word and resigned their posts, taking their congregation with them. School teachers quit when they were told to join the Nazi party and urge their students to join the Hitler Youth Group. The Norwegian sporting club refused to join and participate in the new Nazi sporting club. The Norwegians harassed and bothered the Germans so much, that 17 divisions of German troops had to be kept stationed in Norway. That is an enormous amount of resources wasted occupying a country that was neutral to start with. The reason they wanted control of Norway was for their harbors and to ensure that iron ore from Sweden made its way to Germany. So I found it quite interesting that while the people of Bergen did not keep the German troops out of its city, they did everything they could to ensure that the Germans would not be happy there. I remember hearing the proud voice of our tour guide when he talked a little bit about the resistance movement. The city is proud of the part they played. I sensed it from the tour guide, and especially when it came up in conversations with the local people. I spoke to a man one night, and coincidently the occupation happened to come up in conversation. He laughed about it, saying the Germans didn’t like being here, because their rooms always smelled of fish. The Norwegians did their part. They did not militarily help win the war, though they did give the allies 1,000 merchant ships for the effort, but they harassed the Germans so much that 17 divisions or 400,000 men had to be kept stationed in Norway to ensure the German interests. I find this fascinating, and I constantly wonder what 400,000 more Germans on the beaches of Normandy would have meant, or 400,000 more Germans throughout France when the allies marched inland would have meant. Or, better yet, what 400,000 more men attacking Leningrad, or St. Petersburg would have meant, which leads me into my next topic.

St. Petersburg is a city that truly is one of the defining examples of defending a city, and the people who lived and died defending her deserve to be recognized as the heroes they are. I didn’t know a whole lot about the siege of Leningrad until I spent five days in the city. For almost 900 days the city was virtually cut off from the outside world, surrounded by German forces. I went to the Defense of Leningrad memorial on an SAS tour, and it was probably one of the most humbling and sobering experiences of my life. I learned so much and had such an appreciation for what they fought and died for. We were told that nearly one million citizens banded together before the siege to help fortify the cities defenses. The built timber barricades, wire entanglements, anti-tank ditches, earth-and-timber emplacements, concrete weapon emplacements, and miles upon miles of open trenches. All in the name of defending the city. Nearly one million Russian civilian and soldiers died defending the city. Civilians and soldiers worked side by side fortifying and defending the city. I was astonished to learn that even during the siege, actors insisted on performing plays to keep morale high, and teachers kept classes in session to keep the children’s mind off things going on outside. There was no power left in the city, so during the winter months even being inside was freezing, but the actors insisted on wearing their proper costume attire, even though they would be freezing cold during their performances. They did it for the soldiers who would come back from the front lines to rest; they wanted to give them something to take their minds off the fighting they would be going back to. Our tour guide said that the cold, harsh, winter months are said to have been the reason the Germans lost. He said that is what he reads in western history books. He was quite adamant in letting us know how it really was. It was the Russians cut off from supplies, forced to ration food, and dieing from starvation, all while the Germans had the luxury of a constant supply route, fresh reinforcements, warm clothing and working equipment. He said the winter did not hinder the Germans as it has been led to believe. It was the Russians who had to deal with the winter more harshly than the Germans. They had to find food, stay warm, and hope that the defense would hold and help would come. They did have a little help coming from Lake Ladoga. They would receive aid from watercraft during the warmer months and trucks would drive over the ice during the winter. During our tour we actually got to see what a daily ration of food looked like. It was nothing, practically bread crumbs, and yet people had to survive off what amounted to a dinner roll. I also learned that they would pack sawdust into the flour to help make the pieces appear bigger, but nutrition wise, this amounted to nothing. I got such a new found appreciation for Russia in general and St. Petersburg in particular. My view on Russia was based off them being our enemy during the Cold War, but when I stood at this memorial, none of that mattered to me. All I saw was people defending this homeland. They died defending what mattered most to them, their right to live. There is so many documented cases in history in defenders rise up to protect their homeland and their city. This is one such case, and such a powerful one at that. A million dead, thousands more homeless or jobless. It was a trying time, but after seeing the city, and seeing the memorial, I could see another side of Russia, one I couldn’t fully grasp until I fully understood what the city and the country had gone through.

Dubrovnik, Croatia, is where I gained my inspiration for this paper, and it is another city where a dawning of understanding came over after spending time learning about their history. I learned more about the city during a tour of the city walls. I learned it was attacked October 1^st, 1991 by the Yugoslavian army (JNA) during the Croatian war of independence. The city itself had little to no defenses. I later learned that beyond a small contingent of men stationed at the Imperial Fort on the top of Mount Srdj, there was no real preparation for defending the city. They were outgunned and outmanned by the JNA forces, yet all things aside, they still managed to defend their city. They received a small amount for reinforcements to help defend the city, but largely they were on their own. This battle is not nearly on the same scale as the siege of Leningrad, but it is important all the same. I read somewhere that Napoleon refused to bomb the old city of Dubrovnik, and instead erected the Imperial Fort to keep an eye on the people, and Hitler refused to bomb the city. None of this stopped the JNA from bombing the city, and it did so with no abandon for who was killed. When I was up on the fort, I was looking at a small museum they have in honor of those who defended the city. They had descriptions of the battle, and it was fascinating to read about how the JNA tried to overtake the fort, but the soldiers kept pushing them back and holding the hill. They knew if they lost the hill, the city would go quickly after that. Almost 70% of the buildings in the old town were hit by projectiles during the siege. It was surreal to walk around the fort, and even at the top, looking down on the city that less than 20 years ago faced utter destruction by a superior force. I also found it surreal to walk around outside the fort and find foxholes and trenches used during the defense of the city. It was one thing to look at photos and videos, another thing to literally walk around the trenches and still find shell casings from weapons fired and mortar rounds. I thought it was amazing to see these lines of defense that were used to defend the north side of the city. If the hill fell, the city would stand no chance, and even though they were outmanned and outgunned, they fought ferociously and heroically to keep the hill from falling into enemy hands. I sat at the top of the hill, and enjoyed an amazing view of a gorgeous city, and I had to say my thanks for the men who fought and died 17 years ago defending the city.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time learning about the military history of some of the cities we have visited. Bergen was attacked and occupied by Germany in WWII, but they resisted in their own way and helped the war effort, St. Petersburg was sieged by Germany for 900 days, but refused to give in and they defended their city, losing a million lives to defend their city, and Dubrovnik faced destruction during their war for independence, but successfully were able to defend their city and the hundreds of years of history their city had. History has shown time and time again people rising up to defend and protect their homeland and their cities, and these are just three more examples of it. Walking around and truly experiencing the history of the city was a great experience. It was interesting to understand the history these cities had gone through, and wonder what it would be like if the cities did not successfully defend the city. What if Norway allowed it successful to be occupied, and 400,000 more German troops were somewhere else fighting, what if St. Petersburg had fallen, and what if Dubrovnik had been destroyed by JNA forces. It was interesting to think about what could have happened, but I have to admit, after experiencing the cities for what they are, I’m glad they were able to defend their cities, as there was nothing wrong with any of the cities we had gone to. It was great to walk around and learn about the defense the city went through in order for it to survive and be the city I got to experience in my travels.

Dubrovnik and Athens pictures

On top of the Old City walls

On top of Mount Srd overlooking the Old City of Dubrovnik

Sun setting on the MV Explorer in Dubrovnik

Attempting to get to the top of Mount Srd

Cheesy pose

Just a couple BAMF's hanging around Athens

Such a hard life...

I wasn't informed of the pose

Oh Yea

Say hello to the Acropolis