Well, looking back on this class in England and at Harlaxton has been wonderful. The location was perfect for studying the topic of international tourism. Students traveled all over England and Europe to compliment perfectly the topics we discussed and the theories we examined over the course of the five week period.
I would definitely recommend to students that they strongly consider taking a summer class or a whole semester at Harlaxton. It is a wonderful experience. If anyone has questions, please contact me at knelson@western.edu.
Here's to a future class in England!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Well, the trip to London was fantastic, as you might expect. We did have a slight hiccup in our travels as one student missed the shuttle from the manor. We barely made the train as we waited a little bit for her. It was quite the learning experience as she had to figure out her way from the manor to the train station and then on to Kings Cross. She arrived about 40 minutes after we did and we were on our way. It turned out ok as several of the students waited in line to have their picture taken at Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter fans know about this famous platform). Picture of Platform 9 3/4 below.
We took the "Big Bus" tour around London and saw many of the wonderful sites that London has to offer. This was a really cursory visit as we didn't have a ton of time to see, in detail, everything that London has to offer. It would take several days to make your way around London and see anything even close to what is offered. It is a beautiful, old city and we loved seeing the new buildings introduced into some areas around town. There are also a couple of pictures below of some of the sights.
The next two days of class were spent going over material related to the sociology and economics of tourism. These are quite fascinating topics and that much more so after being tourists ourselves in London.
On Wednesday some of the class went to Sherwood Forest. I have a picture or two there as well. It was a beautiful forest with some trees as old as 1000 years. They were beautiful, gnarly old oaks and you could just see the people from Robin Hood's time out and about. Today, Thursday, was a day off for the students given that we had travelled so much. Honestly, they needed a day off before they took off on travels again. This weekend students are heading to destinations such as Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and Spain.
Next week is a quick one and not much fun. :) We have regular class on Monday and Tuesday and then the final exam on Wednesday. I can't believe it is almost over. Some students will then head out on a school sponsored trip to Paris for a few days while others will travel independently all over Europe. It will be great fun.
We took the "Big Bus" tour around London and saw many of the wonderful sites that London has to offer. This was a really cursory visit as we didn't have a ton of time to see, in detail, everything that London has to offer. It would take several days to make your way around London and see anything even close to what is offered. It is a beautiful, old city and we loved seeing the new buildings introduced into some areas around town. There are also a couple of pictures below of some of the sights.
The next two days of class were spent going over material related to the sociology and economics of tourism. These are quite fascinating topics and that much more so after being tourists ourselves in London.
On Wednesday some of the class went to Sherwood Forest. I have a picture or two there as well. It was a beautiful forest with some trees as old as 1000 years. They were beautiful, gnarly old oaks and you could just see the people from Robin Hood's time out and about. Today, Thursday, was a day off for the students given that we had travelled so much. Honestly, they needed a day off before they took off on travels again. This weekend students are heading to destinations such as Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and Spain.
Next week is a quick one and not much fun. :) We have regular class on Monday and Tuesday and then the final exam on Wednesday. I can't believe it is almost over. Some students will then head out on a school sponsored trip to Paris for a few days while others will travel independently all over Europe. It will be great fun.
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| Well, pretty cool that they have the suitcase, cage, and trolley set up to appear like it is part way through the wall. |
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| Big Ben (the clock) on top of Elizabeth Tower along with the Parliament Building. |
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| Piccadilly Circus (circus in this situation is from circle and you can see the rounded buildings. |
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| One of the big oak trees in Sherwood Forest. My wife is standing in front of the tree...she is 6'2". |
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| The "Major Oak" which is believe to be over 1000 years old. Wouldn't have been this "major" in the times of Robin Hood, but they likely had a tree or some meeting place within the forest. |
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Tuesday this week was the mid-term exam...what? I can't believe we are halfway through. It will fly from here on out. Wednesday we didn't have regular class, but rather took a field trip to the birthplace and homestead of Sir Isaac Newton. It was relatively small, but his home is still there (with some refurbishment) and some other buildings. They also provide some science education along with the expected tours and historical information. It was pretty neat. I will include some pictures below.
As we talked about this, related to tourism, it was interesting to note the various places that would be of interest to different age groups. There was a kids center where they could do things that were related to science. There were also "experiments" that could be of interest to people of all ages.
Thursday we talked about the psychology of tourism. Why do people travel and see what they see? Many of the students are gone this weekend on extended trips. We have students from the class who are in Iceland, London, Ireland, Brussels, etc. We even took a day back in York so I could show my wife around (she loved it, too). We will talk more next week about why the students chose those specific locations. There are lots of relatively inexpensive places to visit in Europe. Why did they chose the countries listed above. It will be interesting to hear their thoughts.
No regular class on Monday as we travel to London. Stay tuned for more pictures and dialogue about that great city.
As we talked about this, related to tourism, it was interesting to note the various places that would be of interest to different age groups. There was a kids center where they could do things that were related to science. There were also "experiments" that could be of interest to people of all ages.
Thursday we talked about the psychology of tourism. Why do people travel and see what they see? Many of the students are gone this weekend on extended trips. We have students from the class who are in Iceland, London, Ireland, Brussels, etc. We even took a day back in York so I could show my wife around (she loved it, too). We will talk more next week about why the students chose those specific locations. There are lots of relatively inexpensive places to visit in Europe. Why did they chose the countries listed above. It will be interesting to hear their thoughts.
No regular class on Monday as we travel to London. Stay tuned for more pictures and dialogue about that great city.
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| Some of the class outside of the home. |
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| The famous apple tree. And no, it wasn't an apple hitting Newton on the head that got him thinking more about gravity. |
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| Most of the Western group outside the entrance to the property. |
Monday, June 1, 2015
And another quick one to note that our other three students gave their destination presentations today. We heard about the following:
Tomorrow is the midterm exam...wow, are we about halfway through already?
- Austria
- Iceland
- Norway
Tomorrow is the midterm exam...wow, are we about halfway through already?
Well, the weekend was wonderful and full of adventure. Friday was the trip to York (my personal favorite), Saturday we journeyed to Cambridge, and Sunday we again rode a bus but this time to Lincoln. All three are beautiful, old cities that were very enjoyable.
York was the furthest away and we spent two hours on the bus going and returning. The countryside is nice and green with a church steeple almost everywhere you look. The cathedrals in all of these town are spectacular and beautiful. They are so very old and wonderful. One of the best places is a walking street called the "Shambles." This is an obsolete term for an open air slaughterhouse and meat market. It's not used for that anymore, but it is very neat. It will remind some of the depictions of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.
Next was Cambridge. There are 31 colleges that make up the University of Cambridge. The school recently celebrated its 800 year anniversary...amazing. Unfortunately, many of the main colleges we wanted to see were closed to the public because students are taking exams. Cambridge was also the city of bikes. Wow, I've never seen so many. And you had to watch where they were or it could be pretty easy to get hit. The just ding their bells and keep going. Another interesting part of the area around Cambridge was a WWII cemetery that we visited before heading into the town itself. It is the only WWII American cemetery in Great Britain. Over 3000 men/women are buried there and there is also a wall of missing Americans that numbers over 5000. A sobering sight.
Finally, was Lincoln. This town is a bit closer and the cathedral and remains of the castle are pretty neat. They also had a 1940s festival going on and people were dressed in clothes of that age. It was very fun.
It was amazing to all of us the number of people who were out and about in all of these cities. It wasn't so surprising for Cambridge and Lincoln (since it was the weekend), but York was very busy with lots of people just hanging out, shopping, and walking around. It made me wonder if people work. ;)
Well, here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy.
YORK
CAMBRIDGE
York was the furthest away and we spent two hours on the bus going and returning. The countryside is nice and green with a church steeple almost everywhere you look. The cathedrals in all of these town are spectacular and beautiful. They are so very old and wonderful. One of the best places is a walking street called the "Shambles." This is an obsolete term for an open air slaughterhouse and meat market. It's not used for that anymore, but it is very neat. It will remind some of the depictions of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.
Next was Cambridge. There are 31 colleges that make up the University of Cambridge. The school recently celebrated its 800 year anniversary...amazing. Unfortunately, many of the main colleges we wanted to see were closed to the public because students are taking exams. Cambridge was also the city of bikes. Wow, I've never seen so many. And you had to watch where they were or it could be pretty easy to get hit. The just ding their bells and keep going. Another interesting part of the area around Cambridge was a WWII cemetery that we visited before heading into the town itself. It is the only WWII American cemetery in Great Britain. Over 3000 men/women are buried there and there is also a wall of missing Americans that numbers over 5000. A sobering sight.
Finally, was Lincoln. This town is a bit closer and the cathedral and remains of the castle are pretty neat. They also had a 1940s festival going on and people were dressed in clothes of that age. It was very fun.
It was amazing to all of us the number of people who were out and about in all of these cities. It wasn't so surprising for Cambridge and Lincoln (since it was the weekend), but York was very busy with lots of people just hanging out, shopping, and walking around. It made me wonder if people work. ;)
Well, here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy.
YORK
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| One of the gates to the city. You can walk along the wall by going up the steps on the right. |
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| This is Diagon Alley...I mean the Shambles. |
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| A view of the cathedral over the homes and cobblestone street. |
CAMBRIDGE
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| Entrance to the cemetery |
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| One of the angles down the rows. |
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| They call these little boats "punts." It was amusing to watch people try to drive the punts while watching the guides who had some experience wind their way through the maze. |
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| Much of the group around the circle church in Cambridge |
LINCOLN
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| The cathedral. Grand! |
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| Maybe the largest stain glass window I've ever seen. Very intricate. |
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| Inside the castle walls. |
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Today nine of the 12 students gave what I call their "destination presentations." The other three will go on Monday. These presentations are regarding countries that the students may interested in visiting. Some of the students will actually travel to these countries before they head back to the United States. We learned about the following countries or areas today:
Most of the students in the class will be visiting York, Cambridge, and Lincoln (not Nebraska) over the next three days. One student is on her way to Spain (Barcelona). It will be very interesting to talk about our experiences come Monday morning. Safe travels, everyone!
Many pictures to come over the weekend or early next week.
- The Caribbean
- Ireland
- Italy
- Germany
- Mexico
- Nepal
- Poland
- Scotland
- Spain
Most of the students in the class will be visiting York, Cambridge, and Lincoln (not Nebraska) over the next three days. One student is on her way to Spain (Barcelona). It will be very interesting to talk about our experiences come Monday morning. Safe travels, everyone!
Many pictures to come over the weekend or early next week.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Many of the students stay in the carriage house, picture below, while most of the faculty stay on the third floor, or blue floor, of the manor. I travel up 68 steps to get to my floor from the main floor of the manor. I think my legs are getting stronger. I have a picture of the carriage house below. I am also posting a picture of our classroom. Doesn't get any better than this!
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