Some of the Many, Many, Many Pictures I Took in Europe
These are pictures taken during my stay with host families for 4 weeks.
Sweden - Texture
I love the way the water looks contrasted with the rusted metal and sharp wood.
Sweden - Rowing the boat ashore
There were hundreds of islands just minutes away from the home I stayed in near Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. This is a picture I took from the boat while my friend navigated through the sharp rocks at the coast of a nearby island.
Sweden - On an Island
A few of the children from my host family look over the island we visited.
Switzerland - The Alps
Words cannot describe.
Switzerland - Underground
This was inside one of the mountains through an ice tunnel.
Switzerland - Dog Peeking
I went with my host family to a puppy training session, this is one dog with its owner after an hour of play.
Switzerland - Dogs Playing
Two puppies learn to interact with eachother inside a ball pit.
France - A Corner Bakery
Because I stayed with families in Basil, Switzerland, we traveled often to France and Germany, as they were merely 10 minutes driving distance. This is me, in a real French restaurant in Alsace, France.
France - A Typical Home
Proof that I was indeed in France. Many homes in this region have similar architecture (wooden braces that show through) and decorative flags.
Germany - Hawk in Flight
This was taken at a bird show in a wildlife sanctuary in southern Germany.
Switzerland - Lunch
I ate outside for nearly every meal I ate in Switzerland. This was one of the family's I stayed with.
Germany - Ruffled Feathers
An uncomfortable parrot also at the wildlife sanctuary.
Germany - Primate
I feel this is the most interesting picture I took all summer. The monkey and the young child seem to have the same look on their faces. Proof of evolution?
Switzerland - Golden Retrievers
One of my host families brought their two identical golden retrievers along for a walk through a valley in Eastern Switzerland.
Switzerland - Rhine River
The view from one of several restaurants hung over the Rhine River.
Switzerland - Mother and Child
A baby swan hitches a ride with its mother...too cute!
The following are all pictures from the last 2 weeks of my trip during the Lions Club Camp in Switzerland. There were 30 campers from 19 different countries. We lived in a former monastary, the Kartause Intengen, that was transformed into a youth hostel.
Vineyard
One of the vineyards besdie the monastary. We walked up this hill (nearly 300 cement steps) every day to see this view.
Bear
Swiss folklore says that on the first hunt in this area, a bear was the first animal caught and consequently saved the settlers from starving. They named the area Bern because of it, and it is now the capital of Switzerland. This bear lives along with others in a small pit in the center of the city.
Washing Clothes
The monastary did not have basic appliances such as washing machines, so we washed our clothes in buckets outside. This is Jackie, another American, and Soren from Denmark learning how to wash clothes by hand.
Jean Wringing
Triin from Estonia and Chelsea from Canada try to wring the water from their jeans.
Double Use
Triin does a double take when she walks outside and sees her jeans hanging from what was formerly a coat-hanger.
Bike Tour
One day a Lions Club rented out bikes for all of us and we took a velo tour through eastern Switzerland. This is me, Hannah from Norway, Suzy from the Netherlands, and Luis from Portugal afterwards.
Carrying of the Torches
August 1st, Swiss National Day, we all went to a festival nearby. Keeping with tradition, we joined in the townspeople (in what resembled a peasant revolt) carrying lit torches through the streets.
Hanna
Hanna from Finland carries her torch, proudly wearing a t-shirt with the Swiss cross.
Building the Bonfire
At the end, we all threw in our torches toward a stack of dry branches over 50 feet high. Nadia from Canada throws in her torch.
The Fire
The bonfire was controlled, but we all kept our distance anyway.
Giant Chess Set
Courteney, another American from California, bided most of her time playing chess with the giant set we had at the monastary.
Swiss Cow
Switzerland is famous for cows. They are very calm animals; this one let me get fairly close to take its picture.
Dessert
Suzy from the Netherlands and Soren from Denmark looks over the dessert that 6 of us ordered from a restaurant nearby the Kartause Intengen one night. Both were gone in a matter of minutes.
Donkey
Around the monastary were also stables, one of which was occupied by a donkey that frequently escaped and ran loose through the courtyard.
Ducks
Our monastary also had a duck pond. The ducklings would eat bread straight out of your palm.
Henna Tattoos
Ankit from India brought with him a tube of Henna, all-natural plant dye that stains your skin for a week or so. Nadia from Canada was an excellent artist, and she agreed to give all the girls in the camp a temporary tattoo.
Hannah from Norway
Hannah excitedly awaits for her henna tattoo.
Kate from Hungary
Nadia drew this incredibly detailed flower freehand in less than 3 minutes.
Me
Nadia drew this on my back
Iretugal
All of us were forced to give excrutiatingly long and boring presentations about our countries, but Sarah from Ireland and Luis from Portugal made theirs funny and interesting by creating a fictitious country (Ire-tugal) and combining facts from the two. Sarah shows off her fuzzy green viking hat, while Luis wears a half buttoned shirt with plenty of chest hair hanging out.
Rose
I love my camera.
Lighting a Candle
Sarah from Canada lights a prayer candle inside of a church that we visit.
Self-Cleansing Toilet
This toilet in a restaurant nearby not only rinsed out with soap after every flush, but it also had a rotating seat that was wiped with a wet cloth afterwards!!.
And so ends my visit to Switzerland.
[MY PICTURES FROM THE JULIEN C. HYER LIONS CLUB CAMP SUMMER 2002 IN TEXAS]
