Welcome to Day 2 of our World War II journey in Europe! Currently, we are still in London, enjoying the British accents, diverse meals, and the crowded Underground stations that are all around us. With a good night’s rest and a ‘traditional’ English breakfast, the group was more then ready in the morning and rearing to tackle the events that were planned for us.

The day began with a bus tour around the city, an activity that some of the students were thrilled about, which gave them the extra time to aid their sore feet from the day before (its always a bad idea to wear sandals and heels in the city, guys!) while still getting the chance to get around and see the sights. Some of these historic and popular sights included Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the clock tower itself Big Ben. Once the bus tour with our tour guide Stuart was done with, we were then able to get off the bus and see these landmarks in person, getting up close and personal and getting the chance to do some photo opportunities. One activity that the group was rather excited about was visiting the Winston Churchill War Rooms exhibit. This exhibit was a walk around the underground rooms in which British officials occupied during World War II. Each student was given an audio phone, allowing him or her to go the pace they wanted to go, while listening to detailed information on each room that they came across.

Afterwards, we were all given sweet, sweet free time. This free time also gave us the chance to go where we pleased, some actually getting the chance to go into Westminster Abbey, climb Saint Paul’s, discover dinosaurs at the National History Museum and trek around Tower of London. Everyone came back with a feeling of accomplishment, those happy with the choices they made and the fact they didn’t get lost once on the Underground system. We all regrouped soon after for a delicious Indian-styled dinner, which consisted of white rice, vegetables, and chicken with curry.

The highlight of the day, in my opinion, was the Jack the Ripper tour. While some students opted out in order to view more of London in which they wanted to see, the majority of us were reunited with bus tour guide Stuart, and went out in the evening to learn about the legendary Jack the Ripper himself. While the idea that Jack was never caught for the horrendous murders he committed (so not going into detail on those…) is creepy and brings the hairs on your arms to a stand, the most interesting part of the tour was actually seeing the vast developments of the City of London during the time of 1886, compared to the City now in 2010. While being brought to the different locations where the heinous crimes were committed, we were also shown the actual buildings and looks that London was known to have looked like back in the days of Jack the Ripper. The busy, moneymaking London that we toured earlier in the day was nothing compared to the spooky, closed-in, close-together roads that we were taken through during the evening. It was no wonder London 1886 was in such a fright during the reign of Jack the Ripper, where no forensics, experience and thought of investigation were even thought of. They really had no idea what to do, or how to solve the crimes, which left five women literally slaughtered in the middle of the streets. Imagining if Jack the Ripper committed these crimes in this day and age, perhaps the outcome and actual catching of the man would have come up much differently. The fact that we will never know who Jack the Ripper was is what brings so much thought onto the subject.

As of right now, 11:20PM, most of the students are coming back from their free time and getting settled into their rooms. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, where we leave London and head for the city of Portsmouth in Southern England. From there, we will be visiting a few World War II museums, playing a round of bowling, and boarding the ferry that will take us across the English Channel and into Normandy. More to come on that later… Cheers!

Hello, and welcome to London, England! Well, digitally for you, the viewer. My name is Mary Harvey, a senior at Flagler College and I will be blogging and keeping all of those curious and worried parents, plus those of you who just so happened to stumble across this blog, informed on what we will and have been doing during this two week long trip around World War II Europe.

The current time in London at the moment is 11:35PM. Needless to say, the group and myself are incredibly exhausted from our long trips over the pond in order to reach the surprisingly not so foggy skies of London. For some of us, our mornings began at 4AM on Thursday, the group meeting each other at JAX so we could make our 6:15AM connecting flight into Chicago.

Soon after arriving at O’Hare, Dr Butler and his group of travelers embarked on a city tour courtesy of EF Tours, the whole gang piling into a great red trolle

y (reminds you a little bit of good ol’ Saint Augustine?) and quickly made our way into the city. We were shown the popular landmarks of the Windy City, sights such as Wrigley Stadium, Soldier Stadium, and the largest skyscraper in the United States – the Sears Tower. For most of us spending our first time in Chicago, a good amount of us took the challenge to climb up into the to

wer and its 193 stories. Here we saw scenic views of Chicago’s many buildings, and the gorgeous turquoise blue waters of Lake Michigan. We stopped for grub shortly afterwards, most of the group choosing the food that Chicago is mostly known for… pizza! It was nothing short of amazing, something I’m sure everyone on the trip could back me up on.

After the side trip into the city, Dr Butler and his group found themselves back in O’Hare airport, ready to board the 4:00PM flight to London Heathrow. Minus the few minor bumps and turbulence, the flight went extremely well and had no problems while traveling its 3500 miles. The group arrived 50 minutes ahead of schedule at Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport known in Europe. With an arrival time of 5:05AM, we quickly went through customs and parked ourselves in the terminal in order to wait for the Dr. Riggs half of the group, who departed not too long after us from Washington, D.C., and our Welsh tour guide, Margaret. Soon enough, all 42 students were together, and piled onto a coach to be taken through downtown London and to our luxurious hotel, known as the Premium Docklands Inn located near the DRL line of the London Underground system.

With most of the students experiencing their first time over in London, they were taken back by how different the atmosphere ran in London compared to our laid back city of Saint Augustine. With London being fast paced, it only meant that we had to speed ourselves up along with it. Unfortunately running out of time to witness a guard change at Buckingham Palace, we visited the landmark and took many pictures, even spotting a few bobbies palace guards on duty and keeping their post. Our travels in London continued on from there, where we visited tourist hotspots such as Piccadilly Circus, and Leicester Square. For those parents worrying about their child’s diets, we had a very delicious dinner at a restaurant called Hummus Bros. There we were served hummus with spicy chicken, with a range of pita bread, carrots, and tortilla chips. For dessert, a special kind of flan was given out; both earning mixed reviews from the tired travelers.

From then, we are now here. At this moment, I am sure that many of the students are passed out in their rooms, sleeping off the jet lag that is always a pain to tear away. The rest will be needed tomorrow however, considering we have yet another scheduled tour during our last full day in London, landmarks including the famous Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. More to come later, so visit back soon!

(St. Augustine, Fla.) — On June 6, 1944, the climactic battle of World War II took place on the beaches of Normandy, France. Winston Churchill referred to it as “The most difficult and complicated operation ever to take place,” and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his “Order of the Day” speech, said “Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

On Thursday, June 4, two Flagler College history professors, Dr. Michael Butler and Dr. Wayne Riggs, will land in London with 41 Flagler students to begin a two-week journey through Europe as a continuation of two World War II history courses they are offering this summer. One course looks at the war from the British perspective and the other focuses upon the American experience during the “Good War.” The highlight of the tour, according to Butler, will be the crossing of the English Channel from Portsmouth to Normandy, France, on June 6, the 66th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

“The tour follows the same path that the Allies followed throughout Europe from the American arrival in England through the liberation of Berlin,” Butler said. “The tour provides the unique opportunity of visiting the places we have actually studied during the course, which makes the past come alive for our students.”

While in London, the students will visit the Imperial War Museum, which serves as an active memorial to those who died during the World Wars, but has since added to its collection from conflicts of the 20th century to the present.

They will also visit the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, where Churchill and his cabinet worked during World War II. From London, the group will take the night ferry and transfer to Portsmouth, the headquarters of the British Navy for 500 years. It was from here that allied troops set sail to invade France on June 6, 1944.

The students will visit the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth before boarding the night ferry.

They will disembark in Caen, France, the historic town where intense fighting took place during the battle of Normandy, and from there they will head to the historic Normandy region, arriving at the beaches that witnessed D-Day.

“In Normandy, we will visit Omaha Beach,” Butler said. “This location is where the worst fighting of WWII took place. We will then move on to Pointe du Hoc – the 320-foot cliff scaled by American troops to secure German fortifications on Omaha – and we will visit the American cemetery at Normandy.”

Rouen, Paris, is the next stop on their itinerary, where students will visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumphe, and many other Parisian landmarks. After the visit to Paris, the Flagler group will move on to Ardennes, France, where the Battle of the Bulge took place – one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. There is a 90-acre cemetery in Ardennes that contains the gravesites of those who died during the battle.

In addition, they will have the opportunity to view a reenactment of the battle where they will see the conflict unfold from both the German and American perspectives at two reconstruction scenes – complete with weapons, uniforms and other military paraphernalia.

The trip will culminate with a week in Germany, where the group will visit Berlin, Nuremburg, and Hitler’s infamous Eagle’s Nest in Strausburg.

What will be a somber part of the trip, but an important time in history, the Flagler students will visit Dachau, a WWII Nazi concentration camp built in 1935 and liberated by the Allies in April 1945. It now serves as a memorial museum to the lives lost in Dachau.

The tour will end in Munich, Germany.

“After we visit Dachau, the visit to Munich will certainly lift the students’ spirits, as I know that visiting the concentration camp will be a very somber – yet crucial – part of the trip,” Butler said.

One of the unique aspects of the trip is that a student will post a daily blog that documents the trip from her perspective. The blog is accessible through the Flagler College website and promises to give remarkable insight to the class experience.

Butler and Riggs hope to make an overseas trip a part of one history class they teach every summer at Flagler, as it provides what Riggs calls “a high-impact learning experience” for Flagler students. The World War II experience is the largest study abroad trip that Flagler College has ever sponsored.