‘Olympic Quest 2013’ Category


We are 30 students and 2 instructors (Aaron Banks and Mary Joos) embarking on a journey to discover the world of the Ancient and Modern Olympic games. Through on-campus study, guest-lecturing experts, and travel to Greece, Italy, Austria, and Germany, we hope to enlighten ourselves with the knowledge and ideals of this great cultural phenomenon – The Olympics.


Coming Home

As we leave Atlanta on the final leg of our journey, reflection comes naturally.  There are many ways to “count” this trip and experience. Days: 17 Busses: 5, one with a broken window Countries: 4, well 5 if you count Vatican City Miles: Countless.  You’d have to ask Demitri or Franz or one of our […]

Closing Ceremonies

Well… Today was our final full day in Europe, and as Gustavus suggests, we made our lives count. The day started out with us meeting our tour guide for the day Heidi. While Heidi was not the most fleet of foot she was sweet and knowledgable. She reminded many of us of our own dear […]

Dachau: A Day We Will Never Forget

This  morning we had the luxury of sleeping in for a few more hours or to go out and explore the city of Munich, the third largest city in Germany. While out shopping and walking, we stumbled upon the Marinplatz, which gets its name from Mary’s Column in the middle of the square. We saw […]

Living Life…Bavarian Style!

We woke up to a snowy morning in Mittenwald. The bus arrived around 8AM to bring us to Garmisch. Our bus driver, Franz, a German-Italian, brought us to the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics ski jumps. Everyone was pretty excited to be able to get so close to the actual jumps and be able […]

3 Countries in One Day!!

  Today was one for the books, not many people can say they’ve been to 3 countries in one day that’s for sure! We were up about normal time for this trip, which is early by most of our standards.  We packed up, left the hotel and boarded our boat for the mainland.  After our […]

The Sun Will Come Out…. In Venice!

For those who missed and/or slept through their wake-up call, a second was provided by a local cathedral; at 7:45 this morning, the bells rang out 68 times, ensuring we were all awake and ready for the day! However, we didn’t mind at all… We opened our curtains to reveal a beautiful blue sky and […]

Goodbye Florence, Hello Venice!

Today we were given the opportunity to go explore a few museums or stroll the streets in Florence. The two museums we visited were the Galleria dell’Accademia and Uffizi Gallery. Galleria dell’Accademia is best known for the world renowned David, by Michelangelo. The David was commissioned by the Florence Republic in 1501 and completed in 1504. The inspiration behind […]

Tuscany, Synonymous with Wine

This morning we departed from Rome,Italy for Tuscany, where Pinocchio was created … and wine. The three days in Rome flew by from visiting the Colosseum to the Vatican and plenty of shopping along the way it’s been three days well spent. We loaded the pockets of plenty of street vendors who bombarded us with […]

Roaming in Rome!

Today marks our third and final day in Rome.  After yesterday’s jam-packed day that included visiting Vatican City and the Coliseum, we were given the day to explore Rome on our own.  Some people used this opportunity to shop in Rome’s Spanish Steps area while others visited famous landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain.  This […]

When In Rome…..

Today was our first full day in the beautiful city of Rome, and it was packed with a ton of culture and sight seeing. We started the day off by visiting the Olympic Complex of the 1960 Summer Olympics. We saw, what is now, the rugby stadium as well as the the Olympic stadium which […]