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Study Abroad in Breda, the
Netherlands
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Breda
Breda is home to our sister
institution, the Hogeschool Brabant, and the Netherlands Royal Military
Academy. The International Business School Breda of the Hogeschool
Brabant has been recognized by the newspaper Brabant Noord Holland De Stem
as the outstanding business program in the Netherlands. Classes take
place at the Hogeschool and housing is provided in the Hogeschool's student
apartments. Breda was the place of exile in the Netherlands of
Britain's Charles II (North and South Carolina are named for his father) and
formed a base for Spanish occupation of the Netherlands during the Thirty
Years War. Fortifications and canals from this period still dot the
cityscape.
Western also offers a semester
abroad program in business at the Hogeschool. Students who complete a
full year at the Hogeschool, including instruction in the Dutch language, can
receive dual degrees. English is the language of instruction at the
Hogeschool.
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The centerpiece of
this historic city is the 100 meter tall tower of the famous Grotekircke,
begun in the fourteenth century. The interior is used for major
cultural events as well as worship services. The church's outstanding
artistic gem is an early medieval fresco of the annunciation.
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The city is
guarded by an equestrian statue of William III of the Netherlands and Great
Britain. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, James II fled England, and
the British Parliament invited his daughter and her husband, Princess Mary
and Prince William of Orange to assume the British throne.
Parliament's offer was conditional on William and Mary's consent to the
British Bill of Rights. The College of William and Mary in Virginia
is named for this king and queen. The Netherlands was a republic at
this time, and included modern Belgium. William III was not king of
the Netherlands, but Stadtholder, or head of the government. The
Netherlands Royal Military Academy is behind the statue.
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Amsterdam
The capital of the
Netherlands, and one of the most exciting and attractive cities of Europe,
features scenic canals, historic churches, museums, and palaces. We
visited the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank Museum, and enjoyed a cruise on
the canals and the Amstel River.
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Anne Frank's
statue is near the warehouse where she and her family and a few others hid
from the Nazis during World War II. They were betrayed late in the
war and only Otto Frank, Anne's father, survived. He had her diary
published as a memorial to her and it has inspired millions over the
years.
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The Rijksmuseum is
the national museum of the Netherlands. It features Rembrandt's
revolutionary "Night Watch" as well as many other paintings by
that artist and Jan Vermeer van Delft. A branch museum is devoted entirely
to the impressionist Vincent Van Gogh. Left to right: Theressa Owens,
Kevin Rink, and Heather Medd.
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Paris
The capital of France
features numerous historic attractions, including the Louvre, the home of the
kings of France for nearly one thousand years, today one of the world's
largest and most spectacular art museums, the cathedral of Notre Dame on the
Ile de la Cite, the Madelaine or church of St. Mary Magdeline, the Assemblee
National, the Opera or Palais Garnier, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Sacre
Coeur or church of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, the Dome of the Invalides
where Napoleon I is buried, and of course, the Tour Eiffel. Highlights
included a Seine river cruise and a trip to the top of the sixty-story Tour
Montparnasse, the tallest office building in Europe.
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The 300 meter Tour
Eiffel is named for its designer, the civil engineer Gustave Eiffel.
One of history's great engineers, he designed many bridges and the internal
structure for the Statue of Liberty.
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Our party relaxes
in a bistro near the Palais Garnier, of Phantom of the Opera
fame. Left to right: Marcy Boone, Heather Medd, Theressa Owens, Kevin
Rink, and Brad Northington.
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A view from the
millenium ferris wheel. The gold dome is the chapel of the Hotel des
Invalides, once a veterans' hospital. Napoleon I is buried under the
dome. The twelve-columned building is the Assemblee National, housing
the national legislature of France.
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Our Parisienne
home away from home, the palatial Hotel Abadi.
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A view from the
sixty story Tour Montparnasse, the tallest office building in Europe.
The new development of La Defense is visible behind the Tour Eiffel.
The Seine appears as a green line of trees that cuts through the city left
to right. The Invalides is prominent with its gold dome.
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Rotterdam
The largest and busiest city
in the Netherlands is also the busiest port in the world. Our day trip
included a harbour cruise and a walking tour of the downtown area.
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In front of
Rotterdam's Radhuis or city hall. Left to right: Kevin Rink, Theressa
Owens, Brad Northington, Marcy Boone, and Heather Medd.
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Rotterdam is the
largest and busiest container port in the world.
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Brussels
The capital of Belgium hosts
the headquarters of the European Union, NATO, and UNESCO. Other
historic sites include the Place de Ville with its medieval guildhalls, the
Palais de Justice, and Palais Royale. This tri-lingual kingdom includes
French, Dutch, and German-speaking groups.
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Christopher Yeager
of Nielson Market Research in front of the Palais Royale.
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Cologne
One of the oldest cities in
Germany, once capital of the Roman province of Colonnia Germania, Cologne -
Koeln in German - features major museums for art and Roman-era archeology,
and the Stollwerk chocolate museum on the Rhine river. Our day trip
will also feature a Rhine cruise.
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Cologne is
dominated by the nearly 200 meter twin towers of the Koelner Dom, or
Cologne cathedral. Begun in the thirteenth century to replace Gross
St Martin, an ancient romanesque church which still stands, and to house
the shrine of the three kings, the cathedral was not completed until
1880. It was the tallest building in the world until the Washington
monument was completed. Maintenence and repair are ongoing.
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Heinekin
Brewery We visited
Heinekin's largest brewing facility which produces Heinekin and Amstel beers
for European sale.
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Inside the
brewery. Left to right: Theressa Owens, Marcy Boone, Professor Bob
Mulligan, Professor Dominique Moisi of the Hogeschool Brabant, Brad
Northington, Kevin Rink, Heather Medd, and Professor Bert Nous of the
Hogeschool Brabant.
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Outside the
brewery. Left to right: Brad Northington, Marcy Boone, Kevin Rink,
Theressa Owens, Professor Bob Mulligan, and Heather Medd.
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Phillip
Morris We visited
Phillip Morris's facility for producing cigarettes for sale to Belgium, the
Netherlands, France, Germany, and Italy. Because each EU country has
different taxation systems, cigarettes have to be packaged and
revenue-stamped in a special manner for each destination country.
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Left to right:
Professor Dominique Moisi of the Hogeschool Brabant, Heather Medd,
Professor Bert Nous of the Hogeschool Brabant, Kevin Rink, and Brad
Northington.
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