1. Understanding Europe- A Cultural Mosaic By: Ms. Refkin

2. Western Europe Austria, Switzerland, and France

3. Western Europe- Rest Stop One beauty that Austria is known for is it’s spectacular rose gardens. There are over 800 types of roses in these gardens. The months to visit these gardens are May through July. There are many events that occur in the rose gardens including weddings, family gatherings, and other celebrations.

4. Volkspark

5. Austrian Roses

6. Western Europe- Rest Stop Vienna has been known for its musical influence across the world, and throughout history. It has been home to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Strauss. These amazing composers have influenced many musical greats. Today, Vienna houses the Philharmonic orchestra, along with many other musical events. Vienna is considered to be a center of musical innovation. Composers were drawn to the city making Vienna the European capital of classical music.

7. Austrian National Opera house

8. Vienna Hofburg Orchestra

9. Western Europe- Rest Stop The Eiffel Tower is noted as the most recognized European monument worldwide. The tower was built in remembrance for the French Revolution and greeted visitors to the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. Today it is the most visited monument in the world. Fireworks can be seen spouting from the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day (July 14th). Bastille Day is a celebration of the French Revolution.

10. Eiffel Tower

11. Eiffel Tower - View From the Top

12. Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day

13. Eiffel Tower at Night

14. Western Europe- Rest Stop When England and France decided to connect their two countries with a 32-mile rail tunnel beneath the English Channel, engineers were faced with a huge challenge. Not only would they have to build one of the longest tunnels in the world; they would have to ensure public safety in a tunnel this size. $21 billion dollars later, the Chunnel has connected over 40 million passengers from France to England and remains to be one of the greatest engineering feats of modern time. A journey through the tunnel takes about 20 minutes on a high speed train traveling at 186 mph. It took 1500 workers 7 years to complete the tunnel.

15. The Chunnel

16. The Chunnel’s Course

17. A Eurostar Train

18. Did you know our Statue of Liberty has a sister?

19. Western Europe- Rest Stop Switzerland maintains a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This means that Switzerland takes no side in wars and in return hopes to avoid attacks. This background allows Switzerland to host various international organizations such as the United Nations. The UN is headquartered in New York, but has many departments in Switzerland. The safety, security, and beauty of the country help promote tourism.

20. The UN Building in Geneva

21. The Matterhorn

22. The Swiss Alps