Traveling of any kind is always a grand adventure. I work from the premise that the more you know about your destination the more you will enjoy your trip. But how does one learn to prepare adequately and then actually travel on one's own? For Allegheny students, one way to start is the Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning (ACCEL) travel seminars. Over the past few years, students have been able to choose seminars going to such destinations as China, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Germany, Greece, London, New York City, Paris, Poland, South Africa, Ukraine, and Yellowstone National Park.

In May 2004 economics professor Antoni Moskwa and I took a group of nineteen students on a three-week ACCEL travel seminar titled "Traveling in the Liberal Arts Tradition: Berlin, Leipzig, Warsaw, and Prague." In Germany, Peter Ensberg of Allegheny's modern and classical languages department helped coordinate and lead the trip. Also, for the six days in Germany, we had the distinct pleasure of having President Richard Cook and his wife, Terry Lahti, travel with us. They participated in every one of the group activities and established some lasting friendships with students and faculty alike—and, as detailed shortly, Dr. Cook was of great help when the group arrived at Großbothen.

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