In the second week of classes here in Bologna, we finished the first class, EDES 301. We ended the course by creating a final project with real-world applications using Arduino. Each group had its idea, but my group chose to construct an alarm system with different capabilities, such as a built-in alarm system, an LCD screen, and a motion detector. Overall, I greatly enjoyed EDES 301. I found it a very insightful introduction and an overall enjoyable course.
Project: Alarm System
This week, we also did a class trip to Florence, traversing the city for museums and other monuments. I explored local churches and parks similar to those in Bologna. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best; it was cold for the entirety of the day and rained for parts of the day. Overall, it was a great city to visit, but it was not my favorite. It ranks in the lower half of the cities I have visited.
During the weekend, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Dolomites in Northern Italy, part of the Alps mountain range. I started by taking a 4 am bus from Bologna to a city that acted as the central hub for transportation into and out of the Dolomites called Bolzano, a lovely city. I took another bus to Karersee and hiked the surrounding terrain for the day. It was a wonderful place where I managed to camp overnight. This location was a great experience, but it did get cold at night, making it difficult to sleep.
The following morning, I made another trip to Ortisei, another secluded town hidden in the mountains. Here, I spent most of the day hiking in the area of Seceda. I thoroughly enjoyed this solo trip to the Dolomites; I highly recommend everyone take at least one trip to this part of Italy.
This week was a great conclusion to the first class here in Bologna. It also contained my favorite part of the trip. I can’t wait for the remaining part of this trip, taking MECH 203 with Dr. Trevas and exploring parts of Italy!