Decorah, Iowa

Decorah, Iowa

A few days ago I saw an article on Yahoo listing the “most beautiful” college campuses.  It got me thinking about my college campus, Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa.  While certainly not the “most beautiful” it is a very pretty campus.

Most people think of Iowa as being flat and boring.  Most of the state is flat, including my hometown, Osage.  But northeastern Iowa is not flat.  While there are no mountains, the hills are very pretty, especially in the fall season. 

Luther College’s fall colors

Brandt Hall, where I lived my freshman and sophomore years

Pictured below is Olson Hall, where I lived my junior and senior years, except for when I was away student-teaching.  This hall was controversial since men and women both lived there, on separate floors.  Now I understand that some colleges let men and women room together!  Not Luther College, however.

 

Two more campus photos:

Decorah is a small city with a population of less than 10,000 but there are a variety of things to do in the area besides visiting Luther College.  One of the places to visit in Decorah is Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  Vesterheim is America’s oldest and largest museum devoted to one immigrant group and comprises of a complex of 15 historic buildings, costumes, furniture, decorations, and fine arts reflective of Norwegian immigrant life.  

Nearby, in Burr Oak, is the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.  Period clothing and furnishings are displayed in the former hotel and childhood home of the Little House books’ author.

Also near Decorah, in Winneshiek County, is Spillville, an old-world Czechoslovakian village.  A collection of hand-carved musical clocks made by the Bily brothers are housed in the 1893 summer home of Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak.  An organ used by Dvorak resides in St. Wenceslaus Church.

See, you don’t have to take my word for it.  In fact, just writing this blog has made me homesick for Iowa in the fall!