Sunday, 23/11/14
Day 5, Berlin - Düsseldorf
Hello parents!
Well, today was a very packed day. After breakfast we all ran up stairs and packed anything we had left to pack, in a rush to be ready for checkout. We rushed to the Hauptbahnhof and caught our train to Düsseldorf just after 10am.
I would be lying if I said we found out seats easily. We all had to walk up many carriages looking like the tourists we were, before we found our allocated area. The train ride was different for everything, but I'm sure we'd all agree that it was relaxing. Some of us listened to music, read, socialised, enjoyed the great scenery, even slept! The train ride was relatively long, with us arriving in Düsseldorf just after 3pm. Feet sore, and desperately needing to stretch, we were greeted by our host families and everyone was taken home to settle in.
From here our experiences differentiate, but I'll just talk about mine. I had an hour or two of relaxing, before we went to a Mexican and Italian all you can eat type resteraunt. After a few bowls of a tasty spaghetti, we went home and I was told when I had to wake up and be ready for school the next day, and then fell asleep well before 10. I was nervous as I had to attend a German school the next day, but a good sleep helped that....... Just a little.
~Troy
Saturday 29 November 2014
Friday 28 November 2014
Saturday, 22/11/14
Day 4, Berlin
Hello Parents!
Today's activities, unlike the last few days' consisted of much less activity and more relaxation. One of the biggest selling points which we were all excited about was the tropical island dome which was a huge environment fully-loaded with a food court, pool and much more. As usual, the start of the day began with breakfast at nine. Soon afterwards, we walked through the cold weather to the station and hopped on a double-decker train!
A certain highlight of the day was learning about the German people's love for soccer through some of the citizen's loud and enthusiastic chants on the train.Yes, a group of people shouted throughout the whole trip and I could see each our passengers cringing on the inside. Though I cannot recount all of the students's activities, most of us attempted to swim in the artificial beach, brave the water slide and dine luxuriously in the food court. At regular intervals, we would encounter each other and exchange new information about this or that attraction. Without a doubt, I believe we were still tired despite the day's supposed relaxing purpose.
Right before our departure from the islands, I, unfortunately, was left behind, because I was, umm … busy. The bus left without me but Mr. Jäckisch and some other kind students returned me safely to the train.
All else is the same for the day, with a casual dinner and a briefing of the day events.
~Harry
Day 4, Berlin
Hello Parents!
Today's activities, unlike the last few days' consisted of much less activity and more relaxation. One of the biggest selling points which we were all excited about was the tropical island dome which was a huge environment fully-loaded with a food court, pool and much more. As usual, the start of the day began with breakfast at nine. Soon afterwards, we walked through the cold weather to the station and hopped on a double-decker train!
A certain highlight of the day was learning about the German people's love for soccer through some of the citizen's loud and enthusiastic chants on the train.Yes, a group of people shouted throughout the whole trip and I could see each our passengers cringing on the inside. Though I cannot recount all of the students's activities, most of us attempted to swim in the artificial beach, brave the water slide and dine luxuriously in the food court. At regular intervals, we would encounter each other and exchange new information about this or that attraction. Without a doubt, I believe we were still tired despite the day's supposed relaxing purpose.
Right before our departure from the islands, I, unfortunately, was left behind, because I was, umm … busy. The bus left without me but Mr. Jäckisch and some other kind students returned me safely to the train.
All else is the same for the day, with a casual dinner and a briefing of the day events.
~Harry
Friday, 21/11/14
Day 3, Berlin
Hello parents!
We rose from our jet-lagged sleep, rubbing our eyes and at the same time checking the time with disbelief. "9 … 9.15?? What?? Everyone, wake up we're late!!" Hahaha! After having half a bowl of cereal, we hurried to the shopping mall where we met our tour guide, Enrico. A 20-foot christmas tree guarded the mall like a king at the entrance and it's star was a bright, brilliant damsel overseeing Hauptbahnhof. Beaut-iful.
Our first destination was the Brandenburg Gate. We took a train (which was designed specifically for the transport of politicians) and were given quizzes of Germany's history. The Brandenberg gate looked so much different during the day. Looking through the gate, we could see a feint, golden statue in the distance, the Victory Column. The view reminded me of the Shrine of Remembrance and the wide, open path dividing the trees.
We travelled on these trams that looked like massive piano-accordions, and then got off at Alexanderplatz (a large city square). The next activity that we did was an interactive experience with actors in scenes. It was called 'The Berlin Dungeon', and the scenes were about Berlin's dark history. Some people of the audience participated in some of the scenes, including some of the students.
Next, we visited the Berlin Wall. This was very special for us because we had heard and read of the wall, but never seen it in real life. The people of Berlin decided that it was a good idea not to destroy all of the wall, but keep some of it up for history, and for a reminder. The wall is now covered in artistic paintings, symbolic drawings and writing. Although it is just a wall, it has a lot of meaning.
Finally, we visited a wax museum. The figures in the wax museum were so real, that I was slowly starting to go crazy. Even up close they were intimidating! They had wax leaders, celebrities, villains, musicians and Justin Bieber. It was exciting and scary at the same time!
~Charlie
Day 3, Berlin
Hello parents!
We rose from our jet-lagged sleep, rubbing our eyes and at the same time checking the time with disbelief. "9 … 9.15?? What?? Everyone, wake up we're late!!" Hahaha! After having half a bowl of cereal, we hurried to the shopping mall where we met our tour guide, Enrico. A 20-foot christmas tree guarded the mall like a king at the entrance and it's star was a bright, brilliant damsel overseeing Hauptbahnhof. Beaut-iful.
Our first destination was the Brandenburg Gate. We took a train (which was designed specifically for the transport of politicians) and were given quizzes of Germany's history. The Brandenberg gate looked so much different during the day. Looking through the gate, we could see a feint, golden statue in the distance, the Victory Column. The view reminded me of the Shrine of Remembrance and the wide, open path dividing the trees.
We travelled on these trams that looked like massive piano-accordions, and then got off at Alexanderplatz (a large city square). The next activity that we did was an interactive experience with actors in scenes. It was called 'The Berlin Dungeon', and the scenes were about Berlin's dark history. Some people of the audience participated in some of the scenes, including some of the students.
Next, we visited the Berlin Wall. This was very special for us because we had heard and read of the wall, but never seen it in real life. The people of Berlin decided that it was a good idea not to destroy all of the wall, but keep some of it up for history, and for a reminder. The wall is now covered in artistic paintings, symbolic drawings and writing. Although it is just a wall, it has a lot of meaning.
Finally, we visited a wax museum. The figures in the wax museum were so real, that I was slowly starting to go crazy. Even up close they were intimidating! They had wax leaders, celebrities, villains, musicians and Justin Bieber. It was exciting and scary at the same time!
~Charlie
Wednesday 26 November 2014
BUNDESLIGA MATCH!
Hello everyone!
Last night we had a blast at our very first BUNDESLIGA MATCH! We all had plenty of fun even though the match ended in a tie.
We are all looking forward to our trip to Phantasialand tomorrow and will have a great time.
Tschüss!
Thursday, 20/11/14
Day 2, Berlin
Hello parents!
Today was our first day not on a plane! Hoorah! We started off by eventually making our way out of Berlin Airport, and all boarded onto one bus. From there we were driven right to our new home, the Meininger Hostel!
It is convieniently located right next to the Haupbahnhof, a massive shopping mall. Shopping, everyone's favourite! We eat some quality German-made bread from the local bakery and it was absolutely brilliant!
After the meal, we walked towards the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone had fun taking selfies and pictures and so on, typical teenage tourist activities. However, the sun here sets at 4:30pm, so it was pretty dark, ruining everyone's pictures.
After some dinner back at the hostel, we were gifted with a tour of the Reichstag, the German parliment! Unfortunately, we were all really tired and jetlagged and may have dozed off at some points in the tour. Oops!
The glass dome on top of the Reichstag gave a fantasic view of Berlin, and the cool air woke us up a little, just a little bit. And then finally, we all received what we wanted. We walked back to Meininger, got into our rooms and fell asleep in an instant. The day was very jam-packed and we were all jetlagged, but it was still amazing.
~Troy
Day 2, Berlin
Hello parents!
Today was our first day not on a plane! Hoorah! We started off by eventually making our way out of Berlin Airport, and all boarded onto one bus. From there we were driven right to our new home, the Meininger Hostel!
It is convieniently located right next to the Haupbahnhof, a massive shopping mall. Shopping, everyone's favourite! We eat some quality German-made bread from the local bakery and it was absolutely brilliant!
After the meal, we walked towards the Brandenburg Gate, and everyone had fun taking selfies and pictures and so on, typical teenage tourist activities. However, the sun here sets at 4:30pm, so it was pretty dark, ruining everyone's pictures.
After some dinner back at the hostel, we were gifted with a tour of the Reichstag, the German parliment! Unfortunately, we were all really tired and jetlagged and may have dozed off at some points in the tour. Oops!
The glass dome on top of the Reichstag gave a fantasic view of Berlin, and the cool air woke us up a little, just a little bit. And then finally, we all received what we wanted. We walked back to Meininger, got into our rooms and fell asleep in an instant. The day was very jam-packed and we were all jetlagged, but it was still amazing.
~Troy
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