Germany

Travelling We arrived at Stuttgart Airport about 10 o’clock in the evening. We had a nice journey without any difficulties. Then everyone went to their host families or stayed in the student hostel of the school, as some of the exchange students are borders.

Monday We started the day with project work in the library. Everyone could choose a topic in connection with forests. In Urspringschule, students have a 30-minute-break to have what is called their second breakfast. It’s great to have half an hour to eat something, or just to have a rest. Our exchange students showed us around the school later. Early in the afternoon we went to Becka-Beck bakery and made a special German bakery product using flour of spelt. We also tasted some delicious cakes.

Monday in pictures Project work Baking

Tuesday This day also started with project work. After lunch we went to Ulm by train. We saw the Cathedral and Fishermen’s Quarter. Then we had free time in the Christmas Market and tasted mulled wine and tried some sweets. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Tuesday in pictures Together in the street of Ulm

Wednesday In the morning we all worked hard to finish our project work and get ready for the presentation. In the afternoon we prepared some special Hungarian dishes for the whole school for dinner! It wasn’t an easy task but the results were well worth it! Everybody seemed to enjoy our food!

Thursday This day was full of different programs. First we packed some sandwiches for ourselves in the school mensa. Then we went to Steiff Museum by train. It is a museum that presents the history of the Steiff family business, which started with making teddy bears. We had a lot of fun playing with plush figures and cuddly toys. Some of them were so huge that you could climb onto them! We had the opportunity to buy a postcard or an original Steiff teddy as a present. (They are not cheap!) Then we used the train again and travelled to Aalen where we visited the Limes museum. We learnt a lot about the Romans and life on the Roman border. It’s interesting that there is a long piece of Roman wall still standing across Germany. Finally we went to Aquarena and relaxed there. There were water slides and hot water pools under the open sky! (It was also snowing a bit!)

Thursday in pictures Steiff museum

Aalen Limes Museum

Friday On our last day we had to present our project work and to talk about different topics in connection with forests. We have learnt a lot about the importance of forests during the week. Then we said goodbye to our hosts. We travelled back to the airport, left our luggage there and went by underground into the centre of Stuttgart to visit the Christmas market.

Friday in pictures Presentation time Last minutes in the school

Christmas Market in Stuttgart Waiting at the airport

Cancelled flight! When we arrived back to the airport, we were told that our flight was cancelled, because Budapest airport was closed. This was a bit of a shock at first but we didn’t regret it in the end because the airline put us up in a very nice hotel for the night so we could spend a bit more time in Germany. Our flight arrived safely the next morning.

Summary of the week Attending Comenius was one of the best experiences of our lives. We got to know wonderful people from a different country, made good friends and visited some really interesting places. We could also practise English and improve our speaking skills, and we had a chance to have an inside look at German education and school life. We stayed in the boarding school which made it even more exciting. All the people and the teachers were very nice and it felt as if we had known them for a long time. It was so natural waking up in Urspring, that we even felt strange when we got home, because it felt like home then. We can't wait to see our German friends again and we are already thinking of how we could make their days here perfect. The only bad thing about our journey was that it was way too short. We had to say goodbye after five days, and actually we only had 4 full days together. Although it seemed longer because there was always something to do, this length of time was really unfortunate because it was by the end of the week that we really got close to our exchange partners and started to feel really at home. Anyway, we still keep in touch with the Germans and we are counting the days until we see them again. Reported by Dorka Bernadett Balázs and Dóra Elek