Reports about the trip to England

Day 1: Brighton

We met at our school on Saturday at 3:40 pm and started our trip to England. On our journey, we made many stops to go to the toilet or to buy something to eat.

In France we had a big break and got a new bus driver, Vladimir. He and his dog Kenny were with us the whole week. We had to cross the Channel and used the Channel Tunnel to do that, which was sometimes scary but also funny. Also, it was interesting because the bus had to get on a train which went through the tunnel.

On Sunday at 9:30 am we arrived in Brighton. First we made a little city tour, where we could see some cool spots and after that we had lots of time to eat something. Later we met in the park, where we saw a parade of people supporting gay rights and playing instruments. After watching the parade, we visited the Royal Pavilion, built for George IV who lived a long time ago.

George bought a little cottage and made a tiny house into a big one, so a theatre or other things could be in there. It seemed a bit Chinese because the decor was inspired by their imagination about China. We felt like being in an old royal castle.

When we had seen the whole Pavilion, we had free time again and most of us used it to go to the beach. After this long day, we drove to Eastbourne, where the host families were waiting for us. They made us pizza and we talked about us and our interests, but we went to bed early.

by Amelie A., Adela, Julia, Anna-Sophie, 9a

Day 2: Portsmouth

We met at 8.15 am to start our trip to Portsmouth. When we arrived in Portsmouth we went to the Royal Navy Museum and we took a toilet break. Our first stop in the museum was a ship called HMS Victory. It is an old ship, which was commanded by Lord Nelson. The HMS Victory was the flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar, where the Britains won over Napoleon. Sadly it was restored and we just saw the inside of the ship. Still we saw how people had lived there in the past. The rooms were really different. The sailors lived in one big dark room and slept in hammocks and ate between the canons. Compared to that, the captain had a couple of bright rooms with a view on the sea. Because of the doctor’s office, the workshop and the armoury it seems like a small village.

After the tour in the HMS Victory we had a short lunch break. Afterwards we could look around the museum in small groups where we could see lots of replica ships. Also you could hear stories about the people who lived at that time. These stories were very impressive. It was easy to imagine their life. Some information was conveyed in a playful way.

Later we met again to make a boat tour through a still active marine harbour. We saw all kinds of combat ships and the captain told us that one ship, for example, left the harbour the next day and another was dumped in Scotland. After the boat trip we had free time in Portsmouth. Most went to the nearby mall to shop and eat something. Later we met again to walk together to the bus and to drive back to our host families.

All in all it was a beautiful day.

by Lina, Emma, Magalie, Jana, 9c / Nina, Annika, Nina, Annemarie, 9a

Day 3: Our trip to London

On May 23, 2023 we went to London. It was the third day of our journey to the UK. We looked at London's most popular attractions, but also saw London's striking contrasts between old and new and rich and poor. We were able to experience what makes London so special, we were allowed to communicate with people from London and just feel the atmosphere. We drove about two hours from Eastbourne to Greenwich Park.

We walked through Greenwich Park where we could get a first impression of the London skyline. Having arrived at the Thames, we took a ferry which took us up the river. During the Thames cruise we were also able to take a closer look at the London skyline and we were able to catch a glimpse of the Tower of London.After arriving at the Tower Pier, we went straight to “His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London”, short: Tower of London. This complex of buildings is a kind of castle which served the English and British kings as a residence, armoury, zoo, archive, place of execution, prison and museum.

After discovering the Tower of London, we took the underground to Buckingham Palace, which is the monarch's official residence in London. It is also used for official state occasions. Furthermore we saw the Victoria Memorial which is dedicated to the British Queen Victoria. Then we made our way to Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. On the way we passed Westminster Abbey, which is the church where the monarchs of Great Britain are crowned. Arriving at Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, we briefly stopped to take photos even though there was a lot of traffic on the road. Not only did we have a view of Big Ben but also of the London Eye. Jazz was played which made the atmosphere even more breathtaking. This was one of those moments when you really felt like you had arrived in London. After that we walked to Trafalgar Square where we stopped next to Nelson's Column.

After that we took the Underground to Camden Market which is packed with food stalls selling food from all over the world. You get a taste of cultures and languages from all over the world. It was great that you could communicate with so many people in such a short time. After our stay at Camden Market we took the Tube again towards Greenwich Park but unfortunately we had to get off one station earlier because apparently there was a fire investigation where we wanted to get off. You might think that this was a stupid event for us students, but then we stood in the middle of Canada Square where we had a wonderful view of the skyline at sunset.

For us, this was one of the most beautiful moments of the whole trip to England. None of us would have thought that such a coincidence could turn into such a beautiful moment.

All in all it was a wonderful day in which we got to know many people, cultures and great sights.

by Henri, Max, Tristan, 9c

Day 4: Seven Sisters

Our plan for this day was to visit the Seven Sisters.

The day began at 8:15 am when everyone got to their pick-up points but things didn't go as planned: The trip to London the day before had lasted almost two hours longer than expected so our bus driver couldn't drive us at 8:15 am because he didn't have enough break time between the trips. So the teachers improvised and let us go into the nearest shopping mall where we could do a variety of different things like drink bubble tea or coffee, buy lunch or five litres of water for our following trip.After we had gone shopping and our bus driver got his rest we went to the Seven Sisters at roundabout 11 am. As we began walking through wide meadows and hills we got an impression of the landscape until we arrived at the first "Sister". It was the first challenge of our trip where you could see that some were walking more slowly and stayed behind and there were the ones that bursted with energy who didn't want to stop for anything and who were asked to stop by the teachers and Ole so that the group wouldn’t be divided into two parts.

At the top of the hill we were rewarded with an astonishing view of the whole landscape. Our walk went on until we arrived at a restaurant where we rested and those who were hungry could eat their lunch. Others were lying at the beach enjoying the view.

After that we made our final walk for this day to Eastbourne where we stayed until the bus took us back to our host families.

by Marius D., Ruben, Ben, Miguel, 9a

Day 5: Canterbury

On our last day we met at 7.30 am at the bus stop. We took the bus to Canterbury and arrived two hours later. At first we got some free time: some of us went shopping, others ate something or just explored the city. At 12 o’ clock we met at the Cathedral entrance for the city tour where we learned some interesting facts about the city. For example we learned that many buildings had flintstones on the facade because they didn’t have any other building material. We also learned that there were four gates in Canterbury and that they were built because the people were afraid that the Romans would attack them. Once again we had some free time to do something in small groups. At 5.30 pm we went to the Evensong into the Cathedral. A boys’ choir sang and fortunately the archbishop of Canterbury was there too. He is the one who had an important part in the coronation of King Charles lll. About half an hour later the church was over and we walked to the parking lot. As we waited for the bus driver, we bought some food for the journey home and went to the toilet. At 9 pm we finally started our way back home. The day in Canterbury was a beautiful ending of our trip to England.