At the beginning of May, 44 year 7 and 8 pupils travelled to the Rhineland to experience the colourfulness of German life and language at first hand.
After a truly European journey that took our coach from Dover through France and Belgium to the German border, we were greeted on our arrival in Cologne by a gentle rain following the distant rumble of a thunder storm. However, the rain gave way to sunshine on our first morning and ahead of us lay a bright day packed with the sights, scents and sounds of a culturally and historically rich city. In the short time we were in Cologne, we purposefully climbed the 509 steps to the top of the Cathedral and admired the stunning views of the city. We then crossed the river Rhine on foot, walking alongside the high-speed InterCity Express whilst looking down on coal-filled barges making their way to Rotterdam. In our very own ‘picnic-in-the park’ event we sampled a whole range of German foods, before taking the cable car back to the west bank of the Rhine, which gave the eagle-eyed ones among the group the unique opportunity to catch a brief glimpse of nudist bathing in hot springs at its best. This experience could only be topped by a visit to the Lindt-Stollwerk Schokoladenmuseum, the highlight of which was the cocoa-bean shaped, gilded chocolate fountain.
After all this intellectual vigour, day three saw the pupils exploring the different worlds of Phantasialand, a theme park 15 miles southeast of Cologne. Spirits were high at the end of the day as everyone had a tale to tell about how s/he was spun round and twisted and dropped and splashed in the rides.
Day four meant having to travel back home - but not without paying a quick visit to one of the few spots in Europe where you can indeed be in three places at the same time. On a glorious Sunday morning we set foot on the point where Germany, Holland and Belgium meet. This experience epitomised the essentially European experience of our visit, which will hopefully be remembered by all participants as they look back on this trip.
The pupils had ample opportunity to improve their language skills and their curiosity and willingness to do so was boundless. Without exception they were a delight to travel with and as such great ambassadors for Wymondham College.
Bettina Pfeiffer
(German teacher)
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Modern Foreign Language Department