German Department
Trips
The German department participates in an annual German exchange, for all year groups, with a trip to Würzburg (Franconia), Germany in April. In turn, we host our German exchange partners at the end of October.
Schönborn Gymnasium is a co-educational grammar school in the historic town of Würzburg. It is a university town and is the seat of a Music High School as well as the centre of the Franconian Wine Trade. It has Germany’s second largest wine cellar situated beneath the Residenz ‘a palace of palaces’, according to Napoleon. This is registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with only 18 other locations in Germany.
In the past the link has included visits to many locations in Franconia, one of the centres of the Renaissance in Germany, as well as to the former East Germany. Numerous pupils ventured across, many of them being involved on several occasions. As a result, their German has improved, as has their feel for the language and culture.
A trip to the German Christmas markets over a long weekend in early December is enjoyed by Lower and Upper IV One of the attractions of going to Germany at this time of year is the opportunity to visit one of the world famous Christmas markets in Cologne as well as in Bonn and Aachen. In addition, the itinerary includes visits to Cologne Cathedral, the nearby chocolate factory and a mediaeval Christmas market as well as a visit to Bonn, capital of Germany until the year 2000, with the Beethovenhaus and the Museum of Federal Germany’s History.
This is an exciting opportunity to experience something of the language and culture of one of our major European neighbours.
A Sixth Form trip to Berlin is an opportunity to visit the lively new capital of Germany over a weekend in February.
The trip starts off with a visit to ‘Story of Berlin’, a state of the art interactive multi-media display about the history of Berlin through the ages. Girls then get to see major sights like the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the Kaiser-Wilhem-Gedächtniskirche and the Fernsehturm. They get to climb the dome on top of the Reichstag for a breathtaking view of the city.
On some trips a guided tour of the Reichstag and a talk on its past and present significance in German Politics has been arranged. There is some shopping opportunity amongst the many shops along the Ku’damm, including the Kaufhaus des Westens or ‘KDW’, the Harrod’s of Berlin, a visit to a flea market selling old GDR memorabilia, and of course the ‘Ampelmannshop’ selling everything to do with the cult ‘traffic light men’. Girls also get shown around the former East Berlin, particularly the ‘Mitte’district, with the Old Synagogue and the Museumsinsel with many world renowned museums.
Museums visits in the past have included the Stasi Museum, the Film Museum, the new and old Pinakothek, Schloss Charlottenburg, the Wall Museum, and the Jewish Museum. Straddling the line of different coloured bricks which indicates where the Wall used to divide East and West, is of course an obligatory photo opportunity.
For sustenance girls have enjoyed sampling traditional German food such as ‘Eisbein mit Sauerkraut’, which has had mixed reviews, unlike the delicious ‘Apfelstrudel mit Sahne’ in Café Einstein. This trip gives girls a first hand insight into German language and culture and helps to bring to life the wonders of historic and modern Berlin.
