The document summarizes a 5-day trip to Germany by a group of students participating in an international Comenius project. Over the course of the trip, the group visited several cities and sites in Germany including Frankfurt, Sandhausen, Heidelberg, Maulbronn Abbey, Bruchsal Castle, Speyer Cathedral. They participated in cultural activities and lessons at their host school, observed German traditions like breakfast, and presented their home countries at a final concert. While sad to leave their new international friends, the students felt they had gained an unforgettable experience.

1. GERMANY 29.09.09- 03.10.09
1st day
We set off to Frankfurt in the afternoon. Two of our students had never flown before so within first minutes
of our trip to Germany, they felt like the adventure had already begun.
At Frankfurt airport we met up with the Bulgarian group and then we were all greeted by a German teacher
who guided us to the coach, which took us to Sandhausen, straight to an Italian restaurant where all the other
parties were at different stages of their dinners. It was such a great pleasure to see familiar faces, and to
students who were new to the Comenius project it was the first chance to meet students from various different
countries and to practise their German!
After dinner we went to the hotel for a good night of sleep…
2nd day
After a delicious German breakfast, early in the morning, we went to Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium, which was
our hosting school. The first thing we noticed was a huge number of bicycles in front of the school. It seems
that this is the most popular means of transport for German students!
At the school we were greeted by students and teachers and we had a short presentation of Sandhausen.
Shortly
afterwards, the
teachers went for a
meeting and
students went to
observe some of
the lessons. After
that, the students
participated in 2
activities.
One activity involved practising the project
songs of all parties

2. In the other the students had to paint the
flags of all countries participating in the
project.
We finished the morning at Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium with a delicious lunch in the colourful school
canteen, after which we set off by train to Heidelberg at Necker River, which we absolutely adored.

3. We all liked the beautiful, compact Old Town, with the gorgeous ruins of Heidelberg Castle, which are
among the most important Renaissance
structures north of the Alps and which
can be seen in the photo in the
background.
However, there was much more to see. For example, the Old Bridge, Church of Holy Spirit (the biggest
regional Gothic church built from 1344 to 1441) and Jesuit Church. The students took part in a quest search
where they had to find certain places in Heidelberg which was good fun and an opportunity of getting to know
other students. Afterwards, in our free time, we had a chance to do some small shopping in the most famous
street in Heidelberg - the Hauptstrasse. Finally, we had a fully deserved dinner at a German Inn in the heart of
Heidelberg, where we were able to taste different types of traditional food. We loved it, especially Frankfurter
Sausage, Salty Pretzel and Schnitzel.
3rd day
The third day of the German Comenius Project was about sightseeing as we went to 3 different places, each of
them extremely interesting in different ways.
First, we went to Maulbronn
Abbey, founded in 1147,
which is the best preserved
medieval Cistercian monastery
complex in Europe. The
monastery is a UNESCO
Heritage Site and is really
breathtaking.

4. Next we went to the castle in Bruchsal with impressive Mechanical Music Instruments, where we could
admire more than 400 exhibits of self-playing musical instruments.
And this is us before entering
the museum - the whole
group including teachers and
all students…
Moreover, we were able to play some of the instruments which can be seen in the photo below…
The final destination of the day was Speyer, beside the River Rhine, with the astonishing Speyer Cathedral,
which covers 134 square meters with a highest point of 72 meters.

5. This building was added to
the UNESCO World
Heritage List of culturally
important sites as one of
the best examples of a
monument of Romanesque
art in the German Empire.
However, the only part of
the cathedral that is still the
original is the Crypt (in
1689, the cathedral was
almost totally destroyed).
In the Crypt there are
graves of a few medieval
German emperors and
kings who were buried
there between 1039 and
1309.
Although the students found the whole day interesting, when evening came they decided to do something less
challenging and they went to play ….
Finally, we had dinner in Wiesloch. We had a German buffet and that means we ate, ate and ate until we
simply could eat no more! It was delicious!!!

6. 4th day
On the last day of our visit to Germany we had a meeting at the Town Hall with the Deputy Mayor, who gave
us a presentation about Sandhausen and took us for a tour around the town.
The German music teacher played the organ to us in one of the churches, which was a really amazing
experience because we felt like we had a private concert there.
Later on, the students had rehearsals and afterwards, to break the tension before the concert, they participated
in classes of traditional German dance and drama activities in which they had to represent their home
countries, using gestures but no words. Most of the students found the drama activity quite challenging, but
they all seemed to enjoy it and were able to present their work at the beginning of the concert on the same day.
Finally, the main part of the project began - the concert! The German party opened the event with some songs
and music played by the school orchestra. Afterwards, it was time for all countries to present their
programmes. The concert took place in the community hall and it was a wonderful experience. Everyone
enjoyed themselves and appreciated each other.
Our group in the concert.

7. At the end, everyone went on the stage
and sang a song together, which ended
the concert in an atmosphere of real
international unity.
Afterwards we had our last meal, as a whole group of eight countries, together, and then some of the groups
started to depart for their home countries. It was sad to see them go but, on the other hand, we all knew that
we will never forget what we experienced and that we might meet our friends in the future…
Day 5th
After an early start to the day, we arrived in Birmingham around midday, not believing that this part of our
adventure was over.