Written by Amy, Ruoying, Klara, Ipek, Alison and Izzy, Year 10
On the last day of term we all arrived with our suitcases at school excited to set off. After leaving our bags in the dining hall we had to go to lessons as normal for the first half of the day. Then after a quick lunch it was off to the airport. Before we knew it, we were through security and onto the plane. Luckily the flight wasn’t long and we were soon in Munich. We were met by Frau Zeugner (one of the English teachers from the German school) at some bretzels. We then took a coach to the school and went home with our exchange partners and their families. I was welcomed with a three course meal and then I went to sleep excited for the morning ahead.
On Friday morning, I experienced German school life in my partner’s school. I had art lessons and Italian lessons. I walked to school with my partner and I noticed how organised and clean every building looked on the way. In the afternoon, Mrs Liebrecht, Dr Chorley and Mr Hunger (the teacher from the German school) took us to the city centre by subway. The tubes there looked much newer than the London ones and less crowded. After visiting the Frauenkirche (cathedral), Marienplatz and Altes Rathaus (the Old Town Hall), I was astonished by the beauty of Munich and I told my friend Zara that “I could live in this city”!
For the weekend, we were hosted by our exchange partners and their families. My exchange partner, like many others, wanted to show me around her favourite spots in Munich. She first took me to Schloss Nymphenburg, a Baroque palace that was the summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings. We toured the intricately decorated rooms and the large grounds with their elegant and grand statues. I really enjoyed this because I was able to learn about the history of Munich, and also appreciated the aesthetic beauty of the palace and gardens.
Next we made our way to the city centre where we went to St Peter’s Church, which involved climbing around 300 steps upwards to experience a spectacular panoramic view of Munich and the surrounding mountains. Then to end the day’s tour, we walked to the Hofgarten, an idyllic green park in the middle of the bustling city.
On Sunday, my exchange partner took me out of the city into the mountains, and we visited Linderhof palace which was Ludwig II’s Royal Villa. The architecture was very impressive. The palace had a Baroque façade influenced by French architecture, an interior decorated with Rocco motifs from the time of Louis XV and the south German Rococo style was also incorporated.
After the excellent tour of the palace, we made our way back to Munich where we had a detailed tour of the Bavarian Film Studios. I learnt about the history of the film studio and the film business, how green screens work, all in another language. What I found most interesting was to go to the film sets of many movies such as Asterix and Obelix and many German classics. We all felt that the weekend was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our exchange partners, have an insider’s tour of Munich and, as part of this, also improve our knowledge of German language, culture and history.
After a very enjoyable weekend in the city centre and the mountains, I was very excited for our first school trip to the Deutsches Museum. On the way there, a tour guide told us stories about the Munich Residenz and how it was a gift from her husband to the princess to celebrate the birth of their heir, after 10 years of praying for a son.
When we first arrived there, I remember thinking that the museum was enormous, which is why we saw the highlights of the best sections in our guided tour. One very interesting gallery had robots and the tour guide explained that the hologram system that was demonstrated in one of the models was used in the ABBA hologram concert.
In the evening, we went back to our exchange partner’s home and changed into our party clothes. Sophie and I, my exchange partner, went to her friend’s house, where we all prepared caprese skewers for the party. The table was filled with lots of different German foods, from potato salad and pretzels to chocolate apple slices. We all had a feast. Afterwards, some others and myself did a German and English improvisation from the phrases that everyone had used in Munich, which we had all written down like we had with Mr Hunger in the morning, followed by a German kahoot! Finally, we explored the school grounds and danced to the Macarena and the Bird Song.
On day 6, we set off to Chiemsee. Our first stop was the unfinished Herrenchiemsee Palace which was built on the lake’s largest island Herreninsel by King Ludwig ll. The building was built, starting from 1878 and was preceded by a total of 13 planning stages. When King Lugwig ll died in 1886, it was still incomplete and sections of it were later demolished. We still managed to see some unfinished rooms that were still empty. We were astonished by the large staircase at the entrance, palace hall and exquisite state rooms which were very different from the English Palace that we usually think of. We were being taken around the palace with a tour guide. We learnt a lot of Bavarian history about King Ludwig ll. After that, we went on a boat trip to another island in Chiemsee. On the island, we were given some free time. We walked around the island, enjoying the lovely scenery along with the amazing weather. After an enjoyable day, we headed back to our partners’ houses and had dinner together. It was fortunate that the weather was fantastic so that we could make the most out of it.
On our final day trip we visited Olympiapark in Munich. However, before we went out we had a lesson from Mr Hunger about the history of the park. We learnt why it was built for the Munich Olympics in 1972 and about the Munich Massacre. Then we hopped on the metro to the park. When we got there the first attraction we visited was Sea Life. We were allowed to explore the exhibits in small groups and it gave us a good chance to learn the names of different sea creatures in German. Then we were taken on a tour of the park by Mr Hunger. We were shown the old stadiums, the Olympic village and the memorial for the Munich Massacre. We were then allowed time to explore the park with our exchange partners. It was interesting to see the park and stadiums as well as to imagine how exciting it would have been to be watching the Olympics there. Mr Hunger was a very good guide and he also gave us lollipops when we were starting to get tired. After leaving the park we had free time in the city centre and then it was back to our partners’ houses to pack for the flight home.
On the last day we all came into school with our bags packed. After carrying them up the huge stairs in the Gymnasium we attended a lesson with our partners. I went to maths with mine and was fascinated by the work they were doing. I recognised some of it but they used entirely different techniques which I found so interesting. After our lessons we all came together to create a fun cookbook of traditionally english meals or desserts, just like they had done for us earlier. I had a lot of fun creating this with my friends and hope it will be used in the future. Then, all of a sudden, it was time for us to leave. I actually found this quite hard as I had formed a very good friendship with my exchange partner and a love for the city too. Overall the trip was amazing and I hope that anyone with this opportunity in the future takes it and has as much fun as I did.
