In den Oktoberferien fand zum wiederholten Mal unsere traditionelle Studienfahrt für die Klassenstufen 9 bis 11 statt. In diesem Jahr reisten 44 Schülerinnen und Schüler mit vier Englischlehrerinnen nach London und verbrachten eine ereignisreiche Woche bei strahlendem Sonnenschein in der britischen Metropole.
Von ihren Erlebnissen berichten Teilnehmer der Klassenstufe 11 in ihrem Reisetagebuch.
Sunday and Monday: We started our journey to London on Sunday, 1st October 2017. At 6pm our coach left the school parking lot. After a long and tiring journey we reached Greenwich, London at 9am on 2nd October 2017. The bus driver explained a lot and gave us some tips for visiting London and so did our teachers. We walked through Greenwich Park and got to know things about the Royal Observatory and looked at the zero meridian. Everyone got something to eat and after meeting at the Cutty Sark, the last tea clipper, we got on a ferry and journeyed over the Thames. We got off the ferry at the Houses of Parliament and learned a lot about them and other important buildings in Westminster. In the afternoon we got to see London from above, on the London Eye. After that the coach took us to a small suburb where we got to know our host families, and after exchanging our experiences over WhatsApp everyone fell into bed after this exhausting yet exciting day.
Tuesday: On Tuesday we had our normal beginning of the day with a short walk to the parking lot where we were picked up by the coach. The driver dropped us off downtown and we used public transport to get to Camden Town. After arrival we split up into small groups and began our journey of exploring this part of the city and the markets. On the markets we were able to discover almost everything from counterfeit articles over delicious foods to creative, original art. After that we relaxed while taking a short walk through Regent’s Park. In the afternoon we returned downtown and visited the Globe Theatre, where we attended a Shakespeare workshop which introduced us to some basics of acting on stage and the works of Shakespeare. After we were done with that we were glad to return to our host families and wind down after such an exhausting day.
Wednesday: On Wednesday we got up at 6:20 am, at 7:15 am we had breakfast and at 7:40 am we left because we had to be at the coach at 7:50am. We were driven every morning by our host mother courteously. In the morning we went in groups of at least three students to a museum of our choice. We could choose between the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Afterwards we had about two hours of free time, which we were able to arrange independently and, since the weather was good, we opted for a picnic in Hyde Park. Even if it is not allowed, we fed the tame squirrels, which are slightly larger than those domesticated in Germany, while very sweet holiday photos and videos were created, but above all long-lasting memories. After the free time was over, there was a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. In Britain, the Houses of Parliament are the British parliament, which consists of two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The buildings where the members do their work are also called the Houses of Parliament. Around 7:00 pm we arrived again at the host families and had a nice insight into the family life.
Thursday: Thursday was the only day we spent outside of London. After our usual morning routine we took our coach to get to Oxford. When we reached the city center of Oxford after quite a long but entertaining coach ride, we were welcomed by our tour guides who we spent half of the day with, discovering the beautiful city of Oxford. Of course Oxford is best known for its universities, so visiting one of the colleges had to be part of our sightseeing tour. After getting an in depth look at a student’s life in Oxford we moved on to see some more historical buildings, including original filming locations of the Harry Potter movies. When we approached lunch time we separated into smaller groups and everyone made sure to get some food from the huge variety of restaurants and markets that Oxford offers before we spent the remaining time with further exploration, way too much eating and tons of fun before we eventually met up at the coach in the afternoon to go back to our host families.
Friday: On Friday created their own art while some of us had even more time to explore London one more time. Whether this meant shopping, walking around parts of London we hadn´t seen yet or pursuing one's favourite hobby everyone made the most of this time. At the end of the day we met near the o2-arena where our coach was waiting to pick us up. We then drove all night before we eventually arrived back in Leipzig on Saturday morning.
(written by Arina Bößmann, Bryan Ackermann, Erik Thiele and Georg Grünewald)
