Our trip to England

It was the 24th of September, the day we had been waiting for, for such a long time. This was the date when we started our trip to England. When we met at 8.15 p.m. we all were so excited, because our bus already stood in front of our school. We stowed our baggage in the bus and said goodbye to our parents, then our trip to England began.

Nobody slept this night, because the seats weren’t so good for relaxing. On the 25th of September at 8 o’clock we arrived at Calais on the ferry. The sun was shining and we all were very happy. It was such a great feeling when we saw the wonderful white cliffs of Dover. As we left the ship we took lots of pictures of the fascinating panorama. Then we went to Dover Castle, an old castle where King Henry II lived. We had the chance to take part in a play with him, it was very great. Henry II was played by an actor. We also went to the tower of the castle where we had a fantastic view, which I’ll never forget! After these great impressions the bus took us to Canterbury a wonderful town with a beautiful old part. We visited the Canterbury Tales where we were taken back into the medieval time. After our free time we met at the bus to go to Herne – Bay, because at 6.30 p.m. our host families were waiting for us. Everyone of us stayed at a typical English family, but after our first day we all were too tired to speak English very much and well. We went to bed early to be fit for the next day.

On the following day we went to London. So we met at 8 o’clock at the car park where our bus already waited. The trip to London took us 1, 5 hours. We stood a long time in a traffic jam, but so we got a good opportunity to take lots of photos. At 11.30 a.m. we visited Madame Tussaud’s, it was very great and we all were very fascinated by the wax figures. After that we got free time. We made a guided tour with a woman, who showed us some of the sights of London like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye and Tower Bridge. London is an amazing town. We went back to our “home town” Herne – Bay where our host families waited for us. This evening we spoke more English with them and they told us which experiences they gained with host students.

On Thursday we met at 8.30 a.m. at the car park to go to Canterbury again. We visited the cathedral There, which was very beautiful. An audio guide told us the way through the cathedral and gave us information. After that we got free time, we went shopping and sat in a café. On the tour back, we went to the stony beach along the coast. It was so fantastic, because the sun was shining and it was really hot. We went to Reculver where the “Twin Towers of Herne – Bay” are situated. It was so amazing as we saw this ruin, the North Sea and the beach there. Unforgettable!! So we walked from there up to Herne – Bay. This took us two and half an hour… We were so tired after that trip, but the landscape was worth it.

The next day we visited Cambridge a town which is famous for its colleges. When we arrived we first had some free time. A market, many small shops and cafés you can find in this wonderful town. There’s also a beautiful old part of the town. At 11.30 a.m. we made a guided tour with a very nice woman, who spoke German and English perfectly. It was very interesting, because she told us a lot about the colleges there. The colleges there look like churches or cathedrals, so it’s very amazing. We learned that Cambridge and Oxford are the most important college towns in England. She also told us many things about the town Cambridge. We enjoyed the long bus trips, because we laughed a lot and had fun together.

The next morning we said goodbye to our host families, because the time in England was almost over. We visited the “Tower of London.” Where we saw the Crown Jewels, it was fantastic. But lots of girls didn’t see them. Why not?? The duo “Jedward” visited the Tower too, so the girls took photos with them and were so excited that they saw them live. After visiting the Tower we split up into groups, because some wanted to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, some others the London Eye and another group visited an old ship. My group went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was so amazing. We went to the Golden Gallery, at a height of 85 m. But before we could enjoy the wonderful panorama of London, we had to climb 528 steps. We also travelled by the London underground, because we wanted to go to “Trafalgar Square.” We got free time there. At 6.30 p.m. we met at Trafalgar Square and went back to our bus.

In the evening we left London and made our way back home… by using once again the ferry, so that we arrived on the 30th of September at 12 o’clock in front our school. It was simply a wonderful week with a fantastic weather and cheerful pupils and teachers. We learned and experienced very much. Many thanks to our teachers, Mrs Smolka, Mrs Mundt, Mrs Döbelin and Mrs Schubert, and to the team of “Märkische Schülerreisen,” who organized this great trip for us, it was a wonderful week, which we will never forget…Thank you.

Our trip to England

Antonia Malchow