Saturday+Sunday
On Saturday at 6:30 pm we left our school, excited and ready, the journey was strenuous. We drove through the night with laughter and songs. We went on the ferry in Dunkirk and enjoyed a full English breakfast on board.
On Sunday at 11:30 am we arrived in Dover, our English adventure was truly a mover. We went to Canterbury and explored the old town, we were especially impressed by the cathedral.
At 6:30 pm we reached Gillingham, our new home for one week and we met our host families with a smile on each face.
(Gabriel Schuster)
Monday
Today we visited Beachy Head on the south coast. At first we took a closer look at the ocean and the chalk cliffs of England. Afterwards we hiked about eight km along the cliffs. It was quite exhausting, because we walked up and down the hills. While nearly getting blown away by the strong winds, we had a breathtaking view of the English Channel. After the exertion we were rewarded with delicious ice cream. From 2 till half past 3pm we were taught the traditions of British tea time by a crazy but lovely lady. After that we had two hours of free time. We could discover the nature of Hastings, like the wide beach or the ruins on the mountains, or stroll through the shopping alleys. At 7pm we were back at Gillingham where we were expected by our host families.
(Anna, Chiara, Emilia and Franciska)
Tuesday
On Tuesday we travelled to the capital of England - London. After a two-hour journey, we had a guided bus tour. First, we looked at the Millennium Bridge and took our first snapshots of London. This was followed by a short bus tour where our guide told us exciting historical facts about the various sights. Due to the typical English weather - rain - we were stuck in traffic jams and couldn't see all the sights. After the city tour on the bus, we were given some free time to see some of the sights ourselves, but as it was still raining, most of us students decided to go to museums or galleries, and of course we were already busy buying our first souvenirs. In the evening, we returned to Gilligham where our host families were already waiting for us.
(Elena Waurick)
Wednesday
Today we went to Cambridge. At first we had some free time to form our first impressions of the city. After that, we had a guided tour through Cambridge wirh a lovely woman. On the tour we could see many beautiful places like the colleges or churches. We also learnt very interesting facts about the city. We were even shown where King Charles once lived as a student.
After the guided tour we had free time and could explore Cambridge on our own.
It‘s a very nice and beautiful city with a lot of history.
(Adele+Emma)
Thursday
On Thursday we visited Windsor Castle and were able to look around on our own, it is the main residence of the British royal family. In the afternoon we did a cricket workshop in Rochester and were split into groups. We played a tournament, which was great fun, and at the end of the workshop the winners were announced and received a small prize as a reward.
Michelle+Fabienne
Friday
Today was our last day in England which we spent altogether with amazing impressions in London. In contrast to Tuesday, we had quite sunny and warm weather nearly too hot :-)
To start the day, we took a boat tour on the Thames where we saw numerous landmarks such as the Big Ben, Tower Bridge or the London Eye which we could observe more precisely from the boat. After that, everybody could decide individually which sight or shop they wanted to explore since we had six hours of free time. Thanks to the Tube, we could travel quite qickly from one place to another – as long as we caught the right train. Ultimately, everyone arrived at the coach in time and we started our trip back home to Germany.
(Karl Kretschmar+Flora Dehnke)
