Studienreise 2016 - Class 4ABE
Day 1: STONEHENGE to BATH
On Saturday 24th of September, our SPF English class met at a quarter to ten o’clock in front of the British Airways Check-in at the airport in Basel. After more than a half a year of research and planning, the eagerly awaited day had finally arrived. The air was full of excitement and curiosity: what kind of experiences and challenges would this week bring? The real adventure started at twelve o’clock when our flight departed.
One and a half hours later we landed in Heathrow, where Frank, our lovely and rather daring coach driver, was waiting for us to take us to the first highlight of the trip: Stonehenge. At Stonehenge we listened to Oliver and Ewa`s presentation about Stonehenge itself and the people who built it. It was here that many of us treated ourselves to an excellent English tea and a scone.
The next stop was the lovely city of Bath, where we spent the late afternoon on a walking tour of ancient Bath and hearing Melinda and Jacob`s presentation about Jane Austen`s times in Bath. Next came a free evening where we had time to explore the city a little further and savour surprisingly good English food. The day was a success and it is safe to say that most of us fell asleep in no time as a result of the long journey.
Day 2: ROMAN & REGENCY BATH
Sunday, 25th September 2016
After a good night’s sleep we decided to have our breakfast out in the old part of Bath. We found a nice little coffeehouse, where we had a delicious breakfast filled with coffee, hot chocolate, almond croissants and scones with clotted cream and jam.
After breakfast we took a trip back in time and visited the Roman Baths Museum. It was very interesting to get an insight into this historic site. As we walked through the Museum we learnt about the Romans, Roman Worship, the Temple Courtyard, the Great Bath, Saunas and much more. At the end of our tour there, we were allowed to taste some of the famous spa water, which supposedly has curative powers (but also smells of eggs).
In the afternoon, we visited the famous Assembly Rooms where we heard two insightful presentations about Mary Wollstonecraft as well as the history of fashion as a mirror of society. Following these, came a true highlight of the trip: the Regency dance class.
This unique and fun experience included dressing in Georgian costume from the late 18th and early 19th century. With the kind guidance of “The Jane Austen Dancers Of Bath“ we jumped and frolicked around the breathtaking ballroom and could have danced all day long!
After our two hour long attempt of elegant quadrille dancing, we were free to visit a cultural sight of our choice. These included the Fashion Museum, the Abbey of Bath and the Victoria Art Gallery.
In the evening, everybody was quite exhausted by all the activities of the day and after having dinner in small groups, returned back to the hostel where we packed our cases for our next stop of the trip in the morning...
Day 3: OXFORD
On Monday we got up quite early, so the bus could pick us up at 7.30 at our hostel in Bath. After about a two hour trip, during which most of the students slept, we arrived in Oxford. Miss Ramsden guided us through the city, giving us a lot of interesting historical and literary information. After that, we learned about C.S Lewis, Oscar Wilde and Vera Britton from several of our class mates, who had organised a literary trail. For the rest of the morning we could choose between: visiting the Bodlean Library, the Botanic Garden, the Oxford Museum or Magdalen College.
After a quick lunch we headed to Christchurch College, where we could walk around in its beautiful halls and have a look at the “Hogwarts breakfast hall”.
The highlight of the day was for me the punting on the river Cherwell, which we did after a group tour of historic Christchurch College. In small groups we had a chance to try out punting a boat on the river (which looks way easier than it actually is). Some of us took to it like ducks to Oxford waters ... others, tragically, ended up pulling their punts from the river bank after getting tangled up in too many hanging trees.
In the evening we celebrated Ewa’s birthday with a surprise party. We watched the Hobbit and Oliver’s parents even brought us a beautiful cake.
Day 4: WINDSOR
Tuesday, 27th September
We spent the morning hours exploring Oxford until we all came together to take the coach to Windsor. Once in Windsor we listened to Leonie and Lena’s presentation on the “Virgin Queen”and had an audio tour around the castle. Afterwards we split up into two groups. One group visited Eton and one group visited the city of Windsor. While in Windsor, we saw the Crooked House, the Long Walk and Deer Park, the Windsor Guidehall and the Queen train. In Eton, Sebastian Shemirani guided us through the small town and showed us a few buildings, which belonged to the school. He introduced us to a few Etonians and then showed us back to Windsor.
We then all took to the coach to London. While on our way to the hostel, we went past the Big Ben, Harrods and many other famous landmarks.
At the hostel (which was an old prison and court room where Charles Dickens worked as a young man) we heard Simon and Christoph’s presentation on punk rock – in the very room that the Clash had been on trial in the 70s for shooting two pigeons!.
Day 5: LONDON
Wednesday, 28th September
On day 5 of our study trip, we started at 9.30 to visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. During that fascinating experience, we learned a lot about the theatre and indeed life during the Elizabethan Age, but also how actors today perceive the many changes that their theatre has to adapt to. Afterwards, we sat by the river to have our lunch and spend some time together.
At noon, we started our walking tour along the river to find out more about the Great Fire of London. Our walking tour continued ... and continued ... all the way to the East End. There, we had a lot of free time to eat and explore the multicultural markets and graffiti trails before heading to our tour from Spitalfield to Brick Lane to explore London’s immigration history.
In the evening we all had a communal dinner at an Indian restaurant.
Day 6: LONDON
Thursday, 29th September
Thursday’s main plan was to visit British Museum and Westminster Abbey having an extended lunch in between to explore Oxford Street and Covent Garden. First, however, we went by foot to see Charles Dickens’ House, close to our hostel. There Skye held a presentation about this author’s life and the reason as well as inspiration of several of his books like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Next we took the Bloomsbury literary walking tour following different gardens and squares in that area, admiring their architecture and getting to know more about them thanks to Mr. Krieger’s explanation. Also, we realized how expensive they were. We reached the garden where the Foundling Hospital was and Luan held his presentation about the Child Labour in the 19 th century, during which it suddenly started raining.
It was already raining heavily when we left Foundling Hospital to go to the British Museum – what a surprise!
We divided into groups and explored the museum following the chosen exhibitions and some of us went searching for helpful parts for our Studienarbeit.
Afterwards, we all gathered together we went to Oxford Street for extended lunch and time for shopping before meeting (more or less punctually) at
Trafalgar Square to then go to Westminster Abbey. Inside we were able to see the tombstones of the Kings and Queens of England, as well as many of famous writers in poet`scorner and many great scientists.
After Westminster Abbey we had several options to choose from: going to the theatres, to a concert or going to Convent garden to simply soak in the autumn evening.
Day 7: LONDON
Friday, 30th September
This day was the last day of our studytrip. I think we were all happy about the many things we had done, but also sad that the trip was over. Our programme for the morning hours was a visit to the Imperial War Museum, which impressed us all, because we really got an impression of how it was during the time of all those horrible and destructive wars.
Afterwards we all had some free time to get some lunch and enjoy the last hours in London before meeting in front of our hostel to get our luggage and go to the airport by tube – and then on to home sweet home.
