Final Post after safe journey home

Our thanks to the pupils for making the 2014 German Exchange run so smoothly. Mr Morris enjoyed his involvement. The farewells were protracted and a little teary. The pupils had clearly made good friendships. A good number of pupils are hoping to stay in touch or repeat the exchange in 2015

Miss Beale got the group home safely and I am most grateful to her for taking this on due to my passport issue. A suitable final picture!

Day 7 - Great final day for pupils and staff

We were kindly taken to Bochum's Bergbaumuseum (Mining Museum) by Mr Meyer. Bochum is in the heart of Germany's industrial heartland. We took the train and the underground to reach the museum. We had a guided tour of a demonstration pit including a simulator lift which took us to 1200m below ground. We learnt about the developments of the mining industry, the dangers faced by the workers and the noise they would have experienced; many of them would not have been able to eat or write due to constant numbness and the drilling sensation coursing their veins having finished their shifts thus preventing them from gripping cutlery or a pen. 

 

 

Most pupils made it to the annual Weihnachtskonzert in a church near the school. We all enjoyed a a varied programme of songs and ensembles. At short notice Rebecca Ousby and Emily Hill sang the opening solo of 'Silent Night' as the choir had been afflicted by illness; Mr Meyer was delighted by this co-operation and they received generous applause following their international debut!

 

Miss Beale, Mr Morris and I have really enjoyed the pupils' company throughout and none of the host families have raised any concerns.  It is also very clear that our pupils have got on well with their hosts. We will leave Munster at 2pm tomorrow and head to Düsseldorfer Flughafen for the 6:20pm Easyjet flight to Gatwick. I will say my farewell to the group there and Miss Beale will bring them back to Bath as planned. My thanks to her in particular for having to hold the fort on a number of occasions this week as I sorted out a replacement travel document.

 

Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!

Day 6 - All going swimmingly well and Mr Duke has a temporary passport

Both Headmasters met this morning and Mr Gottschalk took Mr Morris, Miss Beale and a few pupils on a quick guided tour of the Schillergymnasium. He gave them an overview of the School's 114 year history. Our pupils seem very happy with their hosts and there is very little to report. We are off tomorrow to the industrial heartland of the Ruhr Area, Bochum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bochum), where we will visit the Mining Museum (http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/). Those of you who are into German popular music may know it is the birthplace of the singer/songwriter Herbert Grönemeyer.

I have to confess to being mighty relieved this evening to having an 'emergency passport' (see evidence below!). The upshot of this unfortunate episode is that the pupils will be flying home from Düsseldorf with Miss Beale because I will have to fly out of Düsseldorf airport (90 minutes after the pupils via Paris!) to reach Japan where my family already is for Christmas; if I go home immediately my emergency document will be removed from me.  I had tickets to leave on 19 December from Bristol via Amsterdam for Tokyo. The Headmaster and Mr Opie are both happy with this arrangement. The pupils will travel as planned via private coach from Gatwick to Bath.

Hope to have more photos of the pupils tomorrow. The photo is from a meal last night with Old Kingswoodian, Helena Thiel, following Mr Morris's arrival.

 

 

 

 

Day 5 - Pupils alive and very well

It is clear from brief conversations that all the pupils really enjoyed the programmes put on by ir respective host families; these included trips to Holland, various Christmas markets and ten pin bowling. The pupils attended lessons this morning and a good amount of German was being used by them during the break this morning. Miss Beale and I are delighted the trip is going so well. I have to make an 'unscheduled trip' to Düsseldorf tomorrow morning to get a 'temporary travel document' from the British Consulate because my passport did not make it off the plane and the police suspect it has been stolen. The experience has been a good linguistic challenge!  Mr Morris and Miss Beale will be in school with the pupils tomorrow morning. The school is gearing up for the Christmas concert on Wednesday evening in one of the local churches and we have been invited to the staff Christmas party after that. The staff managed to enjoy some 'deutsche Gemütlichkeit', just around the corner from the school this morning.

Day 4 - Münster's Christmas Markets at their best in dry, but cold conditions

Miss Beale and I have not heard a peep out of any of the pupils over the weekend, which is a good sign, but I did catch up with Alex Tolenaar and his partner's family because Mr Meyer, Mrs Näppel and I were invited out by the host family for a delicious lunch in Münster's oldest 'Gaststätte' (restaurant). We all enjoyed Weihnachtsgans (goose) with Rotkohl (red cabbage), Maronen (roasted chestnuts) and Semmelknödel (bread dumplings) followed by some very calorific desserts! The photos come are of Alex and his host family.

This evening Miss Beale and I were able to catch up with an Old Kingswoodian, Helena Thiel (School House, 2011-12) at the Christmas Market and over dinner.

Mr Morris arrives tomorrow evening and we are looking forward to our trip to the Coal Mining Museum in Bochum and the School's Christmas Concert on Wednesday evening.

The following photos come from the group's visit to Osnabruck on Friday in most inclement weather.

Day 3 - No news is good news

The pupils are clearly having a top time because Miss Beale and I have received no communications from them. Furthermore my request for the odd photo from today's activities has not been successful, which I take to be further evidence of them enjoying the hospitality and programme organised by the host families.  Having no photos of the pupils is less than ideal for a school trip blog, but if you follow the hyperlink below, you will find photos of Munster's many Weihnachtsmärkte and this will give you a good idea of what the pupils will have seen here today.

Let's hope we have some pictures tomorrow to give a more detailed account.

https://www.google.de/search?biw=1438&bih=685&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=weihnachtsmarkt+m%C3%BCnster+2014&oq=weihnachtsmarkt+m%C3%BCnster+2014&gs_l=img.3..0i19.347671.348496.0.348734.2.2.0.0.0.0.113.113.0j1.1.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.img..1.1.112.IE5uGQsH5YQ&dpr=0.95&cad=cbv&sei=wM2MVKOePOqxygPC2oK4Cg

Day 2 - Osnabrück Visit, but very British weather!

The pupils, although a little tired, after our late arrival and an early start at the Schillergymnasium attended lesson one. It was encouraging to hear the pupils say they had been warmly welcomed with at least one pupil saying how the hosts had ensured Currywurst was the first dish enjoyed on the way home from the train station after our arrival.

Some pupils walked to school, while others used the excellent public transport or bikes. At 9 a.m. the group departed for the medieval Hanseatic town of Osnabrück on the river Hase in the company of Mrs Näppel who has visited us in Bath many times. Osnabrück became very famous in 1648 because a treaty was signed there in 1648 marking the end of the Thirty Years' War. The weather yesterday was rather inclement, but the various Christmas markets were enjoyed by all and the group was in  good spirits

Over the weekend, the pupils are looking forward to a busy programme organised by the respective families. These will no doubt include more Christmas Markets, but some will be travelling with their hosts to Holland and others are off skiing. I am hoping the pupils will send me a few photos from their weekends so that the blog can be updated on Sunday.


The following links showcase the Christmas markets and highlight some of the main attractions.

http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.goruma.de/export/sites/www.goruma.de/Globale_Inhalte/Bilder/Content/O/Osnabrueck_Dom_1600.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.goruma.de/Staedte/O/Osnabrueck/Sehenswuerdigkeiten.html&h=1067&w=1600&tbnid=OwHbgZBSfjQP5M:&zoom=1&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&usg=__hksYBy3n9lf7jnLSzsO0WiJaj2o=&docid=Um1B2znU75XE9M&sa=X&ei=HNqLVKLrCevEygOUyYCQCg&ved=0CFEQ9QEwBg&dur=310

http://weihnachten-osnabruecker-land.de/Start/Termine-Weihnachtsmaerkte.aspx

This video is entitled Historischer Weihnachtsmarkt Osnabrück 2014 | Videotrailer 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?