Oberursel, Germany

It’s hard to believe that two weeks have flown by and that we have reached the final day of our exchange visit.  We are all so grateful to our host teachers, partner students and host families from the Feldbergschule for the fantastic time we have had here in Oberursel, and we will be heading home with many wonderful memories of the Taunus region.  A few members of our group will be staying on in Germany for a while longer, and the rest of us look forward to reuniting with our families on Tuesday at RDU.

Bis dann viele liebe Grüße!    ~Frau Greene

The day started with a late breakfast at 10 a.m. since I was still tired from the previous night of grilling and fun. I came downstairs and made my usual breakfast: oatmeal with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and bananas, along with some carbonated water mixed with juice. Right after that, I went on a short walk through Friedrichsdorf to get to Sebastian’s house. There, I met up with William—a friend I made in 7th grade who had moved from Cary Academy to Stuttgart at the end of 8th grade. We walked over to the train station and took the S5 to Frankfurt. Since it was Sunday, most of the stores were closed, but William wanted Chipotle since there isn’t one in Stuttgart and he hadn’t had it in over two years. After Chipotle, we met up with Riley and took a short walk around Frankfurt. Around 4 p.m., Riley headed home, and William and I met up with Anurag for a late lunch. We went to a Thai place where Anurag and I ordered beef with coconut curry, while William got a chicken dish with a spicier curry. Not long after, Anurag went home, and William and I returned to central Frankfurt to hang out a bit before his train. We stopped by a few more restaurants and also visited the European Central Bank (ECB). Then it was time for William to catch his ICE train back to Stuttgart and for me to head back home to my host family.
~Rishi

To start the day Sarah and I had breakfast. I had Nutella toast, which has been a staple for me since coming to Germany. Then, we all piled into the car and started driving to Münzenberg, where we would be meeting all the other exchange students at Frau Bunse’s house. Münzenberg turned out to look beautiful, as most of the town was made up by these old German houses (Fachwerkhäuser), and the castle ruins could be seen from almost all angles of the town. Frau Bunse was very welcoming and we all started to help ourselves to drinks, and got particularly transfixed on the ping pong table. I really enjoyed talking to some of the other exchange partners and hearing about what they had been doing the past week. After the party we headed up towards the Mittelaltermarkt, or the medieval market. We were immediately met by fantasy style music, and people in medieval costumes. Sarah’s parents bought a wine packaged like an elixir, while we roamed the many different stalls. At one point I was approached by a man in medieval clothes who was insistent that I buy a dress. He definitely had some interesting ways of advertising, but he was pretty funny and I got a picture with him.

I did not buy a dress, but I did see a medieval version of football. There were these guys dressed in heavy armour who would run at each other with weapons and knock each other to the ground. There was also a ref who would announce the rounds and call fouls. That might sound a little strange, but it was extremely entertaining. For the last round they all ran at each other and hugged each other, which I thought was really funny. On the way back to the car we saw an adorable stray cat, one of the many I’ve seen in Germany so far.

~Mira

Today we didn’t have any activities planned besides shadowing our partners in the Feldbergschule.  A reporter from a local newspaper also stopped by the school to interview several of the German and American students about our exchange experiences. 

The day started out with cold and rainy weather, and it took about an hour and a half to get to school. The first class I got to shadow was religion, and we learned about how some of the local holidays tied into Christianity. Then the teacher had individual conferences with students while we watched a video.

After that, we ate lunch during break and then had math class. There was a short lesson and then the teacher went on to discuss final grades in individual conferences while we worked on a packet of problems. The next class was Spanish, where we discussed cultural differences. Because the teacher was absent, we were excused early and I went home to eat and get ready for the party that night.

The party was really fun, but because we couldn’t have alcohol we ended up leaving early.   After that, we walked around Glashütten and enjoyed the beautiful nature and played with some stray cats, and then we all went home and to bed.

~Kelley

Today we got to enjoy a day trip to Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz. To start the day off we split up and in small groups went to different English classes to talk about different distinctive cultural and slang differences. Our group discussed what slang we use (it ended up being almost all the same). Afterwards we discussed noticeable differences in how we viewed certain aspects of our cultures. According to the Germans, Americans are best known for their approachability and kindness. It was a ton of fun to talk with people from a different culture and to learn more about yourself but also others. I learned a lot from this experience and appreciate having the opportunity to do so. Directly afterwards, we took the train to Mainz and saw the river Rhein which flows south to north through western Germany. It’s a very historical river as well as being important to the German economy. But most importantly it was very nice to sit on the side of the path and just watch the waves go by. After walking along the Rhine, we were greeted to the sight of the towering spires of the Mainz cathedral, which was absolutely stunning to see. Seeing both the inside and outside of the cathedral were by far my favorite parts of the day due to the beauty and scale of the structure, but most importantly because in the US, we don’t have any really old and grandiose structures such as the cathedral seen in the picture above which made it a new experience for me, and that I thoroughly enjoyed. After a quick and small lunch (3 delicious pretzels, eggs, and a schnitzel), we made our way to the Gutenberg museum. After researching Johannes Gutenberg and his work before leaving for Germany, I was really interested in being able to visit the museum, to which I was not disappointed. Gutenberg was the inventor of the modern printing press, which we were able to see in a live demonstration while printing the first page of the Bible. In the exhibit section of the museum, there were original bibles on display, which were unbelievably cool to see and to imagine being printed hundreds of years ago. Ultimately, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to tour and see a more typical city such as Mainz and get the chance to learn more about German culture.
~Hogan

We began our day with an engaging panel discussion about America with a 12th-grade English class. Each American student sat at a table with German students, and we conversed for about half an hour. They posed intriguing questions about differences in food and its cost, travel recommendations in the U.S., and our first impressions of Germany. It was a delightful exchange of cultures and ideas.

Next, we took the U-Bahn (subway) into the heart of Frankfurt. Our first stop was the Paulskirche (St. Paul’s Church), a significant symbol of German democracy.  Originally consecrated in 1833 as the main Evangelical Lutheran church in Frankfurt, it became the seat of the first freely elected German parliament in 1848, where the Frankfurt National Assembly convened to draft a constitution for a unified Germany.   The church was destroyed during World War II but was the first building in Frankfurt to be reconstructed after the war, reopening in 1948 as a monument to democracy.

We then explored the Römerberg, the historic center of Frankfurt’s Old Town.  This picturesque square is surrounded by reconstructed medieval buildings and has been the site of numerous imperial coronations, trade fairs, and Christmas markets.

Our next destination was the Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus (St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral), a stunning example of Gothic architecture.  Despite not being a bishop’s seat, it’s referred to as a cathedral due to its historical significance.  Between 1562 and 1792, ten emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned here.   We climbed the 328 steps to the viewing platform, which stands at 66 meters, and were rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view of the city and the Main River.

Afterwards, we visited the original campus of Goethe University.  One of the highlights was experiencing the unique paternoster elevators—open, continuously moving lifts without doors that you can step onto and off at each floor.  These vintage elevators are rare and have become quite a novelty.

To conclude our day, some of us, along with our German peers, went shopping at MyZeil, a modern shopping mall known for its striking architecture and a vast array of stores.

Overall, it was a day filled with rich history, cultural exchange, and memorable experiences.

~Anurag

I woke up early for school and had a chocolate croissant for breakfast.   It was interesting to see how early school is in Germany and how Jette’s family started the day.   As the day went on, I shadowed Jette in her classes. One class that really stood out to me was her English class. Seba and I had to go to the front and we were asked difficult questions about American politics and culture. I really enjoyed that class and thought it was really good that we got to share out lives with the Germans. After that we did an activity with our exchange partners about creating our dream school. My group focused on diversity and inclusion in our dream school. It was interesting to see how our different experiences at school affected how we wanted our rules to look like. After school we went to a shopping mall and it was a lot of fun. We did a lot of shopping and we got to get a better look at Frankfurt.  Finally we went to Jette’s mom’s work. We got to see a brilliant bird’s eye view of the city and it was cool to see how big it was.
~Sidd

Today was our first day at the Feldbergschule, so of course we were welcomed in with open arms by everyone at the school. We started the school day with everyone’s families bringing in food, for a nice breakfast. After this we went on a tour around the school led by Herr van Kampen and two students that were a part of the exchange last year. After this it was time to shadow our partners’ classes. My partner (Yves) had a free period during this class because the teacher was not here today. So we took this time to go into the town of Oberursel along with Rishi and Nick who also had the luxury of a free period. We walked around town and went into different shops getting a preview of the tour of the town we would get later in the day. Before the tour of Oberursel, we learned all about the Feldbergschule from a teacher that used to be a part of the exchange trips. We learned stuff about the school ranging from the history to the type of school it is as we covered the differences between the American school system and the German school system. Then we took the tour of Oberursel led by Frau Unger. She taught us about the rich history of the town, and we even got to climb up the tower of the St. Ursula church, which has been around since the 15th century and provided us a beautiful view of Oberursel and the neighboring city of Frankfurt. After the tour concluded, it was time to head home after a great day at the Feldbergschule.
~Rajan

Our Sunday started slowly because of our late night the day before. I woke up at around 10:30 and went downstairs for a wonderful European-style breakfast. After feasting on biscuits and croissants with a variety of delicious spreads, a delightful platter of different meats and cheeses, and Fleischsalat (a spread made up of diced sausage and pickles mixed with mayonnaise), I met with Titus and Nick at Titus’s boxing gym. Nick and I had a great time watching Titus and his friend Maxi spar as we tried not to embarrass ourselves while working on the punching bag. After the gym, Nick and I went to the best Döner restaurant in the world (or so we were told). After eating Döners that we thought could feed a small army, Nick and I parted ways. While driving home, I noticed how before the traffic lights turn green, they flash both yellow and red to let the drivers know that the lights are about to change. I then went to an antique car and motorcycle museum with Theresa’s father, Hans-Jürgen, and brother, Phillip. Although the museum was small, it contained some of the first cars and motorcycles produced. After the museum, we had a barbeque-style dinner with German bratwurst, pork, and steak off the grill.
~Jonas

Another perspective:
We got back to the house at around 2:30 am last night so we woke up around 12 pm. Then me and Janina ate breakfast which was yoghurt, croissants, and a smoothie. Then we took a walk around the park where I saw Janina’s old elementary school and her neighborhood which had very pretty houses. After this, we went to an ice cream shop where we also met with Jette and Sidd. All of us ordered Spaghettieis, which was very good. After this, we all walked home and Janina and I got ready for go karting. Janina’s dad drove us to pick up Nina and Izzy to go with us. Once we registered, we waited about half and hour and then got in the carts. There were two rounds and it was very difficult because I crashed into a few people and I had forgotten that I could use the brakes to slow down. Our slot lasted for half an hour and then me and Janina dropped Nina and Izzy at their house. Then we went to dinner at a place called Waldtraut. Here I had boiled potatoes and still water. Once we finished dinner, I went back to Janina’s house and we baked brownies for the breakfast at school the next morning. Once they were finished, we both got ready for bed.
~Tess

This morning, we started off with a traditional German breakfast.  Klaas’s mom had set up assorted breads, sliced meat, butter, cheese, croissants, etc. First, our plan for the day was to head to Pinta Beach; it started off as a really warm day. So, a great day for this beach.  It was basically a small lake, with an inflatable water park on the water, boats, paddle boards, and it wasn’t crowded. Klaas and I got there first, and a few other exchange students showed up as well. We hung out, played around in the water, and later, when a few others were on a paddle boat, most of the American guys got tickets for the inflatable water park. It was really fun, there were lots of slides, things to balance on, and eventually we headed back to land. Not long after we got back and dried off, it began to thunder and rain. This was about when we left the beach. We were driving Hogan and his exchange student Malte home, but we stopped to get food from a Bangkok street food restaurant, and it was really good. Eventually we dropped them off and headed home, where we chilled for a bit. Originally after Pinta Beach we were going to go to Gibson Beach club and play a type of racquet ball, but we ended up not going because of the rain. Later, the storm cleared up, so we ended up going to a wine festival (Weinfest) in Bad Homburg. We had gone the night before and were going again, but not as late tonight. On the way there we picked up two of Klaas’s friends from his old school. When we got to the festival, I let them go find another friend while I hung out with the other exchange students. Later we headed to the park where we were the night before and met some random Germans from the Feldbergschule who we spoke with about cultural differences and such. We headed home soon after and went to bed after a quick snack.
~Max 

Another perspective:

I woke up very late today and just ate a quick breakfast with bread and pate. Charat invited a friend to his house and the 3 of us went to enjoy some minigolf. I then went to watch Charat’s game which got canceled because of lightning.  After the game Charat and I headed back to the house and met up with Rishi to watch the champions league final. While I enjoyed the company, the actual game was pretty boring. Charat showed off his grilling skills for dinner making great steak, chicken and wurst for everyone. Then Rishi had to leave and Charat and I played FIFA into the night until we went to bed. Overall a pretty relaxing day, especially after the huge trip to Europa-Park the day before.
~Seba