Oberursel, Germany

Bad Homburg

On Friday, we began the day with a traditional German breakfast. Because my host family keeps chickens, we had fresh scrambled and hard-boiled eggs. We also used fresh oranges to make homemade orange juice, which was the best I’ve ever had! Then we went to the park hoping to play volleyball, but ended up playing soccer instead because the volleyball courts were all already full. The people in the photo are my exchange partner, his brother, and two strangers we met at the soccer park. Next, we went to the wine festival (Weinfest) in Bad Homburg. Because we arrived a few hours early, one of my exchange student’s friends (William) brought me around the town for a tour. We saw a castle and got to know each other with German jokes that I only half understood, like the birds being government spy drones and the castle being William’s personal home. Lastly, Julian split off to talk to his German friends and I met up with the rest of the Americans at the festival. We walked around for a few hours and ended up watching a lake from the park. Overall, it was a fantastic start to the weekend and I’m excited to learn more about German culture!
~Riley

Another perspective:
On Friday, Titus and I slept in until around 12 when we ate and then went out to a ropes course with Rishi, Riley, and their partners. We stayed there climbing around for a few hours, staying away from  our phones.  After the ropes course, Julian drove Titus and I to Aldi to grab groceries for a barbecue before Rishi and I had to ride bikes with Titus and Julius back to Julius’ house. We waited for Jonas to join the fun, and someone named Horwig showed up. We ate some sausages and then went back to Titus’ house. His dad made us authentic Italian pizza, and once we’d finished, we went back out. We met up with a few of the other exchange members at a Weinfest  (did NOT drink) and just hung out. We eventually went to a park where some more of Titus’ friends showed up; they were quite the group and gave us some living advice, then went on their way. Titus’ dad came to pick us up, and we went home to go to sleep.
~Nick

Hackesche Höfe

Hackesche Höfe

Hackesche Höfe

Neptunbrunnen

Fernsehturm

Frankfurt airport bus

Schnitzel dinner

Today was our last day in Berlin and the transition to seeing our exchange students. The day started off a little later than usual with a walk along the river to brunch. For about 15 minutes along the way we could hear the bells from the nearby churches ringing loudly. Today was a “Feiertag” in Germany, a public holiday called Christi Himmelfahrt or Ascension Day. We ate a traditional German breakfast with brötchen, croissants, bread, salami, prosciutto, other cold meets and cheeses. After breakfast we walked around the Hackesche Höfe and looked at the cool Jugendstil architecture, as well as went in a couple of shops including the original Ampelmann store: the little guy on pedestrian crossings in East Germany. There were lots of beautiful plants and even a sand pit. We then made our way to the Neptune fountain outside of the Fernsehturm where we admired the statues and awaited going up. The Fernsehturm or TV tower stands at 1,207 feet tall and is the tallest structure in Germany. It can be seen all throughout Berlin so it was much anticipated. At the top there is a full 360 view of Berlin where we viewed all the places we had visited in the days before. It was a great end to our Berlin trip before we made our way to the airport. We then finally reunited with our exchange students after much excitement and went our own ways. For dinner my exchange student took me to a local cafe with her grandparents and I ate Schnitzel while discussing the excitement that awaits this week. We now have our first of two 3-day weekends and I cannot wait to see what else Germany has in store!
~Izzy

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

S-Bahn

Cold War Bunker Tour

Cold War Bunker Tour

KaDeWe

KaDeWe

Gedächtniskirche

Charlottenburg

Improv Performance

Alexanderplatz

TV Tower

TV Tower

Berlin Airport

And a warm welcome from our host families at the Frankfurt Airport:

Breakfast at Berlin Pavillon

Breakfast at Berliner Pavillon

Reichstag glass dome

Glass dome of Reichstag building

Reichstag building

Reichstag

Volkswagen Forum

Berlin Cathedral

Trabi “test drive” at the DDR Museum

Trabi “test drive” at the DDR Museum

DDR Museum

Berlin Wall Memorial

Dinner at the Schnitzelei

Herzliche Grüße aus Berlin!
We started our day today with a group breakfast at the Berliner Pavillon, and then we headed across the street to the historic Reichstag building, the current seat of the German Bundestag (parliament).  Our visit included the chance to ascend the spiral ramp up into the glass dome of the building, which serves as a symbol of the transparency and openness of Germany’s government and offers panoramic views of the city.  From there, we explored Unter den Linden, Berlin’s historic boulevard leading from the Brandenburg Gate to the city palace and cathedral.  Along the way, we popped into the Volkswagen Forum to see some classic German cars, plus a few new Volkswagen models that are not available in the U.S.   For lunch, the group had the opportunity to try another Berlin specialty–Currywurst.  Then it was off to the DDR Museum to learn a bit more about what life was like for East Germans during the Cold War.  After that, we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauerstraße, an outdoor exhibition where were able to see how the wall divided the city and also how tunnels were built in efforts to escape the communist East.  We finished our very full day with a group dinner at the Schnitzelei, a well-known local restaurant that offers creative versions of the Schnitzel for all tastes and moods, including gluten-free and vegetarian options.   Now we’re back at our hotel in the Nikolaiviertel, ready once again to get some much-needed sleep.

All the best to our families and friends back in NC,
Frau Greene

Nikolaiviertel

Döner

Döner

Spree river

Ampelmannladen

Hello everyone.
After a short flight to Washington, a somewhat bumpy transatlantic flight, and a quick change of planes in Frankfurt, we finally arrived safe and sound in Berlin.  Once we checked into our hotel in the Nikolaiviertel and freshened up a bit, we headed out to the Hackescher Markt area for lunch, where several members of our group enjoyed their first Döner.   We then went for a stroll along the Spree river, took a short detour into the Ampelmannladen (named for the famous figure on East German pedestrian signals), and made our way to the Brandenburg Gate.  From there it was back to the hotel for a quick dinner and some much-needed sleep.  Tomorrow our adventures will begin in earnest, starting with a visit to the German Bundestag.

For now, all the best from the German capital!
Frau Greene

Frankfurt

Oberursel

Feldbergschule

This blog will serve as a record of the 2025 Cary Academy student exchange trip to Germany.  We hope that you enjoy following along on our adventures as we tour Berlin and visit our friends at the Feldbergschule in Oberursel near Frankfurt.  Below is a video preview of some of the sights that await us in the German capital and in our host community.

We started the day going to class with our partners. Around 11:00 we took a bus to Bad Homburg and toured a castle that was for a time the residence of the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm II.   We ended the tour by climbing the castle tower.   At the bottom of a tower , there was a skeleton.  In the afternoon I meet up with Lena in Bad Homburg, and we walked around a bit and did a little shopping. Lena and I then went to castle number 6. (Yes, another castle!) I climbed yet another massive tower. The castle was SO pretty (and a little creepy at some points).  In the evening we finished our day by watched kids shows!  ~Kate

This morning we headed to the train station near school where we rode all the way to Würzburg, with only one train switch. After a measly hour long ride (plus a 30 minute delay) we had made it to the city. After walking around a little and seeing the Main river which flowed through the city, all the groups broke apart for lunch. Carter, Wells, and I decided on Döner; we found an authentic Berlin Döner shop. 15 minutes later we had figured out how to open a bottle with no bottle opener, and we were done with our food, which was very filling.  We walked back to the meeting point, talking about our ingenious plan to open a Döner truck in North Carolina, before stopping at an ice cream cafe due to our extra time.  Two scoops later and we were back with the group and heading to the castle nearby, which we strolled around, taking in all the beautiful sights and even taking a walk through their wine gardens. Unfortunately we weren’t actually allowed to try the wine, but it was still a more than enjoyable experience.  We finished out time in the city with another ice cream cafe; however, still full from lunch, I decided to pass on this one.   The group all finished their cones and cups and headed to the train station, where we learned that our express train home was cancelled, so that we had a longer 2 hour ride home, which pushed the arrival time from 6 to after 7. A quick nap on the train, however, and it was over in a flash. I arrived to my home at around 8 where I was greeted by a dinner of Chinese takeout and the stories of the parents’ time in Berlin, as they had just came back from a concert. Socializing with family was how I ended the day, and overall I’d say it’s been one of my favorite days being here. I really enjoyed getting to see all the historic land sights and it was really a wonderful last field trip.  ~Cam