Oberursel, Germany

Today my exchange family, Cade and I took a trip to Weimar and the Buchenwald concentration camp.  I’ve included the pictures of both the city and the memorial. We took a tour and I was especially impacted by how seriously the Germans take their history. The tour guide stayed solemn throughout and everyone could tell how important this was to everyone who went. We also were told to include the word “memorial” or Gedenkstätte, when describing where we went. In Weimar, we visited many older buildings such as the Goethe house and a historic church. Cade and I went up into the church and found some ladders that went up higher but looked pretty dangerous and not used in a while. We noted that if this was in America it would be roped off or someone would need to sign a contract to do it. I wonder if the safety regulations for attractions in Germany place more responsibility on the user and not the facility. We also saw a demonstration for Ukraine and liked how open support for Ukraine is here.  ~Matthew

The first full day with host families, and first student takeover! I am paired with Anne, and today we had a lovely day exploring Germany. I was greeted in the morning with an array of bread better than any bread in all of North America. When I told them I had missed good German bread from the Aldi’s “bread vending machine” it was decided an Aldi visit was in order. We went to two grocery stores, neither with a bread vending machine, much to my dismay. However, I was able to note some differences between the German groceries and your typical Food Lion. For one, all the German food is still arranged in cartons or in glass bottles: less waste and more environmentally friendly. Fruit doesn’t need those pesky thin plastic bags, and you must bring all the bags you need unless you want to pay extra. The back of the car was very full with all of the food! There is no grocery in Eppenhain (Anne’s town) so we went to the next one over. I greatly enjoyed the ride in the convertible soaking up the sun! When we returned, Anne and I helped Anne’s mother make schnitzel, potatoes, and spargel (white asparagus) for a tasty lunch together as a whole family! Then, I took a much needed nap on the balcony with the beautiful weather and all the flowers. When I was awoken, we went off to Darmstadt! Darmstadt is a university town where Anne’s father studied, but we went for the Schlossgrabenfest music festival. It was almost like a festival UNC or NC State might host, but bigger and reminded me of the state fair with all the food stations and people of all ages. There were many stages (maybe 5?) for all sorts of performers or DJs. Another different thing was that there was a special guest at one of the stages later in the evening – the German Eurovision entry from 2018! It was really cool to hear Michael Schulte sing his entry song from the contest. I find it interesting how much English music Germans listen to, as his song was in English. I also heard covers of many English songs, from Bon Jovi to Katy Perry! It was a very cool experience and I was thoroughly worn out by the end. I may have grumbled as I reluctantly paid for a WC and drank my lukewarm seltzer water, but it was a lovely day in Deutschland:)   ~Emma

Berlin Cathedral

DDR Museum

DDR Museum

Currywurst

hazelnut ice cream

Hazel nut ice cream

Currywurst and ice cream

Hello, all.
We had a wonderful final morning in Berlin, starting with a stroll around the cathedral, city palace, and museum island.  We then headed to the DDR museum for an immersive experience of everyday life in the former East Germany, a topic of special interest to those in the group who just completed an elective course on the subject.  Directly above the museum, we found a nice spot to have some Currywurst (or hazelnut ice cream, depending on individual mood) and enjoy a few final views of the Spree river.  Then it was time to make our way to the Berlin airport for our flight to Frankfurt.  Waiting for us as we exited the baggage claim area were all of our host students and host families, who gave us a very warm welcome.  And so begins the homestay phase of our exchange.  Tomorrow we’ll have our first student report on the blog.

Until then all the best from Oberursel!
~Frau Greene

Nikolaiviertel

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

Oberbaum Bridge

Markthalle IX

Markthalle IX

Alexanderplatz with TV tower

TV Tower

TV Tower

the GRIPS Theater

Siegessäule

How nice it was to wake up this morning to a sunny day in Berlin!   Our first stop today was the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall.  Artists from all over the world were invited to paint murals on the east side of this 1.3km wall segment, the most famous of which is the painting by Russian artist Dmitri Vrubel showing the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev smooching with East German leader Erich Honecker.  Prior to the fall of the wall, only the West side had graffiti (no one on the East side was allowed to approach the wall), so the murals were meant to be both a celebration of the fall of the wall and a reflection on the earlier division of the city.  We then enjoyed lunch at Markthalle IX, a nicely restored market hall in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.  Later in the afternoon we visited the observation deck of the TV tower on the Alexanderplatz, where we had a bit of coffee and cake while enjoying panoramic views of the city.  Soon after, it was time to head to the GRIPS theater for a performance of the play “Die Welle” (The Wave), which is about a group of high school students who learn firsthand how totalitarian systems manipulate people into silence.  It’s hard to believe that we have already reached the end of our stay in Berlin, but at the same time, we are looking forward to our arrival in Oberurusel tomorrow and the start of the homestay phase of our trip.

Viele liebe Grüße aus Berlin!
~Frau Greene

Reichstag building with glass dome

Reichstag building

Bundestag

Bundestag

Reichstag building glass dome

Brandenburg Gate

Bundestag

at the top of the Reichstag building

Quick lunch

Ampelmann Shop

Ampelmann Shop

Ampelmann Shop

Ampelmann Shop

Ampelmann Shop

Ampelmann Shop

Unter den Linden

Ku’damm

Our first full day in Berlin was a very busy one!  We started things off  by heading to the historic Reichstag building, where we enjoyed a tour of the Bundestag, after which we were able to go up into the building’s glass dome and take in some nice views of the city.  Our next stop was the Brandenburg Gate area and the nearby Holocaust Memorial.  From there, we took a stroll down the grand boulevard Unter den Linden,  After a quick stop for lunch, it was time to explore what lies beneath Berlin with a tour of the underground bunkers used as bomb shelters during World War II and converted into nuclear fallout shelters during the Cold War era.  Then, to lighten the mood a bit, we popped into the Ampelmann Shop, Berlin’s famous brand featuring the beloved East German pedestrian crossing figure.   Our evening plans took us to West-Berlin, where we had a chance to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and some of the other interesting sights along the Kurfürstendamm.

Typically, a student would have written this blog post, but given our packed schedule in Berlin,  we thought it  best to let the students get their sleep while we’re here without expecting anyone in the group to stay up extra late writing for the blog.  Instead, I will keep you updated over the next few days with photos and a brief description of our activities, and the student reports will begin once we arrive in Oberursel.

For now, all the best from exciting Berlin!
~Frau Greene

Frankfurt

Oberursel

Feldbergschule

This blog will serve as a record of the 2023 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.

Landgasthof Saalburg

Farewell party

Farewell party

Farewell party

Farewell party

It’s hard to believe that today was our last day with our friends at the Feldbergschule in Oberursel.  We celebrated the exchange this evening with a farewell party at the Landgasthof Saalburg, a traditional German restaurant located near a reconstructed  fort that was once part of the Roman frontier in Germany (“Limes”).

In follow-up to this evening’s festivities, we would again like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our host teachers and our host families for the wonderful time we have had here in Oberursel.  We will be returning to North Carolina with very fond memories of the time we spent in the Taunus region.  While a few members of our group will be staying on in Europe a while longer, most of us will be flying back to Raleigh tomorrow, where we  look forward to reuniting with our family and friends.  Until then, all the best from Germany, and see you very soon!   ~Frau Greene

the Kaiserdom in Frankfurt

View of Frankfurt

Frankfurt Town Hall

Paulskirche

Frankfurt riverfront

Cocoa

Kleinmarkthalle

MyZeil shopping center

Commerzbank building

Dorade fish

Today was the very last Saturday of the 2019 exchange trip to Germany that we will ever have for the rest of our lives. That being said, it was quite the fulfilling one. It all started out with me waking up today at around 8:47 AM. I proceeded to get ready for the day in great anticipation of the absolutely splendid breakfast that awaited me upstairs. After finishing getting ready, I raced up the stairs and immediately helped out in the setting of the table. This is quite a necessary step in eating breakfast, as one cannot thoroughly consume one’s food without first making sure the place where one will be consuming the food is properly prepared for food consumption. This is also a step that I have aided with whenever I have gotten the opportunity, as it is quite respectful to do and also interesting to see each individual family’s customs with respect to how they set their table. Once the table was fully set, I indulged in quite the delicious breakfast of absolutely fantastic bread with my choice of multiple varieties of jam and jelly, in addition to Nutella, one of my favorite spreads for a sumptuous morning breakfast. This was a common breakfast that I had on quite a few occasions during my time here and thoroughly enjoyed at every single experience. Once breakfast was finished, we entered into the vehicular transport form known as the automobile or colloquially “the car,” and then drove on the Autobahn to Frankfurt.  Driving on the Autobahn is a very different and interesting experience, because there is no set velocity limit on many sections of this exciting option of travel, but almost all of the cars still maintain a sensible speed at almost all times. Upon arriving in the city of Frankfurt am Main, I converged with a small multitude of people made up of other Cary Academy students, their respective exchange partners, and some of their respective exchange partners’ respective families. We had quite the entertaining and enjoyable time strolling around the streets of Frankfurt and were able to climb over 300 steps in the Frankfurt Dom to see a truly spectacular view of the city. This was quite the unforgettable experience because of the history behind the building in addition to just how magnificent the cityscape is. Our group then ventured into a small sweet treats shop and café,  where I indulged in a delicious drink of high in temperature liquid that is derived from the cacao plant, which was subsequently sweetened with a variety of quite fascinating types of sugar. We then journeyed on to the famous Kleinmarkt, where I savoured and enjoyed a magnificent panini with the rest of the group. Sadly, my day in Frankfurt with the group had come to an end, but there was one more stop before I finally left the city. The final destination in Frankfurt of the day was the grandiose MyZeil shopping center, in which I got to visit an outlet of one of Germany’s biggest technology store brands, Saturn. Although I had previously presumed my day of seeing other people I knew from the United States of America was over, I saw both a familiar figure from my residence of education walking with his parkour-loving host student, in addition to the familial members of another colleague of mine from the place I attend to develop my own knowledge who is well known for his second place finish in the NCISAA Division I State Championship Boys Mile. This truly brings to mind the German phrase that “Frankfurt ist ein Dorf,” which can be roughly translated to “Frankfurt is a village,” which means that you will run into a lot more familiar people than you might expect. After quite the hard and yet rewarding day of locomoting throughout Frankfurt, I got to quickly experience the beauty of the architecture of the Commerzbank building from the inside, and then sought out the family’s transportation device. We once again utilized the vehicular transport form of the automobile or “car” to return home to the Beyerle household. Slightly later that evening, I enjoyed a thoroughly delectable dinner of sausage and Dorade fish from the Mediterranean, which is a brand new food I was introduced to on this very day. Throughout the day I had been conscientiously working on my usage and skill level of German, whether it was just with small talk or ordering food. However, one technique I have found supremely conducive to my German education is that of consuming German visual media in the format of TV or movies, as one is able to be exposed to multiple hours of non-stop German in an engaging and lively manner. That technique was once again put to good use as I chose to view a German film of the “Krimi” variety, which was a murder mystery film. Although I wasn’t able to exactly guess who the killer was, the visual media experience was quite the entertaining one and was a fantastic end to a fantastic day. In summation, today was quite the amazing one and a great last Saturday ever of the 2019 Cary Academy Exchange Trip to Germany.  ~Kyle M.

Anne Frank’s childhood home in Frankfurt

Anne Frank Educational Center

Anne Frank Educational Center

interactive exhibits

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

discussing ads

waiting for the U-Bahn

riding in the U-Bahn

group dinner

Leo, the neighbors’ cat

Today, I got up at 6am and got ready, and ate a breakfast of yogurt and fruit. Today, like every other day, my host family has not failed to have Nutella at breakfast!  Afterwards, we headed off to our last day at the Feldbergschule.  It was cold this morning, so I was glad I had a sweatshirt.  To get to school, we walk to the bus stop, take the bus to the train station, and take the U-Bahn to the station near school, and then walk the rest of the way.  It takes about 45 minutes, but it doesn’t feel that long because you’re moving the whole time, as opposed to sitting in a car.  Once we got to school, the first class I went to was Ethics and Religion.  The students were talking about what a paradise is and what it means to be in a paradise.  Afterwards, we had a break and then went to the second class, Biology.  I was really happy to go to this class because it was the first science class I had gotten to see.  The students were doing a worksheet on mitosis.  It was hard to understand in German, but I remembered some of it from my Biology class, which really helped.  The teacher was definitely stricter than the others; she was the only teacher to correct and edit our class summary sheets!  After Biology, we left school and went to Maya’s.  Leaving was a little bittersweet because we won’t ever come back to the school.  At Maya’s, we ate sandwiches and hung out.  By then, it had warmed up a little, so we sat outside.  After a little over an hour at Maya’s, we all met at the train station for a field trip
to the Anne Frank Educational Center.  We first got to do different interactive  activities with tablets to learn more about Anne Frank and about discrimination in general.  These were very interesting because we had never done anything like this before. We were at the center for a very long time, and after we were done with the interactive exhibits, we looked at print ads and had a discussion about discrimination in both words and images. After the Anne Frank house, a group of us went to Annika’s for dinner, which was great because we were all starving. Afterwards, we all hung out and talked, plus we taught the German students some new group games! Overall, it was a very fun day and a great way to spend our last day at the school.  ~Olivia Z.