Oberursel, Germany

Guten Morgen for our second day at the Feldbergschule! Sadly, the group was mostly split up today for different classes, so I’ll share my adventures for the day. Despite being tired, I managed to have fun in the first class, English. After our 20 minute break, I moved on to math and was shocked to find a total of 7 people showed up for their test, “the elites” their teacher joked. I enjoyed a conversation with him while the group worked hard on their test. Finishing the day with an English presentation and a cancelled last class, Parmida (my buddy) and I headed home via the ever helpful public transport system. Since we get home between lunch and dinner, most students eat lunch when they get home, only snacking on their Pausenbrot (break sandwich) during the breaks. We enjoyed some pizza before she studied and I, helpfully, napped. Now well rested, we headed to Frankfurt which is next to their small town of Eschborn. During this outing we visited the Goethe University which has a beautiful campus. We then finished the day with a delicious ice cream from their favorite shop Eis Christina. It was a fun outing, but after a long day we headed back home and got ready for another day! ~ Nova 🙂

Today I had to get up at 6:30 in order to catch the U-Bahn, that German equivalent of the subway that also goes above ground. It’s kind of incredible how much better the public transportation is in Germany than it is in the US: in Frankfurt and surrounding areas there’s a bus/”subway” station within a walkable distance of basically everywhere. As a result, the roads are way less congested than the city roads of the US. There’s also a lot of respect on the road for pedestrians and bikers, with dedicated and independent crossing lights for both. Once we got to the school, I attended Rechnungswesen with Victor (my exchange partner), a class that’s oriented specifically towards making and keeping accurate financial records. It was very practical, looking at real-world possibilities as class material. After a warm welcome from the Feldbergschule “Kaiser,” Matthew and I gave a presentation on driving in the US; the German students were astounded that we only had to pay around $20 to get our licenses as opposed to the thousands of euros they had to. After that, the whole CA exchange group went on a tour of Oberursel, during which we looked at a lot of the (pictured) landmarks of the city. What was interesting to me was the historical significance of some of the seemingly straightforward monuments: one seemingly simple fountain that we went to was actually built in memory of a bank owner killed by the RAF (an extreme leftist terrorist group that was active in Germany in the 1970s). After the tour was done, Victor and I ventured to the Nordwestzentrum, a huge mall in Frankfurt. There we ate Döner, which is a Turkish dish popularized in Germany by Turkish immigrants. After that, Victor had to study for his end-of-year math exam, so we ended up ultimately going home pretty early – the end-of-year exams can determine whether or not German students can go to the next grade, so he has good reason to prioritize it. In any case, it was a beautiful day in Oberursel!  ~Sebastian

Willkommen to the third full day with exchange families! Today we had a slow morning, which was a welcome respite from the crazy, fun-filled weekend. On Saturday, we road-tripped to Köln to see the Kölner Dom (pictured) and the Lindt chocolate museum. On Sunday, we went to an amusement park about 45 minutes away from Köln to ride Achterbahnen (rollercoasters). Despite the opportunity to sleep in a bit this morning, we still had a lovely day celebrating my host partner’s grandma’s birthday. We enjoyed schnitzel and käsespätle (pictured) at a restaurant in the countryside, then drove to the grandmother’s house to continue the festivities. In the lush green backyard, I went four-leaf-clover hunting, and was pleased to find 4 four-leaf-clovers plus an extra-lucky 5-leaf-clover (pictured). It was a relief to find my clover-hunting luck extended overseas. Then, I learned a new game called “Hus-Halbedelsteinspiel” (pictured), which I am pleased to report that I won after a long and intense battle. We enjoyed coffee and cake (pictured) on the back porch, and I learned about Benjamin the Elephant, a character from a German kids TV show, who just so happened to be starring as a decoration on one of the cakes as well. We capped off the day by playing “Mensch ärgere Dich nicht,” another classic German board game. Once again, I won thanks to a lucky roll of the dice – I think all the luck I’ve had today with board games is thanks to that 5-leaf-clover! So excited for the first day at the Feldbergschule tomorrow!  ~Leah

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.