The Hamburg Exhange 2015
Report
Halfway through the October half
term, a small group of UCS Remove students gathered outside Luton Airport,
ready to embark for Hamburg as part of the annual UCS/Heinrich-Heine
exchange. Having checked in our luggage and grabbed something quick to
eat, we boarded the plane, eagerly waiting to meet our partners for the
second time. As we had already got to know them during the first leg of
the exchange, we felt very comfortable upon arrival. Soon enough, we were
warmly greeted by our host families and ushered home, having said goodbye
to Mr Underwood, Dr Colwell and my fellow English friends, for a delicious
evening meal of Schnitzel and potatoes with the family. After being kindly
shown around the house and a fun yet frustrating game of FIFA, I felt it
was time to go to bed in order to make the most out of the upcoming events
and days in Germany.
The next morning, following a breakfast
consisting of Weißwurst served with a variation of different German
breads, my exchange partner, Daniel, and I rushed to the Poppenbüttel
train station where we were scheduled to meet before heading to Lübeck, a
northern city of Germany, renowned for its gothic architecture and its
marzipan industry. Once we had arrived, we spent a few hours sightseeing
before a short lunch break. We were then given time to buy some souvenirs
and visit the wide variety of shops on the high street. I’d also like to
mention Mr Underwood’s shopping challenge which involved finding a few
items from a list for which we were provided with, purchasing them, and
bringing them back in the shortest amount of time. It also gave us a
chance to speak and communicate with the local people, not to mention the
strange and confused looks we were given.
After an enjoyable day
out it was time to return to Poppenbüttel where we were to meet our
exchanges and say goodbye to our teachers as we weren’t going to see them
until Monday. As a group, some partners decided to spend the rest of the
evening at a local indoor waterpark which, in my opinion was a major
highlight of the exchange and cemented a real bond between the two groups.
To start off the weekend, Daniel and I visited the well known
‘Miniatur Wunderland’, the world’s largest model railway exhibition,
covering 4 floors and incorporating an array of different transport
related scenes, such as an airport, a train station and the HSV stadium,
all in immense detail. We then, surprised at how quickly the time had
passed and feeling very hungry, took a bus to central Hamburg in order to
find something to eat. We finally decided on Jim Block, a famous fast-food
restaurant serving delicious hamburgers and salads. Having had our lunch,
Daniel and I took the train home from ‘Rathaus’ station, located next to
the city hall, as we had planned to meet the rest of the group at his
house before going out.
On Sunday, Daniel and his family kindly
took me to The Hamburg Dungeons, situated next to the harbour, which he
was very excited to take me to. The experience consisted of 11 rooms and a
surprise ride at the end of the tour which reenacted the drop a hanged
person would encounter known as the “Death Drop”. With Daniel beside me, I
had no difficulty understanding what was going on in each sector of the
show. It was not only fun but gave me an idea of what Hamburg was like
throughout the previous centuries. Later that evening, we travelled to the
official HSV stadium to see Hamburg play Hannover. Hamburg started off the
game with an early goal, putting them in a comfortable position.
Unfortunately, however a penalty was conceded just before halftime and
later on in the last ten minutes, Hannover scored another goal to give
them the lead with a final score of 2-1. Although the game didn’t have a
positive result, the atmosphere was great and I enjoyed going to a
football match in a foreign country.
Once the weekend was over,
our group of UCS students along with Dr Colwell and Mr Underwood met yet
again, at Poppenbüttel train station for our longed for trip to Berlin.
Although it being early in the morning, we were all excited for the fun
day ahead as we got on the train. Having visited, amongst others, the
Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Bebelplatz and
Berlin’s Olympic stadium (which is currently used as the home venue for
the Fußball-Bundesliga's Hertha BSC), we walked around the city centre,
taking in the beautiful sights before having lunch in a nearby shopping
centre. Later on, we passed by one of the world’s biggest electronic
stores (covering 4 floors), by the name of Saturn, where I, amongst
others, bought something with the remainder of our money. Sadly, by then
it was time to return home.
The following day, we spent the morning
at Heinrich Heine Gymnasium, the school of our exchanges, where for half
the day we were given the opportunity to take part in our exchanges
lessons, followed by a day trip to the city, but this time with other UCS
students. The group enjoyed the photo challenge that our teachers had set
up in the main city square! Later that day we all gathered at the school
for a farewell English Evening.. It consisted of many different
presentations by the German students, a quiz on England, and finally, a
short stand up comedy show which ended the exchange with many laughs and
smiles.
Overall, my time in Hamburg not only improved my spoken
German but gave me the opportunity to make new friends who I will
hopefully see in the foreseeing future! We are all very grateful to our
host families for their hospitality and comfort and on behalf of myself
and the other UCS exchanges, we’d like to thank Mr Underwood and Dr
Colwell for organizing such a fun and educational experience.
Maximilian Rouse
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