Strasbourg and Black Forest trip
On Thursday 13th July, we were really excited to set off on our first foreign languages trip since lock down, taking a group of Year 9 and 10 languages students to Strasbourg in France and the Black Forest in Germany.
It was a late start, travelling through the night and arriving in Strasbourg on Friday evening. On the way, we took the opportunity to see another country, stopping in Luxembourg for lunch!
As it was 14th July, Bastille Day, after a quick but delicious dinner in the hotel we went for a walk into central Strasbourg to see the festivities in the central square and experience the fantastic atmosphere of live music and traditional stalls selling local food.
Early on Saturday, after a wonderful breakfast, we set off for our first activity of the day – a visit to a traditional gingerbread factory. Here we learnt about the history of gingerbread and even had the opportunity to try lots of different varieties. Almost everyone took the opportunity to buy some great souvenirs before we set off on our next adventure to Kehl in Germany. Here we climbed a viewing tower to see the Black Forest and walked across the bridge over the Rhine which is the border between the two countries. It’s not often that you get the chance to have one foot in one country and one in another!
Then it was back to Strasbourg for a boat trip through the city and our evening meal in a traditional Tarte Flambée/Flammkuchen restaurant (a type of flatbread pizza, which usually has crème fraiche, onion and bacon on it, although we had the chance to try different flavours such as goats cheese with honey and spicy Mexican).
Sunday was the eagerly anticipated trip back across the border into Germany to Europa Park theme park, home of the fastest roller-coaster in Europe! The students had a wonderful day exploring the park and experiencing lots of different rides. Everyone had an amazing time! On the way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Flunch restaurant where the students could choose from a wide selection of traditional French or more familiar dishes for dinner. It was wonderful to see so many students trying things that they had never tasted before.
Bright and early Monday morning we were on our way home, breaking the journey half way for lunch in Belgium.
We would like to thank the students for making the trip so wonderful. They were polite, well-mannered and cheerful throughout.
