A 30 hour trip including planes, trains, automobiles, and a five day stay in Ulm, Germany has passed. I couldn’t be more grateful to have explored the German culture. I’m writing this on the train heading towards Vienna, Austria, reflecting back on the first wonderful half of Hastings High School’s German trip.
On March 3, 13 students, including myself, and two adults, Mr. Garchow and Mr. Theoharis, left HHS at five o’clock in the morning. This first trip to Omaha was only the first of many transportation routes taken; we later went on to fly to Detroit, Michigan, Frankfurt, Germany and took a train to Ulm.
After this exhausting trip, we students were right away met with our host families, who took us back to their homes. At this point, most of us could barely keep our eyes open, but our host families were under strict orders to keep us awake until that night so we could avoid the worst of jet lag.
My host family, the Haug family, consisted of the father, Robert, the mother, Brigit, the daughter, Pia, and the son, Tim. The family was beyond wonderful to me. I will always be thankful they made me feel welcome.
A few hours after we arrived at their house, they were gracious enough to take me back into the city to meet up with my family’s old exchange student, Natalia, and her family. During this meet-up, we walked around the “stadtmitte”, or city center of Ulm. We saw the crooked Butcher’s Tower, the Ulmer Münster, the birthplace of Albert Einstein and the Rhine River. Seeing my old “sister” was amazing and refreshing having been in a completely new country.
The next day my host family took me to Blaubeuren, a town in Germany that is 750 years old. Here we saw the Blautopf, a pond that holds the entrance to a series of caves that lasts over 50 miles. We also saw the Hochaltar, which is a famous church altar in a seminary. It was very cool to see a town that has been around since before explorers even “discovered” America.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I went to Pia’s school with her. School in Germany is very different than America. For instance, fourth-grade children are tested to see how much more school they should complete. After this, there are three levels that children can be placed in. If not placed in the highest of these, children are done with school by the time they are 16 and are put into an apprenticeship or a job. Also, in German schools, the teachers change classrooms as well as the children. Another interesting thing is how students in Germany tend to be a tad less respectful toward their teachers than American students are expected to be.
After school, Pia took me to places around the city to explore. During this time we climbed the Ulmer Münster, the highest church in the world, went to the mall, looked for souvenirs, and ate a lot of ice cream.
At night, the Haug family would eat around seven or eight p.m. At dinner time, I had the chance to try several traditional German meals, my favorite being Rouladen, a traditional German main dish made from roast beef. Germans tend to eat huge, filling meals and do not snack very often. This was hard for me, but I did manage to sneak in some Bavarian Pretzels and Kinder chocolate between meals.
Ulm and my host family gave me an experience that I will never forget. Ulm is a wonderful place for someone looking to travel to a European city without being overwhelmed by countless tourists.
With such an amazing experience behind me, I can’t wait to see what is in store for me in Vienna.
