Our (10/1;10/3) trip to Brighton
We started on 22nd June 2019 with our bus in Magdeburg and then went through France to the port of Calais. There we took a ferry that took us to the mainland of England. Before we got to know our host families we visited the traditional pilgrim city Canterbury. There we learned something about the Canterbury Tales and had some free time. Subsequently we went to our destination Brighton, a wonderful seaport in the south of England. In the early evening our host families picked us up and we spent our first night, which was definitely pretty exciting for all of us in our new home. Some pupils used their school English for the first time in a foreign country.
In the following days we saw many cultural highlights of southern England. We visited Windsor Castle which is subject to the English crown and therefore occasionally inhabited by members of the royal family. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the Queen.
We also walked along the White Cliffs of Dover where we had an brilliant view over the English Channel, not least because of the amazing weather. The rest of the day we spent our time in the city of Brighton. It is mainly known for its nightlife, its festivals, the pronounced art scene and the huge shopping malls. But for most of us the most exciting was the pier. It wasn’t an ordinary pier like the ones you find in Germany. This pier had a huge casino on its deck and next to this you could visit a fun park. So if you wanted to survive you had to bring a really big wallet.
Besides we got the chance to see the capital of England for two times. At the first time our class teachers showed us the most popular locations of London. After that we made a boat trip on the River Thames finishing in the southern district of London Greenwich. There we took a look at the historical Zero Meridian being responsible for the universal date and time.
Our last day started with the adoption of our host families. Afterwards we headed for London for the second time. In the morning we visited the Tower of Londonwhich is undoubtedlythe most famous fortress in the world. Since 1988 the tower is part of the UNESCO world heritage. It shows the British Crown Jewelsnext to old weapons. In the afternoon we were able to explore London ourselves. Of course most of us went shopping. Others enjoyed their lives in one of the huge parks. In the evening we all came together for a glorious tour with the London Eyeat sunset. We had an amazing view over the city and could take lots of new insta pictures.
An hour later we sat in the bus again and were going home. Many pupils were sad about the thought that the journey was now over.
It was an unique experience, not least because of the nice host families and the well-structured days. We could learn lots of new things about the British culture and were able to talk with English people.
We guess that we are not the only ones to say that this journey has enriched us.
By Kai Metzing and Theo Krüger