Rhine Valley Trip

The whole trip was really fun and exciting without missing the importance of learning German culture – a great experience. Harry 

Over the Easter holidays 48 Year 8 and 9 students and six members of staff headed to the Rhine Valley for a German language and cultural visit. A late departure from School at 11pm might have encouraged some of the group to get some sleep but high excitement levels meant that this was not necessarily the case before the coach pulled into the port of Dover in the early hours of the morning! 

The long and rather tiring coach journey continued through France, Belgium and eventually into Germany. Though it was to be some 17 hours before they were to reach their final destination, the group were kept entertained with jokes from the driver and plenty of sights and stops along the way.

Eventually around 5pm local time our WGS party arrived at Hotel im Rheintal Kamp–Bornhofen, and settled into the accommodation. Throughout their stay, the hotel offered many German specialities including traditional soups and dishes.

On their first day, the group visited one of the finest examples of medieval castles - Schloss Marksburg. The castle sits majestically above the town of Braubach and it is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. During their visit, the students learnt all about the castle’s history and the people who used to live there.  In the afternoon, there was a fascinating visit to Siegfried’s Mekanischesmusikkabinett or music box museum in the town of Rüdesheim. The museum houses 350 self-playing, mechanical music instruments spanning three centuries. These included some very rare boxes that played some amazing sounds which were enjoyed by all. A chance to go bowling was a fun way to end a successful first day.

Up bright and early, our group headed to the Cologne Lindt Chocolate Museum which showed the process of chocolate making and all about the history of the cocoa beans. Some students remarked that it reminded them of Cadburys World back home. This was followed by a visit to the German Sport & Olympia Museum which told the history of the Olympics in a very engaging way. Finally a relaxing river boat trip down the Rhine provided the opportunity for some scenic photos whilst learning more about Cologne and the Rhine. After a busy day the group returned to the hotel and enjoyed a quiz, complete with prizes for the winners! 

The last day was very popular with many of the group as the destination was a theme park called Phantasialand, which is said to be the 'Disneyland of Germany’. It was divided up into many different worlds such as ‘Deep in Africa’ and the rides were all perfectly themed and provided plenty of thrills. Favourites included ‘Black Mamba’ and ‘Taron’- the longest multi-launch rollercoaster in the world. There was just time to purchase some obligatory souvenirs from the many gift shops before the day came to an end.

“My favourite visit was to Phantasialand. I went on two of the fastest rides the amusement park had to offer and they were both award-winning which I can vouch for!”  Arjun D.

A tired but happy group returned to catch a few hours’ sleep before the 5am alarm and start of the long journey home.

All the students would like to thank the wonderful staff who accompanied the trip and made it such an enjoyable one: Trip Leader Mr Mason, assisted by Mr Taylor, Miss Cooksey, Miss Kailey, Mrs C Harris and Mrs Netzer.

The staff all assisted us brilliantly and you could always feel like you could go and speak to them.”
Jack

A once in a lifetime opportunity spent with friends and making memories. Thank you WGS!
Kendall 

Their (staff) hard work and support made it a trip to remember. Thank you!
Angelina