Bonn Exchange 2023: Part two in Germany

On the 7 February, we set off from East Croydon station on our exciting journey to Bonn, Germany. We stayed with our exchange partners and spent the evenings and weekends with them, learning about German culture and practising the language. During the week-long stay, we experienced and took part in many fun activities such as visiting interesting museums, rock climbing, ice skating and going into cities like Cologne and Bonn. On the weekend, we went to the Carnival where we caught lots of Kamelle (sweets)! On Tuesday, we went on a walk up ‘Drachenfel’ and there were many pretty views of the River Rhein. On Wednesday, we sadly had to say ‘Auf Wiedersehen!’ to Germany and we embarked on our trip back to London.

Milly R
Year 9

After an early start and a long travel day on the Eurostar, lots of my friends and I arrived in Bonn and were greeted at the station by our German exchange partners. Though we were extremely tired that night, we met our exchange family and freshened up after a long day. The next day we dressed up in our Karnival outfits and got ready for an early start (their school started at 7.55) to a fun-packed day. Karnival is a German holiday that is celebrated by attending parades and singing and dancing. After school ended at 11am, many of us headed either home or to a parade. The rest of the week included so many fun activities such as ice skating, hiking, sightseeing, eating lots of German food and in my case visiting the (strangely clean) German hospital. I had an amazing time on this trip and I want to say a huge thank you to all the staff involved!

Jessie H
Year 9

This year’s 75th exchange was one of the best experiences I have had by far. We did so many fun activities such as ice skating, bouldering and going to the Haribo factory for sweets! As well as this, we also got to experience German culture and what it was like in school and to have a regular life in Germany. We got to go to a German carnival and shout “Kamelle” for sweets which was very different to England. If you are ever considering doing an exchange, I would definitely recommend doing one as this was a really fun and good experience. Thank you Frau Sigusch and Herr Symes for a great trip!

Chloe A
Year 9