German Christmas Market Trip
On the weekend of the 29th and 30th November, German students had the opportunity to visit the world famous Christmas markets in Cologne. This was a great opportunity to experience authentic German culture, sample German cuisine, and practice speaking German in real life situations. 46 German students signed up for the two day trip, accompanied by Mrs Williams, Mrs Wills, Ms Olufemi, Miss Culpitt and Mr Reid.
We departed from school bright and early on Friday morning, and caught the morning ferry to Calais, with the chance to snooze and do some duty free shopping before the long coach journey to Cologne. A few films on board the coach helped pass the time. A pleasant lack of traffic around Brussels meant we arrived ahead of schedule in Cologne, tired but excited to explore the Christmas markets.
After checking into the hostel, we headed to Markt der Engel (the market of angels) for dinner. Seeing the market at night was really atmospheric, and we enjoyed exploring the many stalls with souvenirs, as well as trying German delicacies such as Flammkuchen, Spaetzle, and many delicious chocolatey desserts. It was also a great opportunity for some authentic speaking practice, and it was great to see the students being brave and ordering in German from the stalls.
The next day, we were up early for breakfast, and made use of the pancake maker to fuel up for the day ahead. First up was a visit to the market at Cologne Cathedral, which was once the tallest cathedral in the world. After admiring the cathedral from the inside and outside, we explored our second market of the trip. A chilly but bright morning called for more hot chocolate to accompany the exploration. The highlight was the many wonderfully detailed handmade crafts on offer. After lunch at the market, we wandered through Cologne town centre to the final market of the trip, Heinzel’s winter fairy tale. Here we had time to go on some rides, and do some final souvenir shopping, before heading back to catch the coach home.
Walking back to the coach through town, we had time to stop off at the supermarket, to see the typical German products on offer, as well as seeing the ‘Pfand’ machine in action, where you get money back in return for recycling your used water bottles. At mid afternoon we were ready for the journey home. Harry Potter 1 and 2 provided some light entertainment on the ride. We returned back to Dartford at midnight after two action packed and enjoyable days exploring Cologne. The trip was such a valuable opportunity to immerse ourselves in German culture, to see the differences between UK and German culture, the opportunity to put into practice what we have been learning in class, as well as bringing the curriculum to life was an absolutely invaluable experience.
German Christmas Trip
