Class 10M on a study trip to London

On Monday we first met at the train station in Rosenheim. From there we took a train to Munich East and changed the train to Munich Airport. After we had arrived at the airport we checked in, got our boarding cards and drop our baggage. Then we went through the security check and had to wait at the gate till we could go on board. It was the first flight for some of the students, so it was very exciting sitting in the airplane. At London Heathrow, one of the airports around London, we passed the passport control and we had to speak English with the officers. At the baggage claim we collected our suitcases and went to the underground station. We got our travelcards and took the Piccadilly Line to Victoria Station. From there we walked to Victoria Coach Station to store our baggage, so we could walk through London without our suitcases. Shortly after that we took the first time one of the famous red London double-decker busses to Westminster, where we could see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. We took lots of photos!
On our way through St. James Park we saw many squirrels, ducks and geese. After a short visit of Buckingham Palace (we didn´t meet the Queen, but some guards) we returned to Victoria Station and took a train to Bromley South, where we met our host family. They took us to their homes and we had our first dinner in London.

On Tuesday we visited St. Paul´s Cathedral, the second largest church of the world. We climbed up the stairs to the Whispering Gallery and the dome. It was very exhausting, but the view was fantastic and amazing. From the top we could see the whole city, many famous sights and all the modern buildings like St. Mary Axe called the “The Gherkin” (Essiggurke) and the Shard (Scherbe). After that we went over the Millennium Bridge (known from Harry Potter) and visited the Tate Modern. There we saw famous modern art. In front of the building we recued a pigeon that was caught in a string. We walked along the River Thames, saw the Globe Theatre and went by tube to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There we enjoyed sitting on some benches. It was a great day, we had lots of fun and very tired feet.

On Wednesday we took the bus to the wax figures museum which is called Madame Tussauds. There we saw a lot of celebrities and important people, for example Georg Clooney, Johnny Depp or Queen Elisabeth II. and her royal family, and took lots of photos. There was also a Sherlock Homes tour, a Marvel 4D Experience (cinema), a Star Wars exhibition and a Historical London tour. After that we needed a rest in Regent Park and had our lunch (we got a lunch packet from our guest families every day). Then we took the bus to Camden Market, one of London´s famous street markets. That was a very busy, lively and colourful place! After that long day we went home by train to Bromley South where your guest families waited and picked up their students.

On Thursday morning our guest families took us to the spot at Bromley station where everyone should meet. Our first sight we visited this day was the British Museum. It was very interesting to see all the antique art from Egypt, Greek and the Roman Empire, for example the Stone of Rosetta. Then we finished our post cards and everybody signed the greetings to Bavaria. After the exhibition we were allowed to go shopping at Oxford Street. When we met again we walked through Carnaby Street and Soho to Chinatown. We were looking forward to visiting Chinatown and liked it very much. In The evening we went to a pub at Covent Garden and had dinner in a separate room upstairs. Most of us ate Fish and Chips and we had lots of fun. But the best thing on Thursday was the musical “The Kind Lion”. It was unbelievable nice! Wonderful costumes and great dancing! We really enjoyed the actors and the music. It was a great day and we want to visit another musical soon…

On Friday we did our Photo Rallye in London. First we started at Victoria station, where we splitted into groups. Mrs. Hoff and Mr. Klein told us the next spot and the time to meet. We were allowed to take the bus, the underground and to walk. The first task was to say “Goodbye” to Big Ben and London Eye with to photos. We also had to take a photo from Admiral Nelson. He stands on his column on Trafalgar Square, where we met our teachers. On our way we saw Downing Street and the Horse Guard. In the National Gallary we had to find very famous pictures and take a photo of the VanGogh´s “Sunflowers” and Holbein´s “Ambassadors”. The next stop was at King´s Cross Station where we took a photo of Harry Potter´s trolley at platform 9 ¾ . We also went one more time to the tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Unfortunately it was raining so we didn´t went over the Bridge. In South Kensington we met at the dinosaur in the Natural History Museum and visited the dinosaur exhibition. Our group made a little mistake because we waited at the wrong entrance and Mrs. Hoff didn´t hear her mobile. Luckily we met half an hour later and continued our rallye. The next task was to go to Harrods which is a very expensive department store for really rich people. Our last stop was Piccadilly Circus where we had to say “Goodbye” to Amor with a photo too. From there we went along Regent Street to Oxford Circus. We were allowed to do some last shopping and met at 4 o´clock. Before we went back to Bromley we walked through Kensington Park and fed gulls and water birds at a little lake.

On Saturday morning we had to say goodbye to our host families who took us to the meeting point at the station. We talked with them every evening about daily life, school, sports, TV etc. to practice our and English and learn about the English life. So we got to know each other quite well and we were a little bit sad to leave them.
We took the tube to the Science Museum where we could store our baggage and see a lot of technical machines and experiments. We had lots of fun to construct and test a virtual robot for the mars. After the museum we went by underground to the airport. We checked in and waited for the flight home. We had a great sunset view during our flight. In Munich we were lucky and reached an early train to Rosenheim where we were picked by our parents.