st On 1 June a party of Year 9 students set off to spend a week visiting the Rhineland in , improving and practising their German language skills and increasing their knowledge of the German culture. We stayed in Boppard a small town on the , south of . We had fabulous weather and the many activities included a boat trip on the Rhine, chairlift rides, visits to castles, Phantasialand theme park and a music museum with a difference! Of course, there was also time for shopping and sampling local foods – especially ice cream!

Read what the students though of their trip: The first day we went on a Sesselbahn (chairlift) up to see the “4 Lakes View”, which is a place where the River Rhine looks like 4 lakes. After we wend to Boppard and had a look around. Then we went on a boat to Marksburg Castle, the only castle on the Rhine not to be destroyed, and finally we went to the Loreley, an ancient myth where Loreley was a mermaid who used to hypnotise sailors and they would crash to their death. On Tuesday we went to Bacharach and then to a music museum in Rüdesheim. In Rüdesheim I went on another chairlift to see the Niederwald Denkmal monument. The next day we went to Koblenz. We went to a fortress to see where the Rhine and Moselle rivers join at the Deutsches Eck. Then we went into town. On the final day we went to Phantasialand for the day. Sam Hall

Rhineland was beautiful and really sunny! The German people were really nice. We really liked the chairlift and, of course, the shopping! The rides in Phantasialand were the best! Faye Youell, Abi Bennett and Mary Blannin

I really enjoyed the trip to Germany. Especially the amount of shopping you can do! I love music so when we went to the Music Museum in Rüdesheim it was really interesting. It helped me a lot with my German, especially speaking. It boosted my confidence and I got the award for “most confident German speaker”! The food was really nice – I really liked the sausages and we all had about 2 ice- creams a day! I would definitely go again if I had the chance and I would

recommend anyone else to go! Sarah Jones

On the way to Germany the couch journey was quite long but was really fun! 10 of the girls (including us!) got Deutschland jumpers which are lush and warm. The castle that we went to called Marksburg was interesting and we loved the shopping. But the best part of the trip was Phantasialand – it’s so much fun and the rides are amazing. The best is Black Mamba – it’s so good, you turn upside down and it goes really fast. The second best ride at Phantasialand was the Runaway Train, it was awesome. The whole, entire trip was probably the best trip with the school and it’s a great experience. Thanks to all the teachers. Emily Chamberlain and Talisa Webb

I thought the Rhineland trip was super and the scenery was stunning. Our hotel was right on the river

bank and was a really good view to wake up to!

I really enjoyed the boat trip along to to then see the only castle along the Rhine that has never

been destroyed. All the visits to the towns were fab, and the ice creams were even better!

I really recommend this trip to anyone!

James Allington

The Rhineland trip was one of the best experiences of my life – so many laughs and memories! You do so many things that you never have time to stop. But that’s the best thing about it! The best things about the trip were Phantasialand and Rüdesheim. Phantasialand was good as there were lots of amazing rollercoasters, but there were other fun things to do there as well. It even rained during part of our day at Phantasialand but we all still enjoyed ourselves.

Rüdesheim was good as well as we went shopping! And it was nice and hot! And there were the BEST ice creams!

Even if you don’t go with friends it really doesn’t matter as you meet people that you might not normally talk to. That’s what happened to me.  So, for the next Year 9 group it’s worthwhile – you won’t regret one minute of it! Sarah Madeloff

The Rhineland trip this year was prima! We went on a boat trip, we visited Marksburg Castle and Phantasialand and did lots of shopping. It was really, really hot all week apart from the last day, when we went to Phantasialand, but it didn’t make a difference, it was still amazing. The food was cool and the hotel was MINT! I definitely would recommend anybody to go on the trip next year! Katie Oram

There are a few places left on next year’s Year 9 (current Yr 8) Rhineland trip for students of German. See Miss Lockyer for details a.s.a.p.!!!