Tullamore College students practice their German in Berlin!
A group of 5th year students from Tullamore College got lots of opportunities to practice their German when they spent four days on a very exciting class trip to the German capital of Berlin earlier this month.
The class departed for Berlin in the early hours of March 15, and their first port of call on their arrival in the German capital was a bus and walking tour, during which they visited the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Cathedral, the Spree, the Old Historical Museum, Bebelplatz, which features an empty library memorial in memory of the Nazi book burnings and Hackesche Höfe, a traditional Berlin courtyard.
On day two, the group started out with a visit to the Technical Museum, seeing historical boats, cars, planes and trains, as well as the development of communications technology, from rotary phones to the latest technical developments. Following this was a visit to the Zoologischer Garten, the oldest surviving zoo of Germany and one of the most comprehensive collection of species in the world. That evening, they went to see 3D Avatar 2 in German without subtitles, seated in reclining chairs in the Cinemaxx Berlin, Potsdamerplatz.
Day three began with a trip to the iconic Brandenburg Gate, before visiting the Humboldt Forum to see the city from above. In groups of three, , the 5th years had the timed task of asking the locals questions in German about buildings around Alexanderplatz and their history, which afforded them a great opportunity to practise interacting in their target language. That afternoon the group visited Markthalle Neun, a weekly market with a wide range of local products. In the evening, the students went on a tour of the famous TV Tower in Alexanderplatz, where they got the chance to see the city of Berlin at night.
The final day started out with a trip to the Reichstag, the building in which the German Government meets. This was followed by a boat tour on the Spree river through the historical and modern parts of Berlin. The group visited the famous Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe that afternoon. In the last moments of the trip, the class went shopping in the extensive Mall of Berlin, before arriving home in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Over the four days of their trip, the Tullamore College students clocked up an impressive 92,000 steps. Well done to the students on their enthusiasm and excellent effort at speaking German at all opportunities and a big 'thank you' to Ms McEvoy for organising the trip, and Mr Lowndes and Ms Power for accompanying and looking after the students for the duration of their trip.