This year’s Spring Break trip, run through EF tours by the school, went to Germany, France, and Spain. The three countries were full of ancient castles, churches, cathedrals, ruins of the once-great Roman Empire, and gorgeous views of the cities, mountains, rivers, and seas.
The trip started in Germany, where we visited Munich, Mittenwald, Dachau, and Heidelberg. One of the activities done in Munich was a guided tour where we saw offices and different types of visual and performing arts schools that were once offices for different branches of the Nazi party. Another thing we saw in Munich was a castle that was given to the queen at the time by her husband, the king, after she gave birth to a son. When we went to Mittenwald, some of the students and a chaperone went on a hike in the mountains, and when at the top, the view was amazing. When we went to Dachau, we went to the concentration camp there and saw and learned more in-depth about the horrific things that took place there and the appalling things that happened to the people who were brought there. Lastly, when we went to Heidelberg, we saw multiple Gothic-style cathedrals and the ruins of a castle that the French destroyed. The castle is also known for the giant wine barrel that is in the dining area. The city of Heidelberg was built in the baroque style, which was invented by the Romans when they had control over most of Europe.
The next country we went to was France. We visited cities like Paris, Carcassonne, the Roman aqueduct ruins in southern France, and Reims. While we were in Paris, we saw monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The Eiffel Tower looks bigger in photos than in person, but it was still a very beautiful thing to see, especially at night. The Notre Dame Cathedral was beautiful. It originally had 28 statues of biblical figures that were beheaded during the French Revolution, but they found 22 of the heads. We even went to the Louvre while in Paris. At Carcassonne, we got to explore the town, and when we got there, we learned that the town was built within the walls of the old town that was once part of the palace. Carcassonne even had the main palace turned into a museum. At Reims, we saw the biggest cathedral in France; you could even go to the top of one of the towers. At the Roman Aquaducks, you could go hiking, you could walk across the bridge, and look at the amazing views looking over the ruins.
Lastly, we went to Spain. While we were there, we went to Barcelona, Madrid, and a small town called Toledo. In Barcelona, we got to explore the city, and some of us even went to the beach and went swimming. When we went to Madrid, we got to take a tour of the Spanish Royal Castle. We also saw that even though most of the Roman ruins are gone and not in the city anymore that some of them still stand; the people of Madrid used some of the pillars as supports for their apartments. In Toledo, we saw amazing views. Besides the views, Toledo is also known for sword making; most of the kids on the trip bought swords from there.
The trip was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend attending next year’s trip.
