McKinnon students go to Kirchhain, Germany

More photos of our experiences before the German school holidays will appear in the McKinnon site after our return - Herr Nutting

First Impressions

My first impression was that houses were very big, many of them had 2-3 storeys, and lots of them face directly onto the street. The atmosphere in the schools is a lot more relaxed than in Australia. The weather is very cold at the momment but unfortunately we haven't seen any snow yet. Hannah

Everyone is getting along better than we all thought. In Frankfurt there are a lot of different sorts of people, some homeless people and beggars. Apart from that I'm missing Chaddy and enjoying myself a lot. Everyday and every evening we have something new to do. Carly

Germany has great food, nice people and great places to visit. I think the school system is a lot easier than in Melbourne, which means less work done in class. They've got very fast trains and you can get to your chosen destination in a very short time. It's fantastic! We are enjoying every bit of it! Neda

This trip is like amazing! It's about 1000 times better than I expected. Yesterday we spent the day in Frankfurt, shopping - spent a bit too much money. But the Frankfurt shopping strip just wasn't as good as Chaddy...nothing is as good as Chaddy! Oh I miss Chaddy! I said Chaddy about three times in that sentence, maybe if I keep saying Chaddy, Chaddy will come here! Apart from missing Chaddy, everything is good here. I'm having so much fun and this is an experience I will never forget! Lots of love...Simone

It is a land of chocolate and the Germans love celebrating. I have had a lot of fun so far, the schools here are a lot more laid-back and they have food in class and they offer you it. The Germans are very generous with everything. Most of the houses are three stories, the toilets have the hold at the front, not at the back. The place is great. Damien

Underground station, Vienna

What is it like? * Smaller towns where people run into friends often; * Older houses which look the same from a bird's eye view; * Three sets of stairs is quite common; * Much cooler - especially at night. If I didn't have a heater in my room, I would be frozen; * The main meal is at lunch, not at dinner like we have usually; * Food is much better in Germany. Kai

I've had great experiences in everything I've done. It is nice to see a different culture and the different ways they do things. Tess

With a town crier, Stefansplatz, Vienna

Germany is very beautiful. It's very green, as in a lot of grass and trees. The people are very friendly and the school days seem very short. Lots of girls kiss each other on the cheek when they greet. Elke

Lads in front of Stefansdom, Vienna

Tess, Hannah, Damien, Mozart, Neda & Yani in Vienna

Germany is nice with many open fields. It is very cold here and the air is freezing. I thought that there would be heaps of German songs on the radio but I've heard twice as many Australian songs than deutsche songs. I've heard on the radio Midnight Oil, Delta Goodrem, Kylie. There is no snow although it is cold. Their pools are the same as ours but the water is warmer. Macht's gut! Felix

Simone, Elke, Eve, Marnie & Carly in a traditional Vienna horse-drawn coach

One of the main things that is different is how people drive. Most of the streets in the villages are narrow and the cars fly around the corners. The main meal of the day is normally around lunchtime. Eve

Half-timbered framework buildings, icy icy wind, dinner at lunchtime, but Germany is OK. What gets my thumbs-up though is that I'm finally in the same time-zone as my football-playing idols. Luke

The villages are really pretty and it's a lot cleaner than in Melbourne. The school is HUGE compared to McKinnon, and it is a lot more laid-back. The things that disturb me the most are that they drive on the wrong side of the road and that I have to get up at 6am!! Marnie

My first impression of Germany was how bad the nearby farms smelt. I've seen heaps of old buildings and many of the houses are hundreds of years old. Melissa

I found that absolutely everything here is older than Australia itself. The family's are generally quite traditional with the father going to work during the day and the mother doing all the other work at home. I tried to help the mother clean up the table and the dishes but when I tried they all just laughed and said that it is the woman's job and it is not normal for the men to help. Alex

Although the weather is nothing to be desired, it hasn't hampered anyone's mood. Everyone is having fun and loving the country, but I have decided that I like Aussie weather better... Yani

The plane flight was horrifically long and due to the fact that the movies were the same on each flight I saw "Welcome to the Jungle" seven times. I'm still trying to get used to waking up at 6:30 and eating chocolate for breakfast. It's damn cold over here although there's no snow, but also there's no sun, so it's like the next ice age at the moment. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Peter

Our school group in the Marburg town square