Our trip to England

Monday – 8th May – Wittlich-Dover, Calais-Sittingbourne
On Monday 8th May we went to England. In the morning we got up at 4 a.m. because we had to be at the bus at 5.30 am. Our route led us first through Belgium and France to Calais. We stopped near Brussels on a freeway service station to eat and drink and to use the toilets. In Calais we had to pass the customs. After that we went from Calais to Dover, which took us about 1,5 hours. On board of the ferry we spent some time in the cafe and on the weather deck. After our arrival in Dover we went to Sittingbourne, which took us another half hour. We were too early, so we were able to spend some time in the supermarket, McDonalds or KFC. By 6.30 most students were picked up by their host parents. We learned that our host family was not in Sittingbourne but in Minster-on-Sea. Until then it was another 20 minute ride on the bus. When we arrived our host mother Beverly was waiting for us. Our group consisted of 6 students, so 3 of us were were driven by a friend of hers. She was really nice. We got some wraps with a delicious chicken-pepper filling. After a tiring day we went to bed early.

Tuesday – 9th May – London
On Tuesday 9th May we went to London. We left Sittingbourne at 8 a.m.
After an hour of driving we got stuck in traffic so we had to change transport and went by tube. We bought tickets and went from North Greenwich to South Kensington Station in about 40 minutes.
The way to the Natural History Museum took us 10 minutes. However we had to run because we lost our teachers. When we arrived we were allowed to explore the different areas on our own.
Two hours later we were told that we were allowed to see the city in little groups.
In a large group, most of the students went for a walk through Hyde Park straight to Buckingham Palace, where you still could see traces of King Charles‘ Coronation, which had taken place the weekend before. Many groups went to different attractions by Tube, just as we did. Most of them visited Oxford Street to go shopping, others went to national landmarks but almost all of them either had lunch at restaurants they usually can’t go to or went to Starbucks at least once. Everyone had a couple of hours to have fun. The meet up was at 5 p.m. at the London Eye. Luckily we could walk to our bus, but we were all very tired.

Wednesday – 10th May – Leeds Castle – Ashford Outlet Centre
We woke up at 7 a.m. Afterwards we got ready for the day to Leeds Castle and the Designer Outlet in Ashford. After we were ready, we went downstairs for breakfast. As always we had Cornflakes.
At 7.30 we were about to leave the host family and walked to the bus. Our trip to Leeds Castle took a bit more than one hour. When we arrived we walked to the entry. After that we got red bracelets from our teachers, so the staff could check if we were allowed to get in. Before we left, the teachers told us to be back in 4 hours. We followed the footpath to the castle. On our way we saw a few geese and ducks. There were many places where you could have a picnic. A while later we were allowed to visit the castle. We had an audio guide which means that we had to explore the castle on our own.
The castle was built in the 12th century and it was changed and extended many times in the course of the centuries. Most of the furniture you can see today is rather modern. It was used by the last resident of the castle, Lady Baillie herself. The main buildings are surrounded by a water ditch, there are beautiful gardens, a large playground, a golf course and even a maze in which you can get lost easily.
In the afternoon we met at the meeting point and got on the bus again.
In Ashford we split into groups of at least 3 students and explored the different shops. About 2 hours later we went back to Sittingbourne. When we arrived, the host families picked us up, so we went to their houses. In the evening we got fish and chips. After dinner everyone was so tired that we went to bed and everybody fell asleep instantly.

Thursday – 11th May – Canterbury – Broadstairs
On the 4th day of our trip we went to Canterbury, where we did a city rallye. We had to solve a lot of tasks. For example we had to take pictures or selfies at different sights. When we had questions, we asked people to help us to solve the tasks. After that we had time to explore the City of Canterbury. When our free time came to an end, we went to Broadstairs, a small town in Northern Kent, which has one of the few sandy beaches in the area. At the beach we took pictures and enjoyed the atmosphere. The sun was shining and some of us played volleyball. It was a perfect day and all of us had a lot of fun. Later we went back to our host families in Sittingbourne.

Friday – 12th May – Sittingbourne – Dover, Calais-Wittlich
We started our day with a bowl of cornflakes. After we finished eating we got the rest of our stuff from the room and walked to the parking lot where the bus was already waiting. When the bags were in the trunk, we started our journey home. In Dover we had to wait again because of customs control, but we were lucky to catch the ferry in time. There we were able to enjoy a free English breakfast. Different to the first ferry ride, the sea was pretty rough, so some passengers got sea sick and some even had to throw up. In the evening we arrived in Wittlich, where the parents were already waiting for us in the rain.

Thanks to Mrs Kramer, Mrs Escher-Apsner, Mr Roth, Mr Sonnenberg and Mr Thömmes for accompanying us on our trip and special thanks to Mrs Kramer for organising everything.
(the students from class 9B)