German Exchange to Ansbach, Bavaria

The sun shone for a large part of this exciting and enriching stay in Ansbach. Everyone found life at Gymnasium Carolinum very different, especially in terms of the structure and length of the school day. As usual the program of activities was rich and varied, involving Caterham pupils spending a certain amount of time in lessons with their German partners but also plenty of time exploring the beautiful middle Franconian region, both with host families at the weekend and with the whole group during the week. Caterham pupils really dived in and spoke German at every opportunity, such as when ordering ice creams at the Eiscafe and keeping score during the mini golf at Gunzenhausen. Other highlights included a guided tour of the fascinating DB German railway museum in Nuremberg, a tour of the Ansbach Resisidenz, which was attended by the local press and new for 2017, a tour round the Kriminalmuseum in Rothenburg, where we were all horrified at many of the ancient instruments of torture on display!

German food seemed to feature highly on several pupils’ favourite cultural aspects, especially the Currywurst! We all eagerly await another action packed week in March when the Carolinum pupils come to Caterham.