Australia-Bremen Exchange 15 - 29 Sept 2006

Photos Week 1 + Photos Week 2

Impressions from the visit to Bremen

Week 1

	Friday, 15 September: Excited hosts ... and - at last - they are there, our friends from Down Under
Monday, 18 September: +
	Welcome at school! Today was our first day of German school and we were all really excited to see everyone again after being split up for the weekend. We arrived at Ellener Feld School at 10.00 for our welcome reception in the cafeteria. We were greeted by the school´s Deputy Head and surprisingly we all understood what he was saying to us. We then went to our host brothers' and sisters' 4th and 5th classes. There all the other students in the classes were introduced to us and then they continued working while we watched. During the lunch break we were swamped with all the people that wanted to meet us. It was like we had become famous over night. It was great!! We spent the last lesson with Ryan talking about our weekend and how we are coping... and we all are. Finally we split up with our hosts and went home or to whereever our hearts desired. By Aislinn Ward xoxox
	Tuesday 19 September Bremen Town Hall Senate's welcome and tour -   We all arose bright and early (it was actually really dark) to be at school by 7:45!  Quite a shock to the system for some of us! After two lessons we gathered together and took the bus and then tram to the Bremen Town Hall ('Rathaus' in German).  The city centre is so so beautiful!  The architecture is amazing with each building covered in intricate carvings. After looking around the city for half an hour we were officially welcomed by Herr Fiedler, the representative from the Senator for Education and Science.  He gave us a tour of the building and explained all of the history behind the rooms and articles (in German of course). The Town Hall was built 1405-1408 and it is the only European town hall of the late Middle Ages that has never been destroyed.  It makes our city hall look very young and boring! At the conclusion of the tour, we were presented with a small copy of the statue of 'Roland'. The real statue stands outside the city hall and it is a symbol of Bremen's freedom. After many photos and newspaper interviews, we were off to explore the rest of this amazing city full of history and beautiful buildings.   Kate Chambers Then began our walking city tour, kindly hosted by Herr Kothe, seeing such sights as the famous Four Musicians of Bremen, the Roland Statue (at which we were lucky enough to see and listen to a travelling male choir), the Böttcherstraße and the Schnoor Quarter. Afterwards there was plenty of time for shopping and more sightseeing before heading back home. Cameron Reid More info on Bremen sights here Newspaper Article 28-9-06
Preparing for emigration - but who will admit them??? ;-)	Friday 22 September We all met at the Hauptbahnhof at 9:15 am, all ready and energized for the long day ahead. After a fun but long train trip we finally arrived in Bremerhaven. We had a quick morning tea at the North Sea before going to the Deutsches Auswanderer Haus (the German Emigrants Museum). In the museum we were "virtually" paired with an emigrant whose journey to the 'new world' we would follow. First we were presented with a scene of what it would be like to wait to get on the boat that would take the emigrants to their new home. There was also a lot of information about what items they would have packed in their suitcase, most taking only the bare essentials such as a shirt and trousers. After moving onto a room where we were able to find out why our emigrant and others left Germany, we learnt about the living conditions on the ship and the developments made through the decades. In another room we searched for our family names in American telephone books before watching a movie about emigrants returning home to Germany, but feeling more at home in America. After a quick quiz, we left the museum to go to the Columbus Shopping Center for lunch and (of course) shopping. When we formed our group once again we split into two: one group who wanted to go to the zoo and one who went to the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (Ship Museum). I went with the group to the Zoo am Meer where we saw polarbears, penguins, ducks, ice foxes, rabbits and many animals we've never even heard of in Australia. After a play on the playground we met up again with the other group and made our way home on the train. By Kelsey-Lee Stay German newspaper story on a polar bear attack in September 2006
Strange: There are ALWAYS monkeys in zoos ... ;-)		... but only occasionally polar bears.

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