-German life-

I have done lots of things since my last entry, firstly the end of the holidays were very good, as well as the start of school. On the first day back i participated in one of Magdalena's sport lessons, this was very different to ours in Australia but still very good. The rest of the school week went very fast & was soon over.
On the weekend, i caught up with my previous exchange partner from 2009; Sandra Warmedinger. i met her parents & her grandparents too. I had a great day catching up with her & remembering some of the good & funny times we had while she stayed with me. It was a little sad to be saying bye again for the 2nd time, but this time didn't seem a bad as the first, i guess because it seemed like i knew i would be able to see her again. I think that is a good things about this program, it gives people the incentive & motivation to get out & see the world & experience lots of different things & cultures.

On Sunday my family & i took a drive to Konigssee, this is a very large lake, that gets to over 200 metres deep. The water is very clean (drinking quality) & of course the views there are very beautiful as well. We walked around before getting on a boat that would take us to another area of the lake. The only people who live there were the fisherman & his family & the family that owns the resturant on the island, it's very nice & we took a little walk around. Then we had a drink at the resturant, before heading back to the main area of the lake, by the time we got there, it was getting pretty dark & cold, so we soon headed home.



Back at school again & it's very nice. the classes are interesting &it's nice to see how they learn things in Germany compared to how we do at our school. Today we were able to listen the English radio station that is at the school, the music was pretty cool & there were even some, interviews featuring some Australians including Myself. it was very weird to hear myself talking on a speaker. I think that they will be playing another episode next week too. so that should be interesting. I don't have any school tomorrow & my family are planning on baking Christmas Cookies, this should be very fun.

Gosh, the time is flying by so fast, already it's been a few weeks since the other Australians left, it doesn't feel like that long but our time here is starting coming closer to the end of our trip. Hopefully the next few weeks slow down for me so they don't speed by so fast, i doubt it though.

Until next time.



Eleisha

Hobedere,
It's been 15 days since we left the other exchange students at the Munich airport, but it feels like almost a week. We spent our last few days as a whole group in the capital and very historic city of Berlin.
After parting with our host families at the Rosenheim train station, (for most students it was the last time) we travelled to Munich to catch our connecting train to Berlin. It was a 7 hour trip, but it definitely didn't feel that long. I think most of the time was spent sleeping, listening to music or just general chatting.
When we arrived, we caught another train and then a bus to the accomodation we would be staying in for the next few days. I think most were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. We had dinner at the restaurant we would be having dinner at every night, the 'Cayenne'. We even made some new friends here as well.
The next day, we headed down the Ku'damm, having a look as we went, and ended up out the front of the 'Story of Berlin' museum. We had a bit of a quick look around and then chose pairs and were each given a questionnaire. Nath Gasperoni and I teamed up and we were the last ones out by a while. But it turned out to be worth it, as we won the prize for the most correct. We also visited a nuclear bomb shelter, built under a car park. It was built in preparation for a possible nuclear attack on Berlin during the Cold War. Even though it was very eerie, I quite enjoyed being down there, as I felt I was actually inside the history. Compared to most of the others' comments, I don't think I would mind having to live down there.
The next day we visited another museum, this time on Berlin's 'Museum Island'. This museum was called the 'Pergammon Museum' and contained many, many artefacts and recreations from classical history. This was very interesting for me, as I am interested archaeology and these types of things. Again, I was among the last out of the museum. After a burger at an Aussie restaurant nearby, we had some free time. After another good meal at our restaurant, we headed straight off to the Reichstag (Bundestag). There was quite a line out the front, so we had to wait for a while. Once we were in, we had to pass through a security check and then made our way up the 'bee hive' with a great view of the city at night.
The next day, our last day in Berlin, we travelled back to the Reichstag, where Frau Kusch informed us a bit about the building itself. We also visited the Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish Memorial, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and a few other sites during the day. That night we all had to pack and get ready for our departure the next day.
Since leaving the others at the airport in Munich, we had one week of full schooling. This past week has been holidays for the students, and we've been up to quite a bit. Some things I've been up to during my free time has been a trip to the beautiful Austrian city, Salzburg, watching some movie, playing a bit of football and just generally hanging out with Adrian and his friends. I am very glad that I get on well with them all.

In thanking people, to Herr and Frau Kusch, I've experienced first hand how stressful and exhausting organising everything can be, but you always seem to do a good job and we are all very grateful for the work you put in. Thanks also to Herr Lehrer, Frau Kreplin, Frau Marx, Mr. Pryor and of course especially all the host families who've made the trip so succesful.

Bis naechstes mal,
Joshua J. E. Kusch

Holiday Fun

My week of holidays have been so far very good, i have done a lot of interesting things.

On the weekend i went with my family to the Scholss Hellbrunn. We started off having a quick tour at the water games, which turned out to be quite fun & refreshing for me. It was very interesting to see that all the water works & little figurines are all powered by the water, no electricity was used.

Then we took a look around in the Shloss, it was very beautiful & historical as well. When we had finished that audio tor, we had a nice relaxing lunch in the park. The weather was so great & the park was full of families. After a bit of relaxing & playing at the park, we had to move on to the next thing, which was Salzburg. Here we walked through the wonderful city & soon got to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It was a steep walk up but we all managed to do it quickly, even though i wanted to stop to take photos very often (and have a short break). When we got up the top & into the walls we walked around a little bit & then headed to a audio tour of the fortress. There was so much history involved with the caslte, the construction alone was dedicated to one room & that took a fair bit of time.

But it was very interesting & i managed to pick up on a few people speaking English during it. Even though the fortress was very interesting & nice too, i would have to say that they highlight out of the tour was the chance to stand on the top of it & enjoy the astonishing views of Salzburg & surrounds.

Also on the weekend & a bit during the week as well, i was able to fly kites with Maggy, Johanna & Marinus. The wind was very good & i found it very fun. Another great expirence for me & a great memory to take home.

Today we went to Kristallwelten, which had lots of attractions featuring lots of precious diamonds. The place was amazing, it had Swarovski diamonds & housed the biggest diamond in the world. There was lots to see as well, we spent a lot of time marvelling over the great works created there.

The Holidays have proved to be very fun & interesting & provided me with some extra family time. I've enjoyed everyday so far & look forward to the rest.

My Time In Germany

On the 24th of September, We left for Germany. After a long tiring flight we arrived in Munich. There was a man there to collect us. He took us to school. We arrived at school, and did what we had to, then it was time to go and meet our host families. Then I'd say most of us had a quiet Saturday. On Sunday we had brunch with everyone and their host families, it was good to catch up with the rest of the Aussies. On Monday was our first full day at school, it was a bit different at first because of the classes and break, on the Wednesday of this week we had "Wandertag" which is a day organised by the class and the teacher, Sam, Abbey and my Class plus another class went bowling, I thought it was a really fun day and it was great to just mingle with some different Germans.
On Thursday we went to Passau and that was a fantastic expirence for me and I thought it was absolutely amazing, and such a beautiful view from just down the hill from where we were staying, the next day we went to a Bavarian National Park.
Then I had a great weekend with my Familie. On Wednesday the 6th of October we went to the Amerung Museum, it was a place with old houses from back in the day and a little more resent one, which was built in 1882. Then we went to the Chiemsee, and got on a boat and went to the Herrenchiemsee, we went to the castle on there and it was so beautiful and amazing, the colours were outstanding.
Then on the Friday we did a orientation of Bad Aibling, and ended that by going threw the Heimat Musuem, and some others went to the Therme for swimming.
On the weekend I went with my Family to Salzburg, it was amazing, I had the best time, We walked up the busiest street and then walked to a dome and looked inside then went on a great, hard walk up to a Castle, although the walk was hard the end result was amazing, the view of Austria was fantastic, it was my favourite weekend in Germany.
Then on Wednesday the 13th Mr Pryor arrived and we travelled to Munich for a day trip, there we walked around the city for a little bit, the went to BMW, that was crazy watching cars been made, its such a odd process, with all the robots, then we had free time and went shopping then we went back to Rosenhiem. The next day we went and met the Deputy Mayor of Bad Aibling, I learnt alot about the town. This weekend was our final weekend with our families, I went into Rosenhiem with Angelina and did some shopping, then we went home and had a quiet night, the next day was a special day in Bavaria, at 12.oo noon we went to a Restraunt and had a Bavaraian Meal, it was different but tasty, then we went to my aunts and had some cake, and said our goodbyes.
On Thursday the 21st we met at the train station and said our goodbyes, there was lots of tears, and we then set off for Berlin, 8 hours later we arrived and caught a train and bus to where we were staying in the Europa Hotel, it was very nice accommodation, The next day we went to "The Story of Berlin" it was very interesting, then we went into a Bunker under a car park, it was a horrible feeling being down there, I really enjoyed that day.
The day after that we went to the Pergamonmuseum, it was amazing inside and very interesting, we went to an Australian restraunt for lunch, after that we went shopping until 5.00pm, later that night we went to the Reichtag, which is the Federal Parliament, the wait was long, and chilly, then when we got inside we got an elevator up to the top and got headsets that told us about the things we could see, then we went back to the hotel.
On our final day in Germany we went into the centre of town and Michelle gave us a tour, first we went back to the Reichtag, and then to the Brandonburg Gate, and then we walked around and then we went to the Jewish Memorial, and walked through that, we then went to the Berlin Wall, Then to Check Point Charlie and had some lunch and a look around, and went home and packed for the next day too leave, we Flew with everyone from Berlin to Munich and there Frank, Michelle, Josh, Ryan and Eleisha got off, and Mr Pryor came home with the rest of us, after a long trip we arrvied in Melbourne, to find our families waiting, with lots of hugs and kisses and tears.
It is good to be home, but Germany will be greatly missed, it was such and amazing experience.
I would like to Thank firstly Mr and Mrs Kusch for everything they did, it would of been a hard job looking after all of us, and secondly I would like to thank my host family I didn't only make a friend but a second family, I will miss them and hope to see them again one day.
Thanks to all the teachers at the school and Herr Lerher and Frau Kreplin

Signing Off..
Holly

wendelstein, allerheiligen and thankyou

It's been a week since we arrived back from Berlin and the other Aussies departed back for Australia but the time is still flying! Coming back from Berlin was especially interesting for me as i now am staying with Seppi and the Lechner family making this a whole new expeience for me.

Yesterday we went to the Wendelstein, a 1838m high mountain about 40km from Bad Aibling, we traveled by gondola to the top which was covered in snow. The weather was good, but maybe a little bit cold, which meant we could see the incredible views at the top and could see all the way to Munich.

Today is Allerheiligen which is a religious day for Germany and Seppi's whole family is here at the moment. As Seppi has four brothers and two sisters plus some of them have their own children im currently finding it a very difficult job to learn everyones names and how they are related to seppi! Almost the whole town where i live, ostermünchen, went to the church today for a ceremony, it was interesting to see so many young people going becuase in Australia a lot of young people aren't religious.

Once again a big thankyou to Herr Kusch, Michelle, Mr Pryor, Herr Lehrer, Frau Kreplin, and of course a huge thankyou to all the host families for making it such a great time here. (especially mine) I know that everybody has had a incredible time which we will never forget! Cheers all!

Ryan Kupferle

I've been back from Berlin for a few days now & getting used to not having all the Australians here & also to going to every class. I'm having a great time here though.

When i came back home from Berlin, my town & surround had snow. This was very exciting as we don't get snow in our town in Australia.

On Tuesday, my family & i rugged up & headed up the moutain to the snow, here we spent a lot of time having fun throwing around snow & sliding dow the hill. I had a great time & now can't wait for it to snow some more.

I think that Berlin was really fun, we did & saw so many things, like the Brandenburg gate, the Berlin wall, we went to Potzdamerplatz, to the memorial for the Jewish people, we expirenced the story of Berlin & much more. Over the few days we had there, we saw so many things, that were all so great. The accomodation was really good as well. i think that we were all quite surprised when we managed to find an Australian resturant that proved to have very good food & very aussie music too.

I would just like to take this oppourtunity to say thank youto Mr Kusch, Michelle & Mr Pryor for taking us around & for putting up with all our shopping. My time in Berlin was truly great.

Last Weekend with my Family.

On Saturday, my host parents had a Hochzeit (wedding) to attend. So Angelina and I went to Rosenheim for a hot drink and some lunch, it was so cold that when we left the shop we were in we had to find another to go in and wait until our bus came.

On Sunday, it was a special Bavarian Day, I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but we went to a Restaurant and had Duck and Blaukraut and Knöde.l When it came out I was wondering if I'd like the blaukraut because it looked odd, but much to my suprise it didnt taste too bad. After that we went into a little room and there we were told about the world clock. It was a really beautiful clock and amzing to see how it worked. Then we went to my host mum's sister's house for some cake, it was so tasty. I was sad because I knew that would be the last time I get to see her, well for now unless I come back which I'm hoping to.

But overall my time here was so amazing and I have formed a great friendship with Angelina and her family, and I know im definitely going to miss them, as I'm sure every other Aussie could second that. I think we all need to thank Mr & Mrs Kusch for everything, not only whilst we have been here but all the work they did behind the scenes, we all really appreciate it. Also to Herr Lehrer and Frau Kreplin for all their organising.

This for me has been a great experience, I will miss it so much although I can't wait to go and see Berlin. Ive heard its great too.

Holly Pronk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Am Sonntag war ein ganz besonderer Tag für mich, denn es war mein letztes Wochenende mit Holly. Also fuhren wir nach Baierbach zum "Gockerlwirt" und aßen Ente mit Blaukraut und Knödel. Es war einfach schön. Danach fuhren wir zu meiner Tante aßen Kuchen und hatten eine schöne Zeit.
Ich bin sehr traurig dass Holly und die anderen Aussies schon übermorgen gehen müssen, denn ich fand wir waren/sind eine nette Gruppe und haben Freundschaften geschlossen.
Ich bin sicher, dass wir Deutschen am Donnerstag sehr traurig am Bahnhof abschied nehmen werden. Aber ich hoffe dass wir uns alle wiedersehen.

Angelina Schmidt