Everything has gone smoothly on our journey back home. It looks like we will be at the Chantry at approximately 10.30 without traffic. As I said in my post yesterday, pupils will send you a text about one hour earlier to give you parents plenty of time to pick them up punctually.

Today we started the day with a hard job: packing suitcases and tidying up our rooms. Although I must admit that organisation and tidiness are not the strongest points of group 2, they did what they had to do and alone!We experienced the Freibad, the German open air pool. We enjoyed a few hours of slides, water fights, ball games. A lovely way to start the scorching day.We then went to Lake Titisee for a boat trip and the view made us speechless. Jealous of the people who were having a good time in the Lake.We then went to Triberg, where we visited the spectacular Wasserfälle, a real natural wonder! Afterwards we concluded with a 3 course meal at a typical German restaurant and we had Nudelsuppe, Spätzle and Schnitzel, Eis or Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte. LECKER!We have now started our journey back to the UK. We say with a sad face Tschüß to Germany and hope to find a similar beautiful weather like here.We will make pupils inform their parents of our exact arrival time when we are closer to school, but we think we will be at the Chantry at approximately 12. Please make yourself available from around 12 o’clock and come and pick up your child as soon as possible.Hope your child had a memorable experience! Thanks for giving me trust! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with your children and know them in a different light outside of the classroom. I am sure this trip enriched them all with language, culture and personal development.Regards,Mr De Santis

It was again a full day yesterday. We went on the cable cars Schauinslandbahn and we enjoyed the breeze on the top as already in the morning it was really hot. It was really amazing to be able to see France and also find out how Freiburg is a gem in the middle of the Black Forest.

We were ready then for the highlight of the day: Europa Park! We tried the Superstar, one of the highest roller coasters, we went fjord rafting in Skandinavia, we went on a pirate boat in Spain, we went for a walk on the Rialto Bridge in Venice. What an amazing time we had!

After dinner, with milder temperatures and a bit of breeze (at least it was not 38°C, but possibly 30°C!), we went back to Freiburg and had our ice-cream night. I was impressed by the vast majority of pupils who ordered their ice cream in German and were able to sustain a basic polite conversation in the language. Wie schön! Afterwards, we went for a little guided walk around the Altstadt. Pupils really loved the Münsterplatz, the huge Minster, the colourful houses, the very beautiful streets with vineyards, the amazing square with the Schwabentor, the other gate of the old town, the crocodile in the canal. Is this crocodile Schnipp Schnapp Schnappi’s brother?

Our luggages are now done and we are ready for our last full day programme. Tschüß!

Today it was a proper full day for us. The highlight was for all of us the Rodelbahn, what Germans do in the summer! How brave everyone was to speed down the hill and keep laughing!After that we visited the world’s biggest cuckoo clock and it was so magic to enter that door and see the mechanisms behind it. Wunderbar!We then ventured off to the Black Forest Open Air Museum where we were welcomed by Frau Lehmann who introduced us to life in the Black Forest in the old days and made us experience how they produced butter. Obviously we made our own butter and we enjoyed it with some very nice local bread.Tonight we had a very tasty meal and we are now resting for tomorrow. A very lively day, however we are preparing to strong heat with lots of drinks! We are making sure pupils drink plenty and regularly, they have hats on and lots of sun cream. We are providing ourselves pupils with additional water bottles, sun cream and hats. Please no worries, pupils are all happily tired.

I am so looking forward to welcome the second group in about one hour! Today in Freiburg is a splendid day, however the heat is a challenge! We will be ready with our sun cream in order to not get too “tanned”. Bis bald with the next updates! Mr De Santis

After packing and checking out the hostel, we went for a morning walk around the Lake Titisee. Immersed in the smell and the sounds of the forest, we enjoyed the amazing view. A great boat, the Schiff Titus was waiting for us for a boat trip. Afterwards, off to the amazing slides and pools. A fab moment! Afterwards, we visited the highest waterfalls in Germany and we had a huge meal in a typical Black Forest restaurant : Nudelsuppe, Spätzle und Schnitzel, Black Forest Gateau. It was funny to find out that the football player Balotelli now serves in a German restaurant with Lederhosen and checked red and white shirt!

It was a laugh throughout and an amazing experience. I hope the children have had experience of the culture and the language as well as a chance to grow personally . If you feel those aims have been achieved, we can agree to confirm what in my opinion was a fantastic trip. Thank you for giving me trust and hope your kids are not so far from home now!

Mr A De Santis

I am really sorry I didn’t manage to update you as much as I wanted you, but the WiFi here in the Black Forest is almost a luxury!On Thursday we went to the Black Forest Open Air Museum “Vogtsbauernhof” and we were deeply immersed in the daily life of a Black Forest village as it used to be years and years ago. We learnt how every single architectural feature of this immense farmhouses had a function to enable both men and cattle to live under the same roof. We also learnt how they produce Butter in the Black Forest and we made some ourselves to spread over local homemade bread. What a magic place that was!On Friday we did Europa Park, definitely the highlight for the students. We managed to be I at least 8 countries in the same day! Wow!We also visited Freiburg and its medieval layout with the city gates and the astonishing cathedral and its Square. I warned everyone not to fall in the Bächle, otherwise they should marry a local from Freiburg and stay there forever! Well not bad I suppose, good superstition!In the evening we all went for an ice cream and it was a proud moment as most ordered their Kugeln or Spaghettieis auf Deutsch! A really proud language teacher I am!

What do Germans do in the summer in the Blackforest? They go on the Rodelbahn!And here we are at the Rodelbahn Hasenhorn. Many of our pupils went on a chairlift for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed reaching the top of the mountain and then crazily speeding down! We want to do it again! Off to the more cultural part of the day now, the Black Forest Open Air Museum. Tschüß!!!

We had our fab Schwarzwald dinner… pork schnitzel, Bratkartoffeln, Salat, Mousse… LECKER! TASTY! It’s now bed linens time (hilarious!), luggage and showers!

It was great to see the enthusiasm of all the pupils about their first trip abroad on their own. After a night of fun, games and fascinating storms, we put a pause to our journey whilst our Eurotunnel train was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. This will have an impact on Day 1 activities, however no FOMO as most activities will still occur on other days. Pupils have been amazing so far. We’re making the most of our additional travelling time at the moment by watching Shrek. It was amazing to see everyone singing and dancing in German, including Mr McCauley, Miss Williams, Miss Amey and Mrs Can’t… As for myself, it goes without saying… We are finally on the German side, went through Straßburg and we are not too far from our hostel. We definitely need to have a rest and a shower. We’ll start full of energy tomorrow! Not that we have run out of energy!