London-Studienfahrt

London… a few words? Impossible!
First of all, I have to say that I really enjoyed our trip to London.
The country and especially London city left an enormous impression on me. Although it wasn’t the first time I’ve visited England, it was the first time that I recognized the complexity and immense possibilities for the youth.
Monday was one of the most impressive days, which will definitely stay a long time in my mind.
After being on a sight- seeing tour with another group of students, we set out to discover the
City of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey etc.. Personally, it reminds me of Lady Di so, there will always be something magical around London.
The next step, where we went separate ways, was a feast for the eye of every shopaholic. We found our way to the legendary Oxford Street with its huge complex buildings and various shopping possibilities for all ages. Unfortunately, for our purse, it was very expensive and luxurious.
Also as we strolled, we noticed the British with their extremely good taste in fashion. I really liked the open-minded and friendly behavior of the British. They didn’t seem to have xenophobia at all.
But the coronation of the day was the fabulous musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. I was looking forward to this event, since we knew we were going. Indeed it exceeded all expectations. The singer of the opera did an amazing job! The stage setting was made with such an effort and love for detail, which lead to an exciting evening.

We ended our day in a fancy club in London, called “Tiger Tiger”: the queue was pretty long, but it didn’t take us too long to get in. The crowded place showed us how much fun the London-night life makes and we had such a great time.


All in all it was an amazing travel experience for all of us and I’m very thankful for that.
I realized the beauty of the city and I can absolutely imagine spending more time there.

Our trip to London

It’s hard to decide what I liked most about our trip to London. First of all, our sightseeing tour on the second day was really impressive. As I’ve never been there before it was very nice to get a first overview and to see all the important sights at a stretch. It was amazing to see the town’s landmarks like Big Ben or the Tower Bridge, which you know from TV or postcards in reality. Moreover it was very interesting to visit the Westminster Abbey and not only to regard it from the outside, but also to enter as we did on our last day. I have to say it’s beautiful and it’s great to be there and to have a look at the graves of the former kings and queens. And what impressed me a lot in general was that the old buildings and the modern ones with their glass fronts and interesting architecture were at a good fit, in my opinion. Despite the great difference in their age and of course the style I would say there was some kind of harmony between them after all – something I haven’t noticed so much in other cities.


In the evening we have been to the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” and it was stunning. I love musicals and I’ve always wanted to watch this one, because I had already heard many of the songs (not only the most famous one) and I found them absolutely beautiful. Altogether the music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who composed it, is great. Besides the stage design and the special effects were marvelous. That’s no wonder since all (or at least many) of the musical-theatres in London are built solely for one special musical. The best was that, as we were in Britain, it was the English and therefore original version and not a translated one. The story was so touching and the actors played and sang excellently.

All in all, the trip to London was both informative and entertaining and I am really glad I’ve taken part in it.

My impression of London

Immediately after our arrival on Sunday we went to Camden Lock, one of my favorite experiences in London. When we got there, crowds of people and thousands of stands bowled me over. Right behind the bridge were so many little stands with food and any kind of stuff you can imagine. I felt like I would be on a bazaar in another country than England because of all the smells of Asian and Indian food and chocolate-fruits. There was too less time to really enjoy this and to sort one’s impressions but our next stop in the Hyde Park was as good as Camden Lock.

As I said we went to Hyde Park to Speakers Corner. This experience was one of my craziest. Already from a far distance we heard excited voices and loud discussions. Then we saw some men standing on a sort of platform (chair etc.) with many people around them. At first we watched the different groups without participating but then we dared to discuss with a small group. The people were really funny and talked very strange and confusing. The man on the platform had a completely different opinion than ours so we had an argument. But we had so much fun in defending our opinion and we got more and more confident because we were able to express ourselves in English, which was very encouraging.

The last exciting event I want to talk about was the visit of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. First I had mixed feelings because I don’t like operas at all, but the mixture of musical and opera was great. The singers were so good and the stage set was constructed so detailed and above all beautiful.

All in all I can say that the trip to London was very enriching for me and I would do it again at anytime if I had the chance to.

Jana

What I liked most about our trip to London

I definitely did enjoy every day of our field excursion to London, but the most exciting day for me was Wednesday, September 23rd, when we went on our day trip to Oxford.

I visited London in 2005, but I had never been to Oxford before. So I was really looking forward to seeing this town, even before our field excursion had started. I had heard much about this beautiful university town and so I had built pictures in my mind of how it would look like etc. And I have to admit that my imaginations were not disappointed at all! I liked Oxford from the beginning when we got off the bus. I find this town really sympathetic because it is not as big as London and has a much more quiet and comfortable atmosphere. Our guided tour through Christ Church College and the quarter around it was also very interesting. Our guide was really nice and friendly and she knew how to make a guided tour both funny and informative at the same time. And I loved the way she spoke the typical Oxford English because it had some kind of a charming touch and I could understand every word she said! As I had been a huge Harry Potter fan when I was younger (and I still love the books!), it was of course a great experience to stand in the Great Hall and upon the stairs which lead to it. :-) Getting to know more about the University of Oxford and its history was absolutely enriching and I enjoyed our freetime in the afternoon by discovering this lovely town a bit more.

To sum it up, I would say that our day trip to Oxford has brought this town on my list of my favourite cities/ towns because with its beautiful architecture and its charming atmosphere it symbolizes all what is for me a British town.

All in all I am sure that every member of our field excursion had a great time and got unforgettable and inspiring impressions and moments. Thank you, Mrs. Koch (and Mr Ehlers) for offering us such a great trip! :-)

Unforgettable Impressions

"A trip to London - how exciting!" - that's what I was thinking when Mrs. Koch presented the destination for our excursion. I always wanted to go there because so many friends had told me about this multisided city and all its specifics.

Thinking about our trip, it's really hard to decide what impressed me most.
In the end, it probably was "As you like it" because I am absolutely addicted to theatre and was so excited to experience an unknown play in a foreign country in a very special theatre. The circumstances of the traditional Shakespeare Globe Theatre were new to me and I really enjoyed being entertained by absolute professionals. I think the actors and actresses were great, Rosalind was my favourite.

Besides, there are some more impressions I would like to mention:
Everywhere in London, especially at Camden Lock Market, you could see different cultures and common people next to absolute extraordinary ones, so you could not divide into groups - a big "salad bowl" filled with individuals from many nationalities and cultures.
Thus I felt very comfortable walking through the streets and finding myself surrounded by fancy people.

Something I also really enjoyed was the Oxford tour, especially because of the architecture. I was enthusiastic about the old town with its loveliest roman and gothic buildings.
Of course it was also very informative to get to know facts about the University.

Summing up, the trip to London was enriching and inspiring in many respects.