Over the Easter Break we had our 4th Year European trip to Germany and it was an amazing experience. We all gathered together in Dublin airport at 4am and we were split into two different groups as we were going to be on two different planes. One plane was arriving in Frankfurt and one was arriving in Düsseldorf.
Once we arrived at the airport in Germany we took a bus ride to Cologne. We were given 40 minutes to get lunch before our walking tour of Cologne, which involved a tour inside the elegant Cologne Cathedral. Cologne was a beautiful city and we enjoyed learning all about the history of Cologne while on the tour. Then we went to the Olympic Sports Museum which was a really interactive museum . After that we went to the Lindt chocolate museum . At the museum we saw the workers making chocolate and we read all about the history of the company. The best part was the free chocolate testers! That evening we checked into the hostel and got dinner. After dinner we were allowed socialise in the reception area until 10:30pm.
On the second day we went to a small city that was situated an hour away from Cologne called Koblenz. Here we did another walking tour and got lunch. We then went to Boppard where we had planned on going on the Boppard Chairlift but unfortunately it had to close early that day. We were given the time to walk around and explore Boppard instead. Next we went on a river cruise down the River Rhine back to Koblenz where the buses drive us to the hostel for the night. It was really enjoyable and we saw a picturesque German village on the river’s edge.
On the last day we went to Phantasialand, a theme park in Brühl near Cologne. We spent a few hours there and had the freedom to wander around the park and go on all the roller coasters. It’s home to the world’s longest indoor roller coaster and the world’s fastest launch roller coaster. We had lots of fun here! We were given a food voucher to use to get a free lunch. The buses then drove us back to the airport as we sadly waited for our flight. Time for more shopping in duty free and then on the flight back to Dublin.
It was a wonderful trip and we are very grateful to Ms. Sheehan and everyone involved with organising the trip and all the great activities throughout the days. A big thank you to every teacher that came along with us and we hope they enjoyed the trip just as much as we did. We really appreciate you giving up some of your holiday for our trip; Mr. English, Ms. Peat, Ms. Clery, Ms. Power, Mr. Weafer, Ms Orohoe, Ms. Masterson, Mr. McDermott, Ms. O’Moore and Ms. Sheehan.
Thanks to Keava Roche, Emma Byrne and Ruth Kelly from TY Journalism for this article!