New Prague students and teachers return from Germany tour

Twenty-three local high school students and their German teachers recently returned from a 22-day tour of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

The itinerary included stays in Munich, Salzburg and the medieval town of Rothenburg.The students enjoyed a cruise on the fabled Rhine River, a stay in the enchanted Black Forest, a hike in the Swiss Alps and a unique tour of the salts mines near Berchtesgaden. They also visited numerous churches and castles, including King Ludwig’s castles Linderhof and Neuschwanstein.

Munich provided an opportunity to visit the 1972 Olympic grounds and the town’s city hall with its famous Glockenspiel. The tour included a trip to Dachau, site of the first concentration camp in Germany.

The highlight of the trip for many students was a stop in the city of Weinstadt near Stuttgart, where they spent five days with German host families. This allowed the students to meet and converse with Germans and discover more about their culture and way of life.

Germany is also host to the 2006 World Cup which allowed the students to observe first-hand the antics and celebrations of various cultures as they cheered for their favorite soccer team.

All students had completed three years of high school German.

Chaperones for the group were Patrick O’Malley, John Harty, high school German teachers and Natalie Moe, a German/Spanish teacher at the middle school. Sixteen students from Ely and their German teacher joined the group.