Zwar nicht England, aber den englischen Garten

hat sich das Sprachprofil des Q2-Jahrgangs mit Frau Strehl und Frau Walsleben auf seiner Studienfahrt angesehen. Was die Ladies dabei erlebt haben, berichten sie hier natürlich in ihrer Lieblingssprache.

Monday

Originally we the Q2a had planned our trip to Canterbury a Shakespearean city in Great Britain but in times of Covid-19 the uncertainty kept us from travelling there. Alternative destinations were Hamburg, Berlin and Munich. The majority voted for Munich because our last trip was to Berlin and we all knew Hamburg.

We left central station in Lübeck at 8:15 am. Everyone was happy and excited-just one last problem: our teacher was missing. Mrs Walsleben had missed her train (which wasn‘t her fault actually, because the train simply didn‘t come #Schienenersatzverkehr), so we left with Mrs Strehl and hoped she’d catch up afterwards. The first few stops we shared with the Q2c and we had a fun time together playing games, braiding hair and talking. We were relieved when Mrs Walsleben announced that she caught a train to Munich too.

At 15:00 we arrived at central station Munich. We walked to our hotel nearby ( it was a 20 min walk by foot) and got to take a first look at the beautiful city. Finally we got to see our lovely rooms.

For dinner at 6:30 pm, we went to the Paulaner Bräuhaus and got to know some of Munich or Bavarian delicacies. Frau Walsleben joined us there. We all had a good time and were very tired afterwards, so we went to bed early to get a good night sleep before the program really started.

Tuesday

The first night at the hotel we slept very well. After showering and slowly getting ready, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast consisting of Bavarian pretzels, croissants, cornflakes, fruits and much more.

At 9 o’clock, we headed towards the Marienplatz, a square near the center of Munich, to get to know the city. We were welcomed warmly by our tour guide Kevin from Ireland who equipped us with bikes and lead us to the most interesting sights of the capital of Bavaria including the English Garden, the Bavarian parliament, the LMU (University of Munich) and a cool vegan cafe, where we stopped to drink a coffee and have a snack. We all found that Kevin was a very entertaining and friendly tour guide, whose special presenting style was even worth discussing in class later.

Following the bike tour, we were given some free time where we experienced the city on our own.

For instance, we went to second-hand shops, enjoyed some ice-cream (although the weather wasn‘t exactly warm), strolled through some popular quarters and finally met up again afterwards to have dinner together. We tried out a small restaurant serving street food such as bowls, burritos and nachos.

Having returned to the hotel, we put on some warmer clothes to go outside again and sat down all together on the famous Theresienwiese, where the Oktoberfest usually takes place.
Overall, it was a very fun day.

Wednesday

We had planned a trip that would take us back to Munich of the 17th century.
The baroque Nymphenburg Palace was our destination, a building where kings and queens used to pace the hallways.

9 o’clock: After finishing our breakfast we gathered our things and headed to the underground station. Around forty minutes later, after another tram ride as well as temporarily losing two students, the palace finally came into view. White pavement, beautifully built and huge. Like, really huge. Insider knowledge (from Wikipedia): the palace actually extends farther than Versailles!

Due to COVID-restrictions, we were only allowed to enter the palace in small groups, but of course we all had our vaccine certificate, so we were good to go.
It’s safe to say that the inside of the palace is even more beautiful than the outside.
Not only the ballroom, white-walled, embellished with ornaments of gold, the ceiling covered in great paintings, but also all the other rooms left us standing in awe. As it is with many historical sites, you could almost feel the spirit of past times; and maybe even picture yourself attending a glittering ball in those grand halls.

Before setting out back for the city, we decided to take a turn in the palace garden, an open space of green, decorated with water fountains and statues. Hidden in the forest, you could come across lovely small castles and temples which you could visit as well.

Eventually, we arrived at the Victuals Market and ate vegan kebab. It was very divine.
So all in all, a successful day.

Thursday

Since we were running a little low on energy this sunny Thursday morning, our minds were as blank as canvases, ready to be painted by the vibrant impressions we were yet to gain from our trip to the Lenbachhaus, a popular art museum in Munich.

As soon as we entered, we couldn’t help but be stunned by the great dimensions of the space, able to hear nothing but the echoing of our own footsteps, since that we were nearly the only visitors to arrive. If the architecture was already so great, how amazing could the real exhibition be? The majority of us wandered into the famous exhibit of the 20th century Blue Rider movement where we were met by the sight of the artistic inspirations leading up to it and the paintings themselves.
The museum also had exhibits on 19th century realist movement, abstract expressionist and surrealist pieces. At the beginning of each section was a paragraph on the context and meaning of the pieces, somewhat like a vague overview of it.

Overall it was quite an enlightening and relaxing visit! The various styles and cultural pieces were so enjoyable to look at, that some of us stayed at the museum for longer to let the admiration sink in.

Towards the end of our visit, we were able to pick up a poster souvenir with a great quote by Marc and Kandinsky of the Blue Rider almanac 1912: „The whole body of work we call art knows neither borders nor nations but only humanity.“

We absolutely recommend for anyone who’s interested in art and art history, who happens to be in Munich to take a peek at the Lenbachhaus.

Friday

We all woke up tired after having bonding late night talks the evening before. As we
knew it was our last day in Munich, we already started packing the night before, so we only had to pack the rest up before leaving for our last stop before returning home: the “Deutsches
Museum”. Still, we took our time to enjoy the last opportunity to have the delicious mini
croissants at the breakfast buffet.

Some were definitely more excited than others. Our sleep deficit may have been one reason.
Nevertheless, we quickly split into groups of two or three people and started our tour through
the museum. In the “Deutsches Museum” you can receive information about technical and
scientific processes like deep-sea research, chemicals or ancient flight techniques. Since it is a
very educating museum, many other students were visiting it as well. Therefore we
were surrounded by small screaming students which may have been exhausting for the tired
people. However, we got used to it rather quickly.

For us, the pharmacy exhibition was the most interesting one and we spent some time reading the information about ancient diseases and their cures. Because of our excellent time management, we were able to watch a demonstration of high voltage which was quite horrifying and very loud, but exciting.

After picking up our luggage from the hotel we started our way home. At the central station
we bought some lunch and classily enjoyed our meal sitting on the floor. The train trip
was rather unspectacular, as we slept, read or chatted a little. Somehow, we managed to be
late, but arriving in Lübeck that was forgotten. After saying goodbye, we went home and had
a good night’s rest after our great trip.