German Language Tour

Tag Zehn (Day Ten)

by Ronja Reynolds

Halli, Hallo!

Bread rolls, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, hole cheese, salami, ham, jam and eggs are our typical deutscher breakfast Due to an earlier night, the enthusiasm was flowing from the group Even though we have taken a liking to the German breakfast, everyone is starting to get the craving for a good, old, cold milo and Vegemite toast. Leaving the hostel, we made our way to the Weberweise U Bahn train station taking our daily route to the Inlingua language school.

On arrival, we met with our new German teacher, whose enthusiasm towards teaching the German language is undeniable. Over the course of just four days, it is remarkable to see the difference in everyone’s understanding of what is being spoken and the pronunciation of German words.

Nearing the end of our class we were divided into pairs and had the task of finding out information about one another. Auf Deutsch, of course. Once our time was up we each had to stand in front of the class and inform everyone about our partner. For some, this was an easy task, however, for a few standing up in front of the class and presenting is daunting and even more so in a language foreign to you So a handful of students had to be brave and overcome this fear to present to the class In the end, each presentation was amazing!

After language school, we stopped for a quick lunch break, and then we all headed down for a look around the market. The food looked amazing! There were cheeses, fish, ice cream, fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, kebab stalls and so much more.

From the market, Jess guided us to the Deutsches Technik Museum Standing from the outside there is no telling how much information and how many models this museum could possibly hold.

Once debriefed by the teachers we were able to explore the first and second building for an hour and a half I started in the textiles area and was able to see the vast change in computers from the very first ones created. We were informed about how people would listen to music, how the first movies were filmed, how fabrics were produced and about Germany’s first radio broadcast, the Funkstunde Berlin

From textiles, we moved onto ships and were able to look at a multitude of ship models from all different time periods. Some of the models demonstrated the evolution of a boat's ability to travel faster depending on what sort of propellers it had We had the luxury of climbing aboard a life-size ship and were able to witness what the living conditions were like for people on ships Taking the elevator up to the next level, we arrived at a room full of planes. Some big, some small, and some full of holes And even flying cars! This section of the plane was by far one of my favourites along with the trains and steam engines

Walking out onto the outdoor terrace we were greeted with an amazing view of Berlin and a cool breeze I have to say that Germans should consider installing air-cons I have not been in a single building so far that has an aircon installed and we have been experiencing temperatures of up to 33 degrees.

Germans and their stairs Where do I begin with this one? I have never, ever in my life walked up and down so many stairs. Every building you enter is at the very least six storeys high. Now how many flights of stairs do you need to get up to the top? A lot! Just changing trains may involve up to four flights of stairs!

After a forty-five-minute rest, we all headed down to the study room for our evening revision session. The amazing Frau Beck continuously helps us and explains the German grammar we needed extra clarification on I absolutely love our little light bulb moments when Frau Beck teaches everyone a new little trick for the topic we are learning and everyone’s realisation of how much easier it is than what we thought.

Bis morgen!