Germany Eu

Comenius Project Culture guide

Intercultural dialogue

through music

Meeting in Sandhausen, Germany September 29th- October 3rd 2009

Sandhausen is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km south of Heidelberg.Heidelberg is a city in BadenWürttemberg, Germany. As of 2008, over 145,000 people live within the city's 109 square kilometres (42 sq mi) area. Heidelberg is a unitary authority. The RheinNeckar-Kreis rural district surrounds and has its seat in the city, but the city is not a part of the district. Heidelberg lies on the river Neckar at the point where it leaves its narrow, steep valley in the Odenwald to flow into the Rhine valley. 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Heidelberg, it joins the river Rhine at Mannheim. Heidelberg is part of a densely populated region known as the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.

Cultural Guide – Germany Our Stay in Sandhausen

By Stanislava Kosárová (CZ) This time the international dialogue through music meeting was held in Germany.

We all stayed in families and my host family was really nice and kind; Franziska and her sister were friendly.

We got a warm welcome in the school as well. After that, two German students held a well-prepared presentation on the town and the surroundings. Later on we were singing the project songs which I liked.

What else did I like about our stay in Sandhausen? The program, of course, especially the rally through Heidelberg. I liked communicating with foreigners.

And, yes: typical German food was really tasty. And last but not least: fortunately, the concert was a success.

The last day we went to a park in Mannheim which was a good change and relaxation, too. The way back was exhausting but overall, the trip was really worth it. Thanks to all organizers!

Observations‌ by Tomåť Oakland (CZ) It's odd, how different the world is, once you cross the border. Communism It's odd, how different the world is, once you cross the border. Communism has run amok in the 40 years it has been stationed in the Czech Republic, that's why the change you see on entering Germany is enough to take your breath away.

Heidelberg is a town of near-angelic beauty. With rich, pre-war architecture, an obvious great respect for history and ancestry and an atmosphere to top probably any city or town I have yet entered.

A beautiful as Heidelberg was, it was nothing to top what we visited one day - the Chapel of Maulbronn.

This place squeezed me so tight to its chest that I think I'm still left a piece of me there. When I sat under a tree imagining I was Hermann Hesse, with my legs stretched out in front of me and no worries what-so-ever. Or a Cistercian monk going around my business on the outlying fields and woods, exploring the brewery, the abbeygrounds the whole town and taking a drink out of the fountain.

Speyer Cathedral, another place of significance awes you when first you set Speyer Cathedral, another place of significance awes you when first you set eyes on it. A Cathedral it is, furthermore a kaiserdom if ever there was one. That's your first look, the facade a magnificent as any. Magnificence, that is, in its simple form with no unnecessary twirls and turrets. The inside of Speyer is still huge, but not as thrilling as

the outside, as what you see is, after all a Cathedral, the interior of which is not as elaborate as the sheere Moby Dick outside. As we sat by the Rhine River, the only thing we felt the lack of, on that lush, sunny afternoon was an ice-cream.

My Father once told me, that the Germans were among the most friendly people in Europe. More amiable, more genial and folksy, I didn't feel half as self-conscious when talking to someone on the street as I would in Brno. People aren't so shy and self-conscious as here. No-one feels silly when addressing a stranger. I've noticed that in England, too. That's the Western world showing itself. The world behind the Wall.

And that's what it is. Heidelberg, Maulbronn, Speyer... all are places that could never exist on this side of the Iron Curtain. That's the world no-one could have imagined 30 years ago.

Germany vs the Czech Republic

by Tomáš Vrtek (CZ) I have never thought that Germany is such a beautiful and friendly country but I have changed my opinion. I liked everything in Germany. When I arrived to Germany, I was shocked how friendly the people were. I had had this feeling from the very beginning to the end of our trip. In the hotel, in which me and some other students were living during the project, in restaurants, where we spent the evenings and finally in the city – there was very good atmosphere everywhere. It was very pleasant. When we, for example, needed to find out some information and ask some people, they were very kind and if it was possible, they gave us the information immediately. And I was surprised that they were not angry. I am afraid that it is not the

same as in the Czech Republic. It is more unfriendly here when compared with Germany and other western countries.

Another surprise was the hotel where we were living. It was very comfortable. I have already lived in a lot of hotels in the Czech Republic but none of them was as good as the one in Germany.

It was a very good experience to see Germany. I would like to repeat it once more because I really enjoyed it.

Germany from a Different Perspective

By Kristýna Vaňková (CZ)

Before I went to Germany, I had heard about their specific sense of “ordnung” but I have to say that later on I did not find any. I found people there just as un/friendly as in the Czech Republic and I think that is what we have in common, we are not always very friendly at first sight.

If I were to describe Germany in one word, I would definitely say "green“.

I like the way they save PET bottles and use trams and trains instead of cars. I also find the streets and cities much cleaner than in our country.

I really liked all those old buildings (castle, university, university library, church etc.) in Heidelberg and actually all of the old buildings that we were shown were really cool. And the cathedral in Speyer was HUGE! The European Concert on Friday was amazing; I was surprised how many people came to see (hear) us. I really enjoyed the trumpets that the FEG presented and also the guys from Cyprus were good. I liked the atmosphere there as well as the "afterparty“ which was a bit sad as we had to say goodbye.

The FEG really treated us well and I felt at home there. And since we got to know each other on the very first day, it was a great experience to see how much we are alike and yet different Europeans. It was my first time in Germany and I am sure I want to go back again some time in the future!

Our Stay in Sandhausen

By Josef Patočka (CZ) So, this is my report about our trip to Sandhausen, Germany, as a part of the

Intercultural Dialogue through Music.

Because we all managed to arrive at the Main Station in Brno on time, we were in Prague at about noon. After a short break in this gorgeous city, we were all stuffed into a little but comfortable bus, which finally dropped us off at the Heidelberg Main Station. From that place we were taken “home” by our host families. My family was really nice and kind to me.

The school was much bigger then ours. A big canteen. A big hall. A big school. And an extraordinarily nice teacher of Math.

We have also seen a lot of regional sights.

Also, the final concert was good; especially the Bulgarian performance was very good. It was all fine.

Our visit in Germany by Poniatowa From 29th September to 3rd October, a delegation from Marshal Jozef Pilsudski High School in Poniatowa took part in an international meeting within the Comenius project, in Sandhausen, in Germany.

Our delegation, along with students and teachers from Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Italy, Poland and Slovenia met in Sandhausen within the confines of the Comenius project “Intercultural Dialogue Through Music.” In addition to the attending students, our dear teachers: Mrs. Anna Rosińska-Stola, Mrs. Agnieszka Chamera and Mrs. Barbara Kramek, represented our town and the southern part of our country, in Germany.

And what happened there – a participant’s account: At night, from 28th on 29th September, another Comenius mobility began. This time our group headed for the beautiful and picturesque town of Sandhausen – a town located seven kilometers from Heidelberg, in the south-west part of Germany. We all were in a good mood, so even the long and tiring travel didn’t manage to discourage us.

After twenty hours of bus travel, we were glad to see our host families waiting for us. They took us to their homes just after our arrival.

On the first day of our stay in Germany, we visited the local school, where we participated in Art classes led in English, during which we made EU flags. We also learnt the national songs of our partnership countries, and in return, we treated our German friends to some Polish. It caused numerous bursts of laughter since our ś,ć, ź turned out to be a real challenge for them.

In the afternoon we went to Heidelberg – a lovely town offering a breathtaking view of the castle on the buttress. We were given a special assignment there: we had to find some places in the town only by means of a town map. What’s more, we were to fulfill some additional tasks in every place we had luckily found. It wasn’t easy, however we managed to complete the route and learnt a lot about this lovely town.

The new day brought many new attractions. At first we went to Maulbronn, where we visited a well-preserved monastery from 1138. It was originally a Cistercian abbey, but now it has been converted to an evangelical monastic school. An interesting point is the fact that monks from Maulbronn are believed to have created the famous Maultaschen – a kind of dumpling filled with meat, onions, spinach and rolls. The story goes that since the monks were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays and during fasting periods, one of them hid minced meat and vegetables, wrapping all ingredients into dough, hoping that God would not notice this forbidden fruit among them.

Germany By Gdynia 'I am a second grade student of Gimnazjum #4 in Gdynia. I have been in the Comenius programme for a year. It was my first project meeting abroad. At first, I was afraid how the host family would be and how we would communicate with each other. But when I met my hosts it turned out Tiana and her mother were great! While staying at Tiana's I was treated by her family as a family member. We got on really well. Thanks to the Comenius programme I met many wonderful people and was able to learn what an everyday life of a German family is. Tiana and her mum took care of myself in a wonderful way. I will surely not forget them and will be missing them. I wish our stay in Germany had lasted longer.' By Karolina 'I am a third year student and have been taking part in the Comenius project for about a year. My host family were very nice and pleasant. During the stay in Germany I was not bored at all. I was living in a big house full of attractions. It's a pity the meeting was so short as I would have stayed in Germany longer if I had been able to.

During the programme I met many friends from foreign countries and visited many places of interest of the German region. I will never forget them.' By Ania

'When I was told I would go for the meeting in Germany I was really happy about it and a bit afraid of it as well. I was not sure what my hosts would be like. When in Germany I learned there was no need to be afraid at all - 'my' family were very kind, caring, helpful, nice, loving and pleasant. I will never forget them. They organised my free time in a really good way. We had lots of fun together. I wish I had been able to stay with them longer! When I saw Lisa's siblings I knew I would love them as my own family. It was quite hard leaving them all. The sightseeing tours in Germany were great and well organised. Thanks to the project meeting I met many interesting people and I will really miss them.' By Klaudia

'It was our first incredible project meeting abroad. The meeting was full of excitement. Living with German families showed us their customs and helped us make friends with interesting people. That's why in our opinion it would have been a kind of loss if we had stayed in a hotel during the meeting. Thanks to the Comenius programme we met great and warm families we really became attached to. While staying at the families' we could also practice our English. The free time we spent with them was well organised and full of attractions. During the meeting we could all visit and learn about Sandhausen, Heidelberg and other beautiful places in Germany.

We really enjoyed meeting all the partners from different European countries and taking part in the scheduled activities - including the concert. We wish the project meeting had lasted longer.' By Marta and Dominika

Another exciting day (or maybe the most exciting because of the concert) of the meeting.

First, there was music practice in the festival hall, then we went to the town hall to meet the Mayor deputy and learn more about Sandhausen. Afterwards, we walked around the town, listened to some organ music by Mr Zepp and finally - the concert!

All the groups did really well singing their songs and also the German project song.

What a great performance!

After the concert we enjoyed being together and dining together.

It was the final evening of the meeting in Sandhausen. We look forward to another project meeting in England.

Sightseeing Tour 1 October, 2009 We started our day really early to visit some interesting places of the region. We admired the monastery in Maulbronn, enjoyed the music by some mechanical instruments in the Bruchsal Palace museum and the beauty of the palace itself. Later we saw a cathedral and had some free time in Speyer. Our music group had their music practice in the cathedral area. People who were passing us while the rehearsal seemed quite surprised with our Kashubian songs.

Heidelberg 30 September, 2009 After lunch we all went to Heidelberg. Teachers did some sightseeing and visited the Heidelberg castle hill, they also listened to a short organ concert by Mr Markus Zepp.

Students took part in a rally. What a picturesque and beautiful town Heidelberg is!

30 September, 2009 The busy meeting schedule started. In the morning we met all the project partners in the FEG school building and later we took part in the music and art workshops. We enjoyed singing project songs and working with our friends. The German primary pupils we met were really cute. The boys were also doing fine while learning Polish. :) Fist Day in Germany

29 September, 2009 After breakfast we left the hotel and went to the bus station. We took a bus to Heidelberg where Mr David Abesser was awaiting us. He led us to the station and was our guide on our way to Sandhausen (Thank you David :) ). It took us six minutes (by train) to get from Heidelberg to Sandhausen.We spent the rest of the day with our host families, getting to know each other and relaxing too.

Departure Day 28 September, 2009 We left for the meeeting in Germany on 28th Sept. We flew from Gdansk Rebiechowo to Frankfurt Hahn. At about 11:35 pm our plane landed in Germany and then we went straight to a hotel to get some rest there.

Students learn about Germany 22 September, 2009 Soon our Comenius group are going to Germany for another partnership meeting.

Today Ms Hanna Jamer-Graczkowski, German teacher, ran classes for students of Gimnazjum #4 and taught them about Germany, its geography and culture. We also learned on Sandhausen - the Comenius meeting destination.

Some students have also made albums on Germany. The albums have been displayed in the school library.

Germany by Bulgarians German's punctuality - myth or reality?

The meeting in Sandhausen was organized up to the very detail with an amazing team work.

As for the German punctuality is rather a reality than myth and some of us had the chance to experience it on their own. What made me impression was that the Germans are extremely serious when it comes to commitments and once involved never give up or distract their attention.

Sandhausen is a small and neat town with warm welcoming people living in tidy houses.

What we noticed and surprised us is that the Germans prefer to drink sparkling water most of the time. The food (cuisine) in Germany offers more than one gastronomical temptations.

We liked the most the old part of Heidelberg

and the visit of the monastery in Maulbronn. It was so lovely to have a walk in the past.

The promenade amongst the authentic buildings and atmosphere was amazing. The monastery in Maulbronn is such a place than once you had the chance to visit it you would never want to leave it. There you can see the weird harmony between two different styles - gothic and romantic.

The concert in this meeting was great as usual even better ,because our hard work provide our professional level in each projects concert and our international team is just great.

Meeting in Sandhausen by Tortolì From 29th September to 3rd October 2009 a group from our school, two teachers and three students, went to Sandhausen, Germany, in occasion of the fourth international meeting inside our Comenius project “Intercultural Dialogue Through Music.”

Students’ report: my journey to Sandhausen by Valeria

My travel experience for the Comenius project was very good as it wasn’t the usual trip experience with my class. It was the fourth meeting of our project : “ Intercultural dialogue through music” with the participation of : Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland, Cyprus, Germany, England, Italy and Czech Republic. I left with my teachers and two other students and I spent with them five days.

After a two hours flight we arrived at Frankfurt airport where we met Mr. Bleur who drove us to Sandhausen, a town of 15.000 inhabitants.

For 4 days I was hosted by a German family: they all were very kind and pleasant and I’m sure I’ll never forget them! The girl I stayed with, Simone, was very nice and polite. As she spoke Italian quite well, we were able to communicate both in English and Italian.

The day after our arrival we had a warm welcome at Gimnasium school where we had the possibility to take part in the school activities with our German friends: We were involved in a lot of activities : we created some posters with each country flag, we learned and sang the songs of each country.

Music lessons were great, I enjoyed them very much!

During our stay we also visited a lot of interesting places and we meet people from over different countries. It has been an amazing experience.

I only regret the meeting was so short : I would have stayed in Germany longer!

Valeria Masala

Germany by Siria

Hello! I’m Siria, I’m one of the students who have taken part in the Comenius project “Intercultural dialogue through music”, so I had the opportunity to go to Germany.

It was a nice stay, we enjoyed it a lot and we saw again people that we met in previous meetings in other countries participating in the project. The meeting was perfectly organized:

We attended music and theater’s lessons,

We held a concert where we sang and played altogether.

During the concert every group sincerely applauded the other groups’ performances and all that created a deep friendship atmosphere.

But what I’ll never forget is the kindness and the hospitality of the family that hosted me and of people in general.

They were all very friendly and pleasant. I will have wonderful memories forever.

Siria Muceli Angela’s impressions from Germany Hello! I’m Angela. In September I had opportunity to go to Germany with two teachers and two school friends for the Comenius Project.

My first impression when I arrived was quite positive, I like listening to people speaking a different language. When in Germany I stayed with a German family, in their home. It was a meaningful experience as staying with them I learned a lot about their habits and customs.

German food too has been a pleasant surprise!

People in Germany are really hospitable and kind. With my host student we have a lot in common, for instance our interest in music.

During our stay we visited a lot of interesting places .

But the most important thing for me was to sing together all the traditional songs of the countries participating to the project.

I really enjoyed this experience: it gave me the opportunity to improve my English and to know different ways of life, cultures and wonderful places!

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I know I was lucky to have taken part in it!

Angela Pinna

Germany by English studentsela GERMANY 29.09.09- 03.10.09 1st day We set off to Frankfurt in the afternoon. Two of our students had never flown before so within first minutes of our trip to Germany, they felt like the adventure had already begun. At Frankfurt airport we met up with the Bulgarian group and then we were all greeted by a German teacher who guided us to the coach, which took us to Sandhausen, straight to an Italian restaurant where all the other parties were at different stages of their dinners. It was such a great pleasure to see familiar faces, and to students who were new to the Comenius project it was the first chance to meet students from various different countries and to practise their German! After dinner we went to the hotel for a good night of sleep‌ 2nd day After a delicious German breakfast, early in the morning, we went to Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium, which was our hosting school. The first thing we noticed was a huge number of bicycles in front of the school. It seems that this is the most popular means of transport for German students! At the school we were greeted by students and teachers and we had a short presentation of Sandhausen. Shortly afterwards, the teachers went for a meeting and students went to observe some of the lessons.

After that, the students participated in 2 activities. One activity involved practising the project songs of all parties in the other the students had to paint the flags of all countries participating in the project. We finished the morning at Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium with a delicious lunch in the colourful school canteen, after which we set off by train to Heidelberg at Necker River, which we absolutely adored.

1.

We all liked the beautiful, compact Old Town, with the gorgeous ruins of Heidelberg Castle, which are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps and which can be seen in the photo in the background.

However, there was much more to see. For example, the Old Bridge, Church of Holy Spirit (the biggest regional Gothic church built from 1344 to 1441) and Jesuit Church. The students took part in a quest search where they had to find certain places in Heidelberg which was good fun and an opportunity of getting to know other students. Afterwards, in our free time, we had a chance to do some small shopping in the most famous street in Heidelberg - the Hauptstrasse.

Finally, we had a fully deserved dinner at a German Inn in the heart of Heidelberg, where we were able to taste different types of traditional food. We loved it, especially Frankfurter Sausage, Salty Pretzel and Schnitzel. 3rd day The third day of the German Comenius Project was about sightseeing as we went to 3 different places, each of them extremely interesting in different ways.

First, we went to Maulbronn Abbey, founded in 1147, which is the best preserved medieval Cistercian monastery complex in Europe. The monastery is a UNESCO Heritage Site and is really breathtaking.

2.

Next we went to the castle in Bruchsal with impressive Mechanical Music Instruments, where we could admire more than 400 exhibits of self-playing musical instruments. And this is us before entering the museum - the whole group including teachers and all students… Moreover, we were able to play some of the instruments which can be seen in the photo below… The final destination of the day was Speyer, beside the River Rhine, with the astonishing Speyer Cathedral, which covers 134 square meters with a highest point of 72 meters.

3.

This building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as one of the best examples of a monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire. However, the only part of the cathedral that is still the original is the Crypt (in 1689, the cathedral was almost totally destroyed). In the Crypt there are graves of a few medieval German emperors and kings who were buried there between 1039 and 1309. Although the students found the whole day interesting, when evening came they decided to do something less challenging and they went to play …. Finally, we had dinner in Wiesloch. We had a German buffet and that means we ate, ate and ate until we simply could eat no more! It was delicious!!!

4.

4th day On the last day of our visit to Germany we had a meeting at the Town Hall with the Deputy Mayor, who gave us a presentation about Sandhausen and took us for a tour around the town. The German music teacher played the organ to us in one of the churches, which was a really amazing experience because we felt like we had a private concert there. Later on, the students had rehearsals and afterwards, to break the tension before the concert, they participated in classes of traditional German dance and drama activities in which they had to represent their home countries, using gestures but no words. Most of the students found the drama activity quite challenging, but they all seemed to enjoy it and were able to present their work at the beginning of the concert on the same day. Finally, the main part of the project began - the concert! The German party opened the event with some songs and music played by the school orchestra. Afterwards, it was time for all countries to present their programmes. The concert took place in the community hall and it was a wonderful experience. Everyone enjoyed themselves and appreciated each other. Our group in the concert.

5.

At the end, everyone went on the stage and sang a song together, which ended the concert in an atmosphere of real international unity. Afterwards we had our last meal, as a whole group of eight countries, together, and then some of the groups started to depart for their home countries. It was sad to see them go but, on the other hand, we all knew that we will never forget what we experienced and that we might meet our friends in the future… Day 5th After an early start to the day, we arrived in Birmingham around midday, not believing that this part of our adventure was over.

Germany by Slovenia Day 1: In October 2009 we, students from Gimnazija Slovenske Konjice, went to Germany through a music exchange project »INTERCULTURAL DIALOG THROUGH MUSIC«.

After 10 hours on the train we finally reached our final destination – Heidelberg.

There, we were welcomed by our host families. We had a dinner which was prepared for all the arriving students. We ate well. It was late and we were exhausted from the trip so we all went home with our hosts where we unpacked and fell asleep.

We stayed in a small town of Sandhausen, which is near a famous town of Heidelberg.

The families we were staying at were taking very good care of us. During the day we were travelling a lot and returned home very late, exhausted as hell from all the walking around the town and sightseeing.

Urban and Gregor with twins we were staying at: Moritz (left) and Felix (right)

On the first day we went on a tour around Heidelberg. We were given instructions how to find important buildings or statues in the town of Heidelberg. We saw an »Universitätsbibliothek« The statue at the entrance is Prometheus, who brought fire to Earth and for which he was punished by the gods. We also had to search for something different on the »Jesuitenkirche« and found Jesus in the arms of his of his mother Mary killing the devil. We were extremely fascinated by the face expressions of the children who were at the top of the church.

Day 2: On our second day we had to wake up early because we went to Maulbronn, Bruchsal and Speyer. In Maulbronn we visited an old monastery, which is an important place for a tourist to see.

Posing in the monastery

Next, we went to Bruchsal, where we saw a lot of fun stuff, such as old Juke-boxes that we were very interested in.

The Cathedral of Speyer After that we went to Speyer, where we saw Speyer Cathedral, one of the largest and most beautiful crypts in Christendom. The word 'crypt' is derived from the Greek 'kryptein' and means 'something hidden'. The German poet Reinhold Schneider, described this crypt, with its neighbouring burial place of the kings and emperors of the Middle ages, as ´The most sublime monument on German ground´.

We were also shown the tombs which were in two rows. The rear row consists of the oldest tombs, the graves of the Salian dynasty.

At the end of our visit we stayed there in a moment of silence and prayed for those today who have responsibilities in politics, society and for the peace of the world.

Inside of the tomb Afterwards we spent some time in Speyer's old town centre where we had some leisure time for exploring this beautiful town by ourselves.

We had lots of fun.

After an exhausting day we went to a restaurant named »All you can eat«. Some people saw a lifetime opportunity in it.

Comment unnecessary… 

The last day of our visit in Germany was filled with preparations for the final concert that night where our singer Eva presented Slovenia with three national songs.

After the final concert we went out with our German friends for the last time and had private party in a park. We couldn’t stay for too long, because we were leaving Germany the following morning.

We really miss the friendships we made during our exchange and we are looking forward to seeing our friends again.

Some of us weren't starving on our way home.