So our last full day in Germany and a busy day lay ahead as we headed for breakfast. Once we had finished everybody set to making their lunches and packing their bags as we have done the last couple of mornings. We then met the coach and set off on a short journey into the centre of Cologne where we were dropped off. After a short walk we were met by an amazing view of the Cathedral and the best quote of the view went to Ollie who said “it was amazing and that it didn’t even look real!” Frau Denton, who had been swatting up on the Cathedral at her parents’ house the day before, gave a brief yet interesting talk on the history of the fantastic place and set the pupils a number of items to find inside. It is safe to say the outside could only have been upstaged by the beauty and genius of work inside. The arches and flooring were so incredibly fine in their detail that it was hard not to be simply overawed. The pupils were clearly breath taken by such a marvel, and the new more modern ‘Elma Window’ (Christened by Ben) even gave way to a rather fiery debate between the pupils on whether it was nice or not and whether it was suitable for such a gothic style building. The pupils were then given some free time to explore the city and enjoy a spot of shopping. However, a small elite group made up of Mr Ellis, Finnley, Daisy, Annie, Laura, Hifsah, Livvy and Connie decided to scale the tower of the Cathedral, all 533 steps of it. They view from the top was breath taking, and not only because we had just climbed over 100m! After seeing what else Cologne had on offer, the group met outside the Cathedral and headed off to the Chocolate Museum. Here we discovered how chocolate is made, including the harvesting and preparation of cocoa beans and the actual making process. There was also the odd free sample of chocolate on offer which pupils and staff alike obviously took full advantage of! We then returned to the hostel and began packing bags so that we were ready for the departure in the morning enabling us to have a little more time in Cologne before we start the journey back. This all passed very smoothly and after dinner we boarded the coach once more and set off to Aqua land. I can safely say that this was one of the most enjoyed parts of the trip! The only thing missing was that it was not set in costal area with temperatures in the 30s! Everybody who went in thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with even the ‘Laser Show’ not dampening anyone’s enthusiasm. The people’s favourite was far and away the rocket, a trap door into a vertical drop. So much fun! A subdued coach returned to the hostel where it was straight to bed to prepare ourselves for the long journey home tomorrow. |
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