Short- term exchange of groups of pupils ( C2)
Slovak Erasmus+ team visiting partners in Duisburg, Germany
Difficult long-lasting pandemic situation has caused that we were able to participate in our first Short- term exchange of groups of pupils in the second year of running the project Fit ´n´ Green.
Between 21. - 25. March 2022, 11 pupils and 2 project teachers visited our project partner school Krupp- Gymnasium in Duisburg, Germany.
As the city is located in the north- west of Germany, we travelled by plane, flying from Budapest to Dortmund. The journey itself took nine hours and after arriving at the B&B hotel Duisburg, we relaxed and prepared for three days full of activities.
On Tuesday morning, we set off to visit Krupp- Gymnasium. When we entered the school, project teachers and students were already waiting for us. To meet each other face to face was such a great experience after working or communicating via Internet for such a long time.
The day turned out to be full of activities. After the short guided tour of the school by German students, we all ended up participating in team ball games and intensive fitness, led by Tanja, in the school gym. In the afternoon, we met in the city centre where we had lunch together in a local restaurant and then walked across the city to see and to be told about the Duisburg´s landmarks. We finished the day by climbing the illuminated steel attraction Tiger &Turtle, from which we could see the entire night city below us.
On Wednesday, in sunny ,warm weather, both teams decided to explore nature in the countryside. We hiked in slightly hilly forest and fields for two hours and then stopped at the organic farm. The owner of the farm showed and informed us about everything the farm deals with: keeping free- range hens for egg production , keeping cattle and growing vegetables and herbs in a greenhouse without using chemicals. We could touch, feed, taste and eat- the whole experience was interactive and educational.
On Thursday, we travelled by train to Düsseldorf to visit the capital of the region. Despite the fact that it is an industrial city, we got an impression of historical and green city. The best way to see the city was from the TV tower which provided the panoramic views of the river Rhyne, unusual modern architecture, green places, spectacular harbour and beautiful modern bridge. On our way across the city, German students informed us about the landmarks we stopped by. We also saw how interesting it looks when nature is a part of a city- greenery growing from the walls of the modern administrative building , blooming cherry trees and daffodils everywhere...
We really enjoyed the activities, German team prepared for us during the days spent together. We are thankful that we had this opportunity to get to know each other better, to try and learn new things, to practise English and have fun together. We hope that we will soon meet them in Banská Bystrica in Slovakia.
Slovak Erasmus+ team visiting partners in Novi Sad, Serbia
German Erasmus+ team visiting partners in Slovakia, Banská Bystrica
After a long and exhausting journey to Banská Bystrica in Slovakia, we were finally able to see the Slovak students again on the second day. First we visited the school of our project partners, where we were warmly welcomed with coffee and homemade cake, and then we played team games together in the sports hall. The Slovakian students and their project teachers then took us through their former mining town and around lunchtime we went to a restaurant in the beautiful city center.The next day we hiked 6km to a hut on Mount Baranec in the Western Tatras and we chatted a lot along the way. We then had pancakes for lunch at the hut at the summit to strengthen ourselves for the way back, which led past waterfalls and through dense forests.On the third and last day together, we first visited a tofu farm and learned a lot about the production and marketing of soy products. Of course, we were also allowed to taste some of the products. Then we walked up to the Harmanec Cave, which is very impressive and big. We ended the trip with a delicious ice cream on the main square of Banská Bystrica and finally said goodbye to each other. On the fifth and last day we made our way home again. All in all, the days in Banská Bystrica were very successful and enjoyable.
Josefine Löbler, EF Photos