Over the Summer eight current students and one JC graduate traveled across to sea to Germany with World Language Teacher Mark Canter and his fiancé Maura Viel as chaperones.

Students departed from Dulles International Airport on June 11 and returned on June 25.

Each student stayed with a designated host family who met them at the airport.

While in Germany, students traveled as a group on three trips: Goslar, Berlin, and Bremen.

In their time in Goslar, students were led through the city by a tour guide. They toured the Imperial Place of Goslar and abandoned silver mines and were given free time to explore and eat by themselves.

In Berlin, students went on a self-guided tour and visited the Berlin Wall Memorial, the iconic Raum der  Stille, and Platz der Republik. They also had time to shop and eat.

Bremen was filled with marvelous sights as well. While on a tour, students were informed about the town musicians. The story written about a donkey, rooster, dog, and cat by the Brothers Grimm lives on throughout the town. The story depicts the animals as they try to make a living as musicians. The statue now stands in the middle of the town. It is said that good luck comes to those who grip the ankles of the donkey.

Mr. Canter said, “I thought the trip was a rousing success. The only real difficulties we encountered were a very short time to reach our connecting flight into Hannover, and the luggage problems resulting from that. This aside, the weather was great.”

“It was thrilling to see Germany alight over the Euro Cup; our excursions were interesting and enjoyable, and we were well-cared for by our German hosts. Most importantly, our students represented the school well, and their opinions about the trip were overwhelmingly positive. To be candid, I am not a fan of traveling, but this was a terrific experience,” added Mr. Canter.

Aside from the scheduled trips, many students went on adventures of their own with their host families,

Sophomore Maureen McMennamin said, “We went to a concert in Hanover, went to Hamburg, and saw the Sans Souci Castle.”