A week of British culture, typical English rainy weather, and the great hospitality of our host families. That's what we, the 6th and 7th graders, experienced on our one-week trip to Canterbury. It was a time full of unforgettable memories, some of which we would like to share with you in the following.

We took off on Tuesday, right after Easter break, in a group of 101 (including the teachers Brandstätter, Bydlinski, Kofler, Gradischnig, and Ziegler). After our arrival in the UK proceeded smoothly, we took a 2-hour bus ride to Canterbury, where we were picked up by our host families.

We were taken in by host families, who provided us with a place to sleep, food and people to talk to. Beforehand, we had been divided into groups of two or three students per family. Host families helped to get a full English experience, although, this highly depended on the family. Most commonly the house was either crowded (with there being own children around as well as other language students) or deserted (only an elderly person/couple, the children, if they had any, were already grown-ups and living somewhere else). As the hosts were scattered in the region of Canterbury, many had to take a double-decker bus to school and back. Some of us got lucky and were situated near the sea whilst others got to enjoy quaint little villages in the countryside. In the houses, we would normally eat breakfast and dinner, for school we got packed lunches.

Throughout the course of the week, we engaged in a variety of activities. Besides the classes we attended at Concored International Language School to enhance our level of English, we had various opportunities to get to know the city of Canterbury and its history. For example, by participating in a guided tour of the city, a detective story, or a visit to the famous Canterbury Cathedral.

However, the time most of us considered to be the best was the time when we were able to explore the city all by ourselves. Since classes ended at 4:30 p.m., there was plenty of free time afterwards to browse the shelves of one of Canterbury's several bookstores, stroll down High Street for a shopping spree, or have dinner with friends in one of Canterbury's typical English pubs.

On Saturday we took a trip to London. After the two-hour ride in the coaches, we proceeded by visiting the most famous sites. However, the first real notice we took of the capital of Great Britain was when we drove through Greenwich and saw the zero-degree longitude passing by. Shortly afterwards, we saw Big Ben in all its glory. We got off the buses and started a walking tour, strolling by Big Ben, admiring London Eye across the Thames, perceiving the many details of Westminster Abbey’s facade, hoping to see the Prime Minister on Downing Street and catching a glimpse of the change of guards at Horse Guards, which occurs once a day at eleven o’clock. We encountered tame squirrels in St James’s Park before we went along to Buckingham Palace, where we found out that King Charles III was residing at that time. Subsequently we got to Oxford Street, where we were allowed to make our own way around the city and explore the things we wanted to see for two hours. Time flew by rather quickly and so we walked back to the coaches and drove back to Canterbury.

Another highlight for many of us was the visit to Whitstable, a typical English village situated right by the sea. The combination of the colourful beach houses, the sound of the sea and the wonderful weather made for the best atmosphere imaginable. The most pleasant thing, however, was the fact that each and everyone got to decide for themselves what they wanted to do. One could take a stroll along the beach, discover the charm of the various little stores or try a portion of typical Fish and Chips. The time of arrival as well as departure from Whitstable was entirely up to us students. One didn’t even have to spend the day at the beach, as there was a variety of activities to choose from for that day. I am of the conviction that this day was the most relaxing, enjoyable, or even the best day for many of us.

We were lucky that we got the chance to be the first year after the pandemic to go to England. Years from now, everybody will reminisce about this week as it was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

(T: Amelie/Babsi 6b, F: Bydlinski)