After two years of planning, Delview’s 2009 Globetrotters, consisting of 38 students and four teachers, spent this year’s Spring break experiencing the arts, history, architecture and cultures of central Europe.
After flying through the night, we arrived in Berlin. We were a little travel weary but excited and ready to explore the city that allowed us to step back in time to the Cold War when Berlin was divided by the Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie separated East from West. For many of us, it was our first experience in connecting what we learned in class with the real thing. Our tour then moved southward to the Czech capital. On the way to Prague, we had the opportunity to visit the city of Dresden. We were able to marvel at the remaining baroque architecture of this medieval city and could only sadly imagine what the city looked like before being fire bombed in 1945. As we approached the outskirts of Prague, we could clearly see the famous spires that people associate with this beautiful city. It is so fortunate for the world that this city, unlike Berlin and Dresden, escaped virtually untouched by both World Wars. Even though it was unusually cold and at times it even snowed, we particularly enjoyed touring Prague Castle, the oldest medieval castle in Europe, and exploring the Jewish Quarter of old Prague. It was difficult to leave the Czech Republic but we knew there was so much more to see as we headed to Dachau and Munich. The tragic history of the Holocaust hit us very hard as we visited the Dachau concentration camp. A common comment from our students as we walked through the camp was “…the things we whine about seem so small compared to what the people here had to endure.” While in Munich, we dined on schnitzel and sauerkraut and waited patiently for the Glockenspiel to perform. As Roger, our tour guide, predicted we were not “blown away” by the performance but it was something that we had to see so that we could cross it off our bucket list. We were not visiting Euro Disney on this tour but while in Germany we did visit the inspiration for the Disney castle, King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein. The castle tour was somewhat brief but the 45 minute hike up the mountain while the snow was heavily falling was quite magical. On our way to Switzerland, we briefly stopped in the Principality of Liechtenstein. In the shadow of the prince’s castle we rested and shopped before boarding our bus for the final leg to Lucerne. Our hotel was not the fanciest but the location was sensational. It was nestled at the base of snow capped mountains on the tranquil shoreline of Lake Lucerne. All that was missing were the sounds of yodeling, but our walks along the cobbled streets of beautiful Lucerne more than made up for the missing sounds of music. Our wake up call on our last day in Lucerne was 3:30 am, the early start was necessary in order to board the train which would take us to the last city on our tour, Paris. This elegant city which boasts amongst so many sites the Eiffel Tower and Mona Lisa was a highlight for our tour. The tree lined boulevards of the Champs-Elysees, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe and the home of the Hunchback, Notre Dame, were post card perfect sites and provided a fitting end to our most memorable journey.
The 2009 Globetrotters was the largest Delview group to travel abroad. As with past groups, this group of young travelers were complimented by many of whom they came in contact with as respectful and eager to learn. Again, as in past trips, it is nearly impossible to fully describe all that was seen and experienced, but it is hoped that this tour was exciting, fun, and educational, and just the beginning of many more travels.
