Students return from global classroom

A group of 20 Sisters High School students, teachers and parents returned Saturday from their whirlwind EF (Education First) spring break trip to London, Paris, and the Alps.

Led by German teacher Isolde Hedemark, French teacher Susanna Harrison and former high school nurse Sally Benton, tour participants thoroughly enjoyed EF's approach to international education in breaking down barriers of language, culture and geography, and learning on the big stage instead of the classroom.

"I never thought I would see the Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo in person. It was an awesome experience," commented German student, Taylor Ellson.

Fast-paced itineraries and travel between the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany, as well as the exceptional Irish tour guide, Ailbe Coffey, gave students and adults unprecedented civics, history and geography lessons.

Many stories, such as those of Henry VIII, the bubonic plague, the London Fire, as well as more recent events like the mass protest against government spending cuts, held students' attention, as history was presented with much humor and interjected with the occasional British slang.

Walking tours, tube rides, and stops through central London from Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Tower Bridge to Trafalgar, Piccadilly, Covent Garden and St. Paul's Cathedral were highlights for many students. A fish-and-chips lunch topped it off for several in the group.

After a barely 2-1/2-hour Eurostar train ride, the Outlaws arrived in Paris on day three. Versailles and Montmartre with its quaint cafes, shops, and the basilica of Sacré Coeur were on the agenda the first afternoon and night, followed by a history-inspired bus tour of Paris, a visit to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, a stroll through the city and a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

From the Alsatian specialty, flammekuche, or tarte flamme, to crepes and escargot to a variety of toasted baguettes, students got a glimpse of French cuisine.

On Day 6, the group traveled from Paris to Beaune, in Burgundy, for a short lunch stop before heading to Lucerne in the center of Switzerland. The picturesque village of Melchtal, just about half an hour outside of Lucerne, was the group's domicile for the next two days. Views of majestic mountaintops in a narrow valley studded with hillside farms were more than what some in the group expected.

In Lucerne, after a leisurely walk to the Lion's memorial, the Jesuit church, the Kapellbrücke, the old city wall with its watchtowers, students and chaperones enjoyed painted façades of old guild houses, great shopping and a typical Swiss lunch of Alplermagronen with apple sauce and afternoon coffee and cake in a typical "Kaffeehaus."

"My highlight of the trip was Switzerland! After seeing the beautiful mountains, lakes and rivers, I promised myself that I will live there at some point in my life," said senior, Sam Quinn.

Following a short ride to Liechtenstein with its capital Vaduz and, skirting Bregenz, the capital of the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg, the travelers arrived in Hohenschwangau to visit King Ludwig's castle, Neuschwanstein. Storyteller Ailbe Coffey, their tour guide, shared fascinating tidbits of the 20-year-old King of Bavaria and Richard Wagner, the composer of many operas based on German legends, the king's involvement in the Austrian-Prussian war and his untimely drowning death in Lake Starnberg.

After a pleasant, sunny ride through the glacier-formed hills north of the Alps, the Outlaws arrived in Munich, the vibrant and multicultural capital of Bavaria. After dinner at the Benediktinerkeller, one of the oldest beerhalls in Munich, the group of travelers had a well-deserved good night's sleep in a pleasant hotel close to the city center.

The last day of this trip to Europe was again action-packed, with a wonderfully guided tour past the Olympic Stadium, the State Opera, the State Theater, the "Alte Pinakothek" with its abundance of Rubens portraits and the Nymphenburg Palace, the former residence of the ruling family of Bavaria, the Wittelsbach.

A stop in front of the city hall, the Marienplatz, gave everyone the opportunity to watch the famous Glockenspiel, a chiming clock with moveable figures.

The students took a memorable walk through and lunch at the Viktualienmarkt - an open-air market in the center of Munich serving everything from bratwurst to pretzels and fish.

The most memorable walk, however, was at the end of the day when the group walked through the World War II German concentration camp of Dachau. Students showed incredible interest and maturity when they watched in silence a film showing the buildup to the Nazi regime, the building of the camps and the atrocities that occurred during that time. They were very introspective, and it seemed to move them greatly.

With the 3:30 a.m. wake-up call, the global classroom time had come to an end and the trip home via Amsterdam was for many a bittersweet affair. Europe had a lot to offer; culturally, politically, linguistically and emotionally. Many Outlaws realized many similarities and distinct differences, spoke German and French and made good friends with some of our Canadian travel partners from Viking, Alberta. For many this was definitely the beginning of becoming global citizens.