Shrewsbury pupils discover Berlin: A cultural and historical half term trip

During the half term break a number of Fourth and Fifth Form History and German pupils travelled to Berlin for an engaging few days around the city.  

History pupil Hannah M (MSH, V) said: “We visited many places that hold significance in World War II and the Cold War. We did a walking tour of the city and saw key places like the Reichstag, which we were able to go to the roof of and get a 360-view of Berlin. We saw the Berlin Wall and crossed the road that would have been considered “No man’s land” 50 years back.   

“We were lucky enough to have a coach take us to Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam where the Potsdam Conference happened, 40 minutes out of Berlin. The skies were clear and allowed us to not only see the rooms used in the conference but have a pleasant walk around the large gardens that border the Jungfernsee Lake. This along with the 1936 Olympic Stadium served as a welcome break from the more sombre places we visited on the trip.   

“For majority of the trip, we familiarised ourselves with Berlin public transport using the underground, train, and tram systems. We used these to visit various memorials including the ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’ and the recently built ‘Memorial to the Europe’s Sinti and Roma Murdered.’ The Holocaust memorial especially gave an unsettling feeling that could only be felt by visiting it. We visited the concentration camp, Sachsenhausen, and were stunned by seeing the sheer size of it in real life. Though we had learnt about it, it was a whole different feeling being there.   

“My favourite place we visited on the trip was the Stasi prison. The majority of it remained the same to how it was; it was almost eerie walking around it. We had a really engaging tour guide who could answer any question we threw at him.” 

Emilia G (MSH, V), who undertook German lessons during the trip, said: “I found this year’s History/German trip to Berlin very good and useful for my academics. We had a wide range of activities that we did in the short week that we had. The accommodation was good and the food was very nice especially since we got to try new foods which helped us experience the culture.  

“The activities were varied which gave us a good opportunity to explore Berlin in our free time and to learn about the German history including the Reichstag, The Berlin Wall (Die Berliner Mauer), Alexander Platz, Tiergarten, the Flea Market (Flohmarkt am Mauerpark) and many museums. This helped us understand what the German culture was like and understand part of our GCSE course.  

“We participated in a number of German lessons at the Ilingua Language School in the western part of the city. The German lessons improved our speaking, and we got to know many names of Berlin’s main tourist attractions and parts of culture. My favourite part of the trip was visiting the Reichstag especially since we visited it at night and therefore we could see Berlin lit up at night which was a really good experience.  

“Overall, I really enjoyed this trip; it was a great experience.”