On a misty Wednesday morning at 7:45 am our trip began at the BSOG in Knittelfeld. After a two-hour bus ride, we got to Vienna Airport, where tension began to rise. While some of those concerns were put to rest by a seamless check-in, flight and bus transfer to Eastbourne, some students were still anxious about their host family.
Almost 12 hours later, when we met again for our first day of school in England, all seemed well. Although the sky was still grey when the first morning concluded, our motivation was high for the “Town-Trail”, a scavenger hunt taking its participants through the entire city-centre and the most important landmarks of Eastbourne.
On Friday, after another interesting day at school, we went to Hastings in the afternoon, where we got to visit the ruins of the castle built by William The Conqueror after his landing in England in 1066 and the so called “Smugglers’ Caves”, which have seen many different uses through the ages, but most notably were used for storing goods smuggled during the 17th and 18th century. We then got to enjoy some Fish and Chips on the beach.
Often regarded as the highlight of our trip, Saturday and Sunday were spent in London. Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Downing Street, Covent Garden and China Town, were among the most important sites visited on Saturday. A boat trip on Sunday allowed us to see sites like the Shard, the Tower of London and of course Tower Bridge. By foot we reached Borough Market, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern Gallery, St. Pauls Cathedral and the City of London. In the afternoon we went to Camden Market experiencing the Bohemian side of London.
After an exciting weekend, and another morning at school, we took the train to Brighton, where we visited an artwork by Banksy, The Lanes, the Royal Pavilion and the Brighton Pier. Afterwards we got some free time, where most went shopping.
Among the most memorable sites we got to see was Beachy Head, a chalk stone cliff slightly to the east of The Seven Sisters, which we visited on Tuesday and left many of us in awe. Even though we were hit by two rain showers hiking up and down, the mood hardly took a hit. In the evening, we had the opportunity to see the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”, which was very impressive.
A seamless journey back home on Wednesday just added to our impression of a very well-organized trip, for which we would like to thank our teachers Prof. Sperr, Prof. Ladstätter and Prof. Nowak. We appreciate your work in providing us with an unforgettable trip!
Clemens Handel (6A)