Visiting three cities in two countries in one week - that was the ambitious agenda of the study trip to Germany from April 13^th to April 19^th 2009. Six first-year students of German from Exeter University and six students from Bristol University embarked on the joint trip to visit the cities of Mainz and Trier in the Bundesland of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), and then went on to explore the city of Luxembourg. The aim of the trip was to give students a first-hand impression of contemporary Germany and to enable them to practise their language skills outside the classroom. The trip was organised by the DAAD-Lectors of Exeter and Bristol and was funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

The participants of the study trip in front of the Landtag in Mainz

The programme included a wide variety of activities, ranging from visits to the Landtag (regional Parliament), the ZDF (a national television channel) and the Johannes Gutenberg Museum in Mainz,  to exploring Roman buildings, the birthplace of Karl Marx and the university campus in Trier, Germany's oldest city. In a wine tasting the participants also had the chance to experience some of the local specialities of one of Germany's most significant wine-growing regions.
With Trier being just over the border from three other European countries, the trip was rounded off by a visit to Luxembourg. This highlighted just how easy it is to cross borders in today's Europe. In Luxembourg, students were able to gain an insight into the functioning of the European Union during a visit to the European Court of Justice.

Posing in front of flags in the European Court of Justice

As a result of the very positive feedback of students on the trip, it is planned to offer another study trip to a different destination in Germany in the near future. The following statements of students illustrate their experiences of the trip:

• "I felt all the different excursions were very well chosen, meaning that I learnt a lot about history, architecture, art and culture. Much of it was very helpful as it linked into my current studies and reinforced what I have already studied, whilst at the same time I was given opportunities to learn about new things which were new and different and I otherwise may not have had the opportunity to learn about. The local knowledge of our leaders was also very good making the trip a great experience overall."
• "I had a really good range of experiences and therefore was exposed to a lot of German culture. Just the right amount of people on the trip which meant that we were able to learn from each other. Organisation was excellent and felt the trip gave a great opportunity to improve listening skills as well as the spoken language."
• "The trip provided me with a great opportunity to practise and improve my spoken German as well as widening my knowledge and experience of German history and culture. It was also very interesting to see German universities and see how they differ from British ones. I would definitely recommend a similar trip to other students."
• "I thought the trip was very well organized and felt that we experienced a lot. All the excursions were very interesting and at the same time educational. I thought it was good that we got free time to explore ourselves as we were then able to practice our language skills. I enjoyed meeting other language students from a different university. I really loved the trip!"