Field trips

On the weekends we invite you to learn more about German and European culture - past and present - while enjoying a day out with your friends. We will discover the German capital of Berlin, the metropolitan area on the Rhine river: Cologne and Bonn, and the picturesque old towns of Weimar and Eisenach.

Meals, except for breakfast at the hostels, are not included.


Berlin (included in the program fee), July 26-28, 2013:


Visit the capital of Germany! Berlin is not only the political capital of Germany, but also the historical and cultural center of Germany.
We will have a city tour, see the famous remains of the Berlin wall, visit the German Bundestag (lower chamber) at the Reichstag building , the Holocaust Memorial… We will have plenty of time to go shopping or just enjoy day and night life in Berlin!

Eisenach (additional fee: € 15), August 02, 2013:

We’ll take the train to Eisenach and visit the UNESCO world heritage site Wartburg Castle, where the church reformer Martin Luther once found refuge from persecution. After the guided tour you can explore the charming old town or visit one of the museums and historical sites at your own leisure.

Weimar / Buchenwald (additional fee: € 30), August 03, 2013:

Come visit with us the town where the poets Goethe and Schiller and the composers Bach and Liszt lived and worked. Weimar is the birth place of the architectural style “Bauhaus” as well as of the first German republic. The darkest years of German history, however, are also represented here: At the Memorial Site Buchenwald you will learn about the horrors of the National Socialist regime.

Cologne/Bonn (additional fee: € 150), August 09 - 11, 2013:

We’re going to visit Cologne, situated on the banks of the Rhine river, one of the oldest cities in Germany – founded by the Romans over 2000 years ago! Cologne is also the largest city in the state of North Rhine Westphalia and proverbial of German Carnival. See the city’s landmark, the Cologne cathedral, the opera house, the philharmonic, the Roman Dionysos mosaic, visit the chocolate museum, or just stroll along the Rhine river. Cologne is also famous for its museums of modern art. Don’t forget to eat and to drink like the locals, though: There are delicious specialties and the eponymous beer “Kölsch”.

A visit of Bonn, former West German capital, is also scheduled. Don’t miss the many sights and cultural highlights in the city that was called home by such famous musicians, authors, and painters as Beethoven, Ernst Moritz Arndt and August Macke. The House of History offers a delightful hands-on experience of German post WW II history.