On Monday, March 2nd, we travelled by bus and by train from Cherbourg to Amberg. A long but exciting journey ! Axelle said, “I am very happy to go to Germany. The trip will enable me to discover beautiful new landscapes. And I can’t wait to meet my partner in person.”

On Tuesday, March 3rd, we visited Gregor-Mendel-Gymnasium, and we did several activities in the school. The school is quite big. There are 650 pupils from 10 to 18 years old. The school days are shorter than in France. In the morning, a few older students made presentations to introduce the topic « the duty to remember », so we could better understand our upcoming visits. In the afternoon, we did an inspiring artistic workshop. With our partners, we had to make a collage about French German shared memory.

On Wednesday, March 4th, we first visited Mödlareuth, also known as « Little Berlin ». The village is situated partly in Bavaria and partly in Thuringia. Between 1949 and 1990, the village was divided by the wall separating East Germany from West Germany. The guide was inspiring. We learned about the Cold War, and we discovered how some inhabitants escaped East Germany or tried to escape.

In the afternoon, we visited the Margrave opera house in Bayreuth. The Baroque opera house has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. It was inspired by French Louis XIV style. The architecture is nice. We admired the trompe-l’œil ceiling and the wooden decorations. We sat on the stage and in the stalls. Prune loved visiting the opera house : “It was magnificent !”.

On Thursday, March 5th, we went to Nuremberg by train. We first discovered the castle, especially the well and the tower overlooking the medieval city. As Basile said, “We went all the way up the tower, and we saw the beauty of Nuremberg city”.
Then, we enjoyed a guided visit of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials. The guide was passionate about international right, and she made us understand how important the Nuremberg Trials were in history. We had the opportunity to sit in the historic Courtroom 600 of Nuremberg Palace of Justice. Between November 20, 1945, and October 1, 1946, the leaders of the Nazi regime had to answer for their crimes before the International Military Tribunal. The guide also made us understand how important it was to defend human rights.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a guided visit of the Nazi Party rally grounds. We walked with the guide and discovered the « Reichsparteitagsgelände » (the Reich Party Congress Grounds). We discussed about propaganda which consists in manipulation through emotion. We learned about the Nazi Party congresses which would meet there every year in September from 1933 to 1938. We commented Albert Speer’s austere and masterful architecture which was inspired by ancient monuments. We discussed about the future of such a monument. How about destroying the place ? Could it be a memorial not to forget the past and not to repeat past mistakes ? The city of Nuremberg decided to give this place a new purpose to demystify it.

On Friday, March 6th, we visited Hersbruck. First, we met the Mayor of Hersbruck and the deputy-Mayor in charge of the culture of remembrance. Delphine remembers the interview with the deputy Mayor : “It was super interesting. It enabled us to ask questions in English, so we enriched our language skills.” Some students attending Paul-Pfinzing-Gymnasium guided us in the medieval town. They made some research and commented different places in French. We were invited in the school. We also discovered the place where the concentration camp was.

In the afternoon, we had free time with our partners. Most of us met up at the swimming-pool. Axelle and Camille went to the theatre to see their partners acting in a play. Timéo and Indy practised karting with their partners. Lenny was lucky to attend a football match involving the famous team FC Bayern München with Lennard’s family.

On Saturday, March 7th, we came back to Cherbourg with so many beautiful memories.

We are now looking forward to hosting our partners from June 8th to June 13th.