June 27, 2014

The main event of the day (besides being David's birthday) was the tour of the palace of Ludwigsburg.  The plan had been for one of the Wiggy teachers to give the tour - partially in German and partially in English - she had worked out the plan with the management because she used to be a tour guide.  Somehow there was a miscommunication and they would not let her give the tour - our tour guide did not know English and had a challenging accent - the students did their best to understand and we translated when we could.  There were very well behaved and respectful in spite of the mix up.  They had some time to explore the Märchengarten (fairy tale garden) behind the palace before we headed back.  Then they left with their partners to spend the weekend experiencing family life on a weekend in Germany.  We look forward to hearing about their experiences when we meet with the group at school tomorrow.

June 26, 2014

Wow - a very full day.  Started the morning with school - class with their partners and then homeroom for a bit.  Then we went to the Wilhelma zoo - one of the best zoos I have ever been to!  I will resist posting pictures of the animals in this blog and stick to pictures of the students!  We got back with a couple of hours to prepare for the big game - USA-Deutschland!  Lars had organized a great public viewing in the school cafeteria.  All of our students were there with their partners, as well as many other students from the school.  The Wiggy equivalent of the student council had drinks and pizza for sale and everyone had some swag for their country of choice - either a shirt, a flag, a hat or face paint - or all of the above.  Some decided to support both teams!  We are glad that both teams will advance in the tournament!  Lots of pictures to post today - hard to narrow them down!

June 25, 2014

The students went to first block with their partners today - German, History, etc.  We met after the big break and headed into Stuttgart to the Rathaus (town hall).  There was a reception / introduction in the town hall, followed by a guided tour of downtown Stuttgart.  We saw the old palace, the new palace, the Schiller square, the opera house and we went up in the clock tower of the main train station to get a view over Stuttgart.  One of the highlights of the town hall is the Paternosteraufzug - the paternoster elevator - open cabins that one steps into and out of as they pass by.
Following the tour, there was time to get lunch and explore along the main pedestrian zone (Königstraße) before heading back to school to meet their partners. 

June 24, 2014

First day of school with their German partners today.  We took a group photo with the whole group (Germans and Americans) during the "große Pause" (big break).  We checked in with everyone during our homeroom period - then some explored the school a bit, looking for the weight room, which they found.  The rest of us went into the town of Untertürkheim (the region of Stuttgart where the school is) to explore a bit.
Most, if not all, of the students went to the pool after school to enjoy the beautiful summer weather!

June 23, 2014

We started the day with an early breakfast in the hotel and a Geo-caching scavenger hunt through downtown Koblenz.  It was a little too long, but we definitely got to know Koblenz better.  We worked in three groups - only one group actually completed the whole scavenger hunt, but not for lack of effort from the other groups. 
We collected our belongings from the hotel and went to the train station where we caught our train to Stuttgart.  We arrived to a wonderful welcome dinner in the school cafeteria - a delicious buffet and partners who were extremely happy to see each other.
They have all gone off with their partners for the night and I will meet them at school tomorrow!

June 22, 2014

Started off with a boat ride up the Rhine river (which is to the South) - to Braubach.  We took the 'train' up to Marksburg.  We had a guided tour of the medieval castle of Marksburg and then walked back down to Marksburg.  (Some of the boys decided to try out some new styles with their shorts...)  We caught the same boat back down the Rhine to Koblenz, where we walked to the Deutsches Eck - the corner where the Rhine and the Moselle rivers meet.  At the Deutsches Eck is the monument with the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I.  It is not the original statue, as it was damaged in WWII and then stolen (we can't figure out how....).  We walked into downtown Koblenz for some dinner and then back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we start with a geo-caching scavenger hunt in Koblenz and then get on the train to go to Stuttgart, where we will be met by our host families!