SCHOOLS EXCHANGE VISIT TO SCHWABISCH by Jackie Negus

Although each student on the trip had experiences which were uniquely based around the family he or she was staying with, before the German school term started, all of us shared a wonderful day trip to Munich. Our first stop was at a bridge half a mile away from the Bavarian Film Studios. We got out and walked the remainder of the journey, having being only slightly hampered by the failure of our double decker bus to have got under the bridge. (I did wonder whether two of the films whose sets we saw might even have been inspired by that same experience, 'The Incredible Journey', and 'The Boat'.- alternative ways into Munich's town centre perhaps?)

An afternoon spent in Munich itself, around the area of Marianplatz, left us overwhelmed with the impressive Baroque architecture and vowing that we would return to do real sightseer's justice at a later date. We were pleasantly surprised when our returning coach made a quick stop at Munich's Olympic Stadium, all of us being slightly amused to visualise the Olympic standards being set at the first attraction which greeted us in this leisure complex, the crazy golf course. Schwäbisch Hall was alive with interest, especially in the evenings when the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' was being performed on the 52 steps of St. Michael's Church. The most spectacular event however, must be the Somernacht Fest which attracted over 20,000 people to the town's riverside park. At least one thousand lanterns were strung from trees in the park, and children especially were in raptures as they explored each fairytale path. We were all enchanted by the flickering candle-lights in the grass, laid in patterns depicting simple flower shapes and nursery characters. The following morning, these were seen to have been laid out in sand trails across the grass and in amongst the many water

features, fountains and gardens. It was not until daylight that one could appreciate the imaginative way in which two of three islands in the Kocher had been cleverly incorporated into the park by the use of inter-linking paths and bridges. During the festival, children had been hoisted up on shoulders to see the performances given by the red and black clad Saltzieders on the main island, and after a spectacular firework festival on a scale typical of Schwäbisch hospitality, many of us had wondered how the bridges leading back to the town coped with the 20,000 pairs of feet. (Personally, I was more worried about the millions of spiders who would lose their home in the roof, in the event of the collapse of the replica medieval bridge which spanned the river). I am sure that each one of us privileged to go had an enjoyable, and memorable holiday.