The early hours of December 12th saw an excited bunch of year 7s and a slightly sleepier group of teachers board a coach to take them to Germany to spend two days exploring the imperial German town of Aachen, home of the legendary Charlemagne, and its equally legendary Christmas Markets. Excitement mounted as we arrived at Dover and boarded our ferry, setting sail for adventures as yet unscripted. The boys, many of whom had never ventured abroad without their parents before, proved themselves to be excellent travellers and were all excited to be practising not only their German, but their French as we stopped at service stations throughout France and Belgium. After settling in to our lovely accommodation right in the heart of town, the boys enjoyed their first meal in Germany and an evening of playing snooker and table football before they went to bed. It had been a very long day, but a good one, and the mood was cheerful. The next morning brought a large German breakfast followed by a trip round Aachen in our coach. Then, wrapped up against the cold weather, we headed for the famous German Christmas market. Every stall was beautifully decorated and lit with Christmas trees and fairy lights; the air was scented with sugar and doughnuts, as well as the candied almonds being sold everywhere. Aachen is famous for its ‘Aachener Printer’, the sweet gingerbread-style biscuits similar to ‘Lebkuchen’ and the boys lost no time in visiting the shop to buy some to take home. Other sweet treats that disappeared very quickly were hot chocolate covered in cream dusted with cinnamon, chocolate and nougat. All too soon it was lunchtime, and time for the year 7s to completely ignore their packed lunches, instead opting for the delicious Bratwurst, potato waffles with traditional apple sauce or even more cake! In the afternoon they visited the famous Aachen cathedral with its throne belonging to Charlemagne, from where, as founder of the Carolingian dynasty, he ruled the Holy Roman Empire until 800AD. The boys were impressed by the scope and beauty of the cathedral’s lavish decoration, but eager to get on with the rest of their day. The evening saw them back in the modern world, competing with each other in a ferocious bowling competition that left everyone a little hoarse. The next day, before we headed for the ferry and home, we managed to fit in a short visit to the Lindt Chocolate Factory shop where the Handsworth party managed to buy industrial quantities of chocolate in record time, in flavour combinations we never knew existed. Somehow it all fitted back on the coach! Finally, a weary but happy party of students arrived back in Birmingham late on December 14th, full of chocolate, Christmas cheer and a need to get home to bed, but all agreeing that it had been a great trip. Ms Harvey CHOCOLATE & CHARLEMAGNE IN CHILLY AACHEN YEAR 12 GEOGRAPHY TRIP The Year 12 Geographers spent an exciting week in South Hams, Devon conducting their AS Level fieldwork. They had a speedy journey which was helped by wonderful weather. Having completed their work to a very high standard, they managed to fit in the time to enjoy the sunset on the beach; practising skimming stones and enjoying a well deserved local ice cream. Plenty more trips to come! 18