"The sight of golden light falling on old palazzos makes Venice one of the most romantic cultural niches in the world." (Xixi)

Venice, the timeless city without traffic and surrounded by water, charmed the students with its beauty and exclusiveness –with one exception: No cab was at hand when our fragile travellers had to carry their luggage over at least three bridges. Hundreds of churches, Venetian architecture and mosaics from early renaissance to early baroque, painters like Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto allowed them deep insights into European culture.

"I think the visits to the historical sites were very educational. I learnt a lot at Checkpoint Charlie and was quite astonished at the Germans’ creativity in escaping." (Ruth)

"We also visited a rather controversial exhibition where a scientist found out how to preserve bodies by substituting the organic material with synthetics, while retaining the original structure. The cadavres were in various poses and the internal organs and muscles were separated much like a Russian doll." (Jia Wei)

Berlin, a boosting city with contrasting faces, was the stage of the trip where the students were confronted with German past and present. Welcomed with friendly german drizzle they were nevertheless restless in discovering the various quarters of the city such as Prenzlauerberg, Hackesche Höfe, Kreuzberg, Kurfürstendamm and Unter den Linden. The Berlin subway was their preferred place to take a closer look at Berliners of all ages and to plan where to go " einkaufening" next.

During their visit to Altensteig students stayed with guest families and attended school with them. They also visited the medival cities of Tuebingen and Strassburg.

The impact such a cultural endeavour can have was expressed by a student:

"Family life in Alternsteig differs markedly from the family situation in Singapore. In the latter situation, family members do not make time to eat together or share their experiences in school or at work. The families in Altensteig, on the other hand, put aside time for bonding and they participate in many activities together. Their relationships are such that everyone is comfortable both in being serious and ridiculous with each other. The closeness and warmth of the family can really be felt and I am thankful for the opportunity to experience that feeling."( Samantha)

Bonding needs time and takes time from other things. It is a decision. The students of the LEP(German) decided that it is worth the time and effort.

"While we could not study much for our tests in Singapore during our stay in Germany, we improved our German, were exposed to the German culture and enjoyed ourselves very much." (Ruth)