Germany 1953

Mr Cyril V. Hughes and Miss Shepheard led a trip to the Black Forest at the end of July 1953.  It was one of the earliest 'foreign' trips made by College students, the first being one to Paris - a week earlier!  Here is a contemporary account from the College Magazine for 1954:

HOLIDAY IN GERMANY 1953

We started from the College on 27th July, a party of seventeen boys and girls, Miss Shepheard and Mr . Hughes, and travelled via Harwich and the Hook of Holland, arriving at Freiburg, in Germany, at 5 a.m. next day . We were met, at the station by two German schoolboys and their schoolmaster . The two boys were our guides throughout the fortnight .

From the station, we were taken to a Youth Hostel on the outskirts of the city, where we ate our first German meal . The food, on the whole, was very different from what we are used to . For breakfast we ate black bread, butter and jam and coffee . The Germans are very fond of sausages and soup, but none of our party found these very appetising . During the first day we visited the cathedral, the shopping centre of the city and a swimming pool; we took photographs and made our first attempts at climbing .

Next morning we went by train to the second of the four hostels we were to visit. This was on the outskirts of the town of Neustadt. We stayed there for four days, during which we visited a nearby lake, did a lot of walking and even went to the cinema to see the German film "Heidi." On the Saturday, we started on the most energetic part of the holiday . Complete with ruck-sacks, we hiked to our next hostel, a distance of about 20 kilometres. We went over Feldberg, the highest point in the Black Forest. At this next hostel, at Schauinsland, we stayed with a party of about ninety German schoolgirls. Many of them made friends with us and we still write to them. We spent rather a quiet five days at Schauinsland; one thing which we did do, however, was to travel down to Freiburg by cable railway. It was a queer experience.

On the Thursday we went to Todtrauberg hostel, the last of the four. Todtrauberg was in the centre of some lovely scenery. Whilst we were there, we visited a waterfall and an open bathing pool; we also went to Basle, in Switzerland, for a day.  We were all very impressed by the cleanliness and friendliness of the Swiss.

We began our journey home on the Sunday. On the way we stopped to see some motor racing. We came home via Harwich and The Hook. It was a lovely, warm day, and the sea was calm on the return journey, as a contrast to the rough crossing when we went. We arrived at Norwich at about 10.20 p.m. on the Monday evening, after a lovely fortnight which we all enjoyed.

CHLOE LEWIN (Gr. IV) .