Floating on Brisbane River

Wednesday, 16th April 2014

written by Lina Große-Schönepauck

After we had breakfast this morning at 9 o`clock some of us layed next to the pool to enjoy the sun, others played for example poker. At 12:30 pm we met at the reception because we wanted to make a boat tour on Brisbane River, we walked to the little port and wated there for the city cat. The boat tour lasted about one hour, we drove down the river and had a great view over the city and all the skyscrapers.

After the trip some of us got off the boat earlier to see the beach next to Brisbane River. My roommates and I got off at the station where we embarked because we wanted to have a little picnic on the other side of the river. We went to the city and got some food and then we walked over the bridge and layed down in a little park. During our picnic we listened to some music and enjoyed the sun.

At 4:30 pm we went back to our hostel and met our friends in our room to relax with them. We had dinner at 6 o´clock like every evening and we had suasages with mashed potatoes. After we finished, we walked in a group of 12 students to the river and enjoyed the skyline of Brisbane at night. That was our 17^tth great day in Australia.   

Brisbane: Day 2

Monday, 14th April 2014

written by Marvin Friedrich

Today was our first day without our exchange families.We all had breakfast together at 9:00 am. Then we decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art. We visited an exhibition of the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang with the title  "Falling Back to Earth" which was really exciting. After the exhibition we decided to go to fhe city center. We went to a few shops and bought some stuff. We also read that there is a botanic garden in Brisbane so went to it. The nature was really cool. After dinner we played some cards with the other students. All in all it was a really good day.

Our first day in Brisbane

Sunday, 13th April 2014
written by Tassilo Busch

I was very sad because we had to leave our exchange families. The departure was very emotional. We left the Gold Coast and drove to Brisbane to a little hostel. The bus travel took one hour. The hostel is not as good as the exchange families. We live with five other guys in a small room with a window which you can't open. It was a rainy day. Nearby our hostel is a cinema and other cool things, for example: a shopping centre a small market and a nice restaurant. At the end of the day we had a short meeting with the group at dinner. Then Marcel, Tom, Ruben, Valentin, Ramon and I went to the city. Brisbane is a very exciting city. There are a lot of skyscrapers. After this all we went to the other guys and Marcel played the entertainer.

Some things never change...

...but some Australian cafés provide the answer...

Thank you so much for an amazing time at the Gold Coast!

The last day at the Gold Coast

Saturday, 12th April 2014
written by Luca Haurand

Today is Saturday and also the last day we will spend here on the Gold Coast. There were not any plans from the school for the weekend, so I spent the night with my exchange student at Ruben and Valentine's house. 

I woke up at 7am and got up at 8:30am and made my breakfast and waited until the other guys woke up as well. We spent some hours there and later we drove home to get ready for the beach and lunch at Currumbin Beach Club with my family and Ruben and Valentine's as well. We had a great view over the coast from the restaurant.

After lunch we went down to the beach and went swimming and we laid in the sun. We went home at 3pm so I had enough time to take a shower and pack my stuff for tomorrow when we will leave. At 6pm we drove to the AFL game and had a great time there and it ended at 10pm.

It was a very good last day to relax on the Gold Coast with my friends and the family and to get ready for the other two weeks of our trip. I hope that I am going to see all of them again very soon.

Hiking at Night

Friday, April 11, 2014

written Zoe Labreze 

 

In the early hours of Friday morning we set off on a great adventure. Our day began at 01:30am and ended at 01:00pm.

 

In the dark night we had about half an hour to get ourselves ready for the drive down into New South Wales. Our destination was Mount Warning, where we were to climb the summit in time for watching the sunrise at the top. This mountain is about 1200m high and it took us about two and a half hours to hike to the top in the dark. And three hours more to get back to the car at the bottom.

 

The two parts of hiking were very different: First we got up in the dark and needed torches to allow us to find the right way. There were glow worms and many stars because the sky was very clear. We had to stop several times but after 4km and a steep rock climb of 400m with the aid of a chain, we reached the top and were the first ones in the whole world to see the sunrise. We had a picnic at the summit and enjoyed the amazing view. Our way back down was a bit longer because we took many photos and there was not the rush to get down for a set time. All in all the hiking was about 9km long.

 

When looking out from the bottom we could not believe, we had climbed such a huge mountain.

Although it was very challenging and exhausting it was an experience I will never forget.

 

Thank you to my host family for the good time at Gold Coast!