16th of October

All students attend regular classes today

15th of October

Today began like any other school day. First, we took the train to school and arrived there at 8:45am. After lunch we walked for 30 mins from school to the MCG, where we split up into two groups, to visit the museum in the stadium. MCG stands for Melbourne Cricket Ground and it is the home to many Australian sports like cricket, Australian footy, rugby and soccer. The museum showcased the history of cricket and Australian footy. They offered many different exhibits. Apart from historical information about some famous players or the stadium itself, there is also a part of the museum where you can try different activities. These activities included games, where we tried Australian football and the other sports. 
After this a guide showed us the whole stadium as well as the changing rooms, super boxes and rooms of recovery. And then the day ended and we went to city to get dinner.
Gesa Weisenberg

13th and 14th of October

All students spent the weekend with their host families.

12th October

Today we went to the Healsville Sanctuary - Victorian Zoos. After a short bus trip we got to the zoo. The weather was great with blue skies and sunshine. It got pretty warm in the morning. At the beginning our zoo guide told us what we could see in the zoo. The Healesville sanctuary is a zoo which is only home to animals from the Australian continent. The zoo takes a great effort in saving animals from distinction. Thus, our guide explained many different ideas about how to protect the environment and to help the environment the animals live in. After the intro we had some time to walk around and check out all the different animals (koalas, kangaroos, platypus). At midday we were able to visit an impressive bird show. A huge eagle, a funny looking bird and a speaking (imitating) cockatoo were all on the show. After an interesting Friday we made our way back to Melbourne.

Emil Berghaus

11th October

Today was the day we trained so hard for. It was the matchday of AFL and finally we could show what we learned the day before at the training with an AFL coach.After a small warm up and a short summary of the AFL-rules we made two teams an started.First it was very confusing but after some minutes everyone slightly knew what to do.
The match ended with a close 18:17 and at the end, everyone had fun and got to know AFL. The rest of the day we had normal class and after school we had free time with our hosts.
                 Dennis Juber

10th October

Today was the third day at school with our exchange partners. Most students of MHS get to school by public transport and so did we. Today, we attended normal classes in the first three periods. In my case it was German. It was interesting to see how German is taught in Australia. It was funny as we were the ones how understood most. Usually it is the other way around. In my second period I had English. We did a creative writing task as a group. I enjoyed the English lesson a lot. The last period was PE. However, our most sporty part of the day was yet to come. After period three we met at the sports field called the "Oval". here we practiced some of the basics of Australian Football. Two high school teachers taught us how to kick the ball and how to punch the ball. Our first try outs weren't that good but all of us got better during the training. Tomorrow we are having a match. After school we had some free time and we went to the city to walk around and explore. I enjoyed some cupcakes.

Kira Ottersbach

9th October

The day began as it always does. I got up, got ready for school and had some breakfast. My exchange student and me went to the train station to catch a train to South Yarra. In the morning the train is always quite crowded. After we reached the station we went to school. I went to the meeting point and talked to the other German exchange students. We talked about our first impressions and our fights against the jet lag. At 8:40 we want to a big classroom and we weren't sure what would happen next. After five minutes twenty girls of the partner school - Mac Rob - arrived in the classroom. We got a task sheet on which language games to play with them in German. We thought we could all start but there were more and more girls coming. Mrs. Briggs, German teacher at MHS, welcomed all of us and told us about the plans for the day. So we went to a separate area. We were all split up in 10 groups. Me and my partner Niklas had the task to run a game on "MusikTiere". The students had to read the animal named act it out. It was a very funny activity. After every group played each game we ha d a great BBQ enjoying German sausage and waffles. At 1pm some of the MHS students took us to the "Southern Cross Station"where we met our teachers for a scavenger hunt all the way through Melbourne. We had groups of four or five and we had to search for four sights in Melbourne. We visited the War memorial - The shrine of Remembrance, the tallest building in Melbourne, the parliament building ad a special street in the city centre. After this activity I went to a café and walked through the streets. At 5pm I decided to go back home. I took the train back to `Glen" and my host mother picked me up. At home we had a nice dinner. We had dumplings and after a chat with my host family I went to bed.

Leonard Letmathe

8th October

First we had a meeting at 9 am with all the exchange pairs. Mrs. Briggs told us how to do a scavenger hunt around the school in the first two periods. We did it in small groups together with our exchange partners. It was really a lot of fun. After that we attended the senior assembly. Some of the senior students received prices from scoring high in a math challenge. The principal of the school welcomed all exchange students from Germany. Furthermore, Mr. Ludowyke gave a speech to the senior class telling the students what to do in their final exams.  I attended a German and Math class. I tried to understand what they did in math but it was really difficult to follow. After his speech we a had a lunch break. During the lunch break I met all the other German exchange students. After lunch I attended a biology lesson. In biology we wrote a test, which we we were able to correct ourselves. It was really hard to understand the topic but I think I learned similar things before. All in all I had a great adventurous school day in Australia. 

Benjamin Wolf

6th and 7th October 2018

This weekend was spend in the host families. At 25 degrees it was a perfect day to explore Melbourne.

5th of October 2018

The students of Freiherr-vom-Stein Gymnasium are all looking forward to their adventure in Down Under. Our journey to Australia begins at 11:30 am at Düsseldorf Airport. After a long check-in and some minor visa problems everyone is on board the plane to Abu Dhabi. After a short stopover in the UAE all students are airborne in a Boeing Dreamliner headed to Melbourne, Australia. Finally, we have a happy landing in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

Mittwoch, 20.12.2017 Abschied

Wir danken allen Gastfamilien auf diesem Weg für die Offenheit und Ihre Unkompliziertheit im Umgang mit den Gästen aus Australien. Bei unseren Gästen bedanken wir uns für euren Besuch und freuen uns auf ein Wiedersehen im Oktober 2018. Wir wünschen allen Beteiligten ein gesegnetes und fröhliches Weihnachtsfest. 

Dienstag, 19.12.2017 Stadtführung in Köln und Sport & Olympiamuseum in Köln

Stadtführung in Köln und Besuch im Sport & Olympiamuseum