On Thursday, February 25th, 30 members of the Chateauguay Valley Regional High School’s Senior Class left our winter behind and boarded a plane to Berlin, Germany.
Chaperoned by five of the CVR staff including James Furey, James Kennedy-Zimmerer, Sia Georgaklis, Sandra Myatt and Lynn Harper, the students were also under the watchful eyes of four parents. In a mere ten days, the group made its way through five countries, exploring Berlin, Prague, Krakow and Budapest.
After fundraising throughout the year, many of the students that participated in the annual Europe trip also took up part-time jobs to help fund the expedition. From selling goods on behalf of local businesses to hosting open mic nights, students outdid themselves to fund the once in a lifetime experience. Planned alongside EF Educational Tours’ tour coordinators, the students opted to visit Germany (a different destination is selected every year). The trip was planned down to the last detail, ensuring that everything was included, from transportation to hotel accommodations to major museum entries, attractions and meals.
In Germany, the group toured Berlin, exploring everything from the Holocaust Memorial to the Topography of Terror Museum, which is housed in the former Gestapo Building. The group make a stop in Potsdam to explore the Sans Souci Palace, ending their tour in the stunning city of Dresden. From there, the students made their way by car to bohemian Prague, encountering the legendary beauty of the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire. From the cobbled streets of the Malá Strana to the city’s 15th-century Astronomical Clock, the students also partook in a ghost tour, going on to explore the underground city of Prague, which was buried sometime in the 12th century, mainly to prevent the Vltava River from flooding the town.
Poland, while beautiful, was a much more sombre experience for the travellers. Visiting the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, which have been maintained as a memorial to honour the 6,000,000+ people who were murdered during the Nazi regime, was both haunting and eye opening for the students. “I believe we all leave with a greater understanding and a sense of profound grief for the victims and families of those who suffered through such great cruelty. It is an experience which will stay with each one of us,” said Harper, CVR’s Music Specialist, of the experience. In Krakow, the travellers were met with happier sights, encountering the Old Town’s beautiful architecture. The group also explored the Wawel Cathedral—the coronation site of several Polish kings, and where the Pope John Paul II once served as archbishop. They finished their tour of the country with a trek into the Wieliczka Salt Mines, an underground marvel that is 1,073 feet deep and over 287 kilometres long.
Harper kept parents informed by sending emails with photos throughout the trip. “Travel and experience are indeed the greatest teachers—and I believe that these students have gained so much from this incredible journey,” said Harper. About the trip, one student wrote “Expansion of my horizons…I would have never dreamed of visiting anywhere further than the 308 from home. Now I can look forward with confidence. This entire trip has given me more than I could ever have dreamed of…culturally, socially and personally.”
Over the past nine years CVR students have done no shortage of travelling. Destinations have included the likes of London, Paris, Versailles, Provence, The French Riviera, Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Grenada, Morocco, Nice, Monaco, Tuscany, Munich, Lucerne, the concentration camp at Dachau, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Pompeii, Delphi and Athens.
As for next year’s trip? The Senior Class of 2017 is already planning for an expedition to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London.
