Last missing report from Germany

And here is one more report from a German student about his trip to Estonia. 

Enjoy :)

Travel-Diary Estonia 2014

Thursday:

On Thursday I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning on 5:30 Lukas picked me up and then we departed to Nürnberg. At 6:15 we arrived in Nürnberg. There we had to wait until 9 o'clock. Then we went further to Frankfurt. There we had to wait another two and a half hours. Then we finally started in the direction of Tallinn. Sadly the sky was very cloudy so the sight wasn't that well. After more than two hours of flight we arrived in Tallinn. Unfortunately the bus of the Lithuanian exchange partners broke on the way to the airport so we had to wait approximately 2 hours. Then finally the bus arrived. So we started the final piece of our trip to Kivioli. While we went on these curvy roads we saw a beautiful scenery with big, almost endless fields and dark forests. After another 2 hours we arrived in Kivioli. The welcome was very warm and nice. I immediately felt like home. So we went to the house of my exchange student. It is a very nice wooden house which is located in the forest. So Linda (my exchange student) showed me everything in the house. Right after that we had dinner. It was a typical Estonian meal. After that I went to bed.

Friday:

On Friday morning my alarm clock woke me up at 7 o'clock because we had to be in the school at 9:30. In the school we first watched the presentations of each group. During the presentations we made a little recreation in which we were offered some cake and coffee. After eating and drinking Linda guided us around the school building. Then we went on with the presentations. After finishing them all we had 1 hour of free time in which we went to the city center. We just arrived in time for the lunch which we ate in the mensa of the school. It consisted of some salad, mashed potato, soup with chicken in it and for dessert some yoghourt. When we finished our meal we went outside to wait for the bus. With which we went to the Vaivara War Museum. There we were guided by a nice woman. She showed us the battlefield and told us about the cruel things which happened there. Then we went on to a tower from which we had a perfect view over the whole scenery. Right next to the tower there were some old bunkers located in the forest. So we visited one of them and walked through it. After we had seen everything we went on to a waterfall. When you looked out of the window as we went there it looked like the end of the world. I was absolutely stunned by this beautiful view. Then we returned to Kivioli. In the evening after dinner we went to the mountain of Kivioli to meet the others. The only problem we had there was the strong, cold wind. We stayed there for 2 hours and then we were picked up by the brother of Linda. After this long day I just wanted to go to bed.

Saturday:

We left to Tallinn at 8 o'clock. Luckily it was day of old Tallinn so there was a big market and everybody was dressed like in the Middle Ages. At 11 o'clock we visited the Museum of occupation. In there we had a guided tour. The guide with a funny French accent told us about the different occupations of Estonia during the last century. He also spoke about torture under Russian occupation. At 13 o'clock we made a tour through old Tallinn. Unfortunately the guide didn't speak loud enough so it was very hard to understand him. But the views we had were magical. After 15:30 we had free time for lunch and shopping. In Tallinn there were many shops in which you could buy souvenirs, so we took the chance and bought some. At 18:00 we had to go back to the bus. On our way back to Kivioli one of tyres of the bus exploded. We stood in the forest about 20 minutes and then the bus driver decided to drive on. After half an hour of driving, we arrived at a small local restaurant. There we had a delicious snack. After that we went on to the beach. The view was absolutely astonishing. After another hour at the beach, we went back to Kivioli.

Sunday:

On Sunday we went to a swamp. It was very beautiful and interesting. On our way to the parking space we saw a real bear. I was very frightened, of course, but the bear didn't see us. Right after that we went on to a restaurant. Later that day in the evening we went to the beach and had a little barbecue. Then we moved on to a friend of Linda.

Monday:

On Monday we had to get up early, because we met at the hostel. From there we moved on to the airport in Tallinn. We still had two hours to wait. At around 10 pm we arrived in Nürnberg.

Polish memories from Estonia

Hi, 

today I'm posting Polish students' compositions about their trip to Estonia. 

Read and check what their best memories are.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Estonia. The climate there was not very friendly for me, I didn't suppose that it will be so cold. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun. Our hosts were really friendly for us. We visited a lot of interesting places connected with the topic of our meeting, for example the Museum of Occupation. We spend the whole day sightseeing Tallin, which I really liked. The best thing about the trip was the integration with our hosts and the groups from other countries. On the last day two Estonian sisters organised a sauna party, which is my favourite memory from the visit in Estonia.

Filip

Our plane took off from Warsaw at 6 am so in general everybody was half dead. At the airport our friend nearly got caught by the  border guards but luckily she was hiding in the bathroom. She’s half Chinese half Bulgarian, that’s why. We stopped half way, while travelling to Kivioli, for lunch and what really surprised us was the fact, that the drinks are with stevia in Estonia.

I had met my host in Poland and it was sooo great to see her once again.  My host’s sis hosted my school mate Nana so we were staying in the same house.

They have a sauna and a dog. A really big dog. I’m afraid of dogs. But here’s to the  hospitality of my host family. For the whole time dog was tied on the rope (so I was safe). In general my family was so friendly  and helpful. The mum drove us to the beach which is located about 80kms from the house even though she had work on the following day. She was also prepping special meals with no meat nor fish (I’m a vegetarian).

I had awesome time with my host, her sister and her cousin. Picnic at the beach and watching a movie together  on the 1^st day, climbing up the hill on the 2^nd J, trip to Tallinn and local celebration of Kivioli on the 3^rd, SPA and the house party on the 4^th.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Estonia after a couple of days like this!

Karolina

Estonia surprised me. We stayed in a small town Kivioli located 130 km away from the capital city. It’s a unique place. In the evening we had leisure time and we could get to know better the people from the local school, involved in our project. I liked the third day most, when we went on a trip to Tallinn. The capital city of Estonia is really beautiful, we could see a lot of monuments and we visited interesting places. I was also pleasantly surprised with day spent with my host family, they took me to a national park where we had a great picnic. I will remember this trip fondly and I hope that soon I will visit my friends in this beautiful country again.

Krzysiek Ch.

Joining the Comenius project was one of my best choices I have made this year. At first I was a little skeptical because I thought  working on a documental film would consume an immense amount of time. But then a kind of excitement took over. The trip to Estonia, getting to know a different culture and making new friends was my goal. As I was to fly on a plane for the first time in my life, the whole experience seemed even more exciting

 When I arrived at Estonia I was really pleased with the kindness of my host family and Estonian people. Meeting those people lightened up my heart. It didn't take long to see how open-minded and kind-hearted they are.

It was a real pleasure to  be able to spend time with you. Thank you for your hospitality :)

Krzysiek N.

Memories from Estonia

My journey to Estonia was an unforgettable experience. Each of us had a great time while learning about Estonian history and culture. And I have even learned a few Estonian words! The visits in museums and other institutions  opened my mind and broadened my horizons. Moreover, earlier I had thought that being European neighbors makes us similar – then I realized how wrong I was and I realized  how important it is to communicate with people and to understand them. What is more, I look forward to the next trip that awaits me this summer and make new acquaintances.  

Nana

My feelings about the Comenius trip to Estonia

After the project school trip to Krakow, my English teacher gave me a proposition to officially sign up for the last, ending meeting in Estonia. I was excited because it was my first school exchange, and it was, like I had thought, a good opportunity to see the world somewhere else, and meet some interesting people, but the truth was even better. Having overcome some problems with landing as well as my concern about the country we were going, it appeared to be fantastic.

Estonia in some kind of way is interesting and beautiful, in some kind of very strange way. My first impressions when we arrived where very sceptic and doubtful, but after a day spent with my host family, all worries went away. I met a whole bunch of people with a fantastic sense of humour, very polite and hospitable. I've seen many interesting places, such as Tallinn and WWII museum, I explored old WWI bunkers and so on. But still, for me, what I will be really missing are the people I’ve met. Comenius, you gave me new memories, thank you for that.

Witek

Hungarians about their trip to Estonia

Hi all,

have a look at the compositions of the Hungarian students who went to Estonia for our Comenius meeting. 

Enjoy the reading!

My memories from Estonia

We had to wake up early on the day of our departure. Our plane to Warsaw took off at 9 am. We travelled 2 hours and landed in Warsaw. We had to wait 5 hours and boarded another aircraft to Tallinn. So the journey was tiring a little bit.

When we arrived in Kivioli the host family was waiting for me, and I didn’t know anything about the host parents, their house and where they live. So I just got in the car and waited. At the beginning we only spoke some words, but I was getting better and better during the days. We travelled 5 minutes m to the next village, Maidla, where the family lives. Their house is next to a river, and they have a shop, so every morning I ate fresh bakery products that I liked very much.

On Friday we went to the school, watched the project videos, ate some cakes and had lunch in the canteen. In the afternoon we went to an interactive war museum, we could aim with real guns and keep them in hands. After the museum we went to a seaside to have a picnic, and we took lot of pictures there.

 

On Saturday we went to Tallinn, and we visited the Occupation Museum. Later we explored the old town with a tourist guide. Then we got 3- hour free time to see other places in the capital city. In the evening we had dinner in Altja near the seaside full of amazing rocks.

 On Sunday we went to an adventure park with my friends and my hostess. We climbed tree, and we slided down a lot of ropes. It was a great fun for us. This evening there was a barbecue at Helen’s, and we could make closer relationships with other Comenius students.

On Monday we went to a local basketball match. We had lunch in a restaurant, and I got lot of souvenirs and chocolate from my host family. We started to the airport at 1 pm. Our aeroplane went to Frankfurt and another one to Budapest.

I got a lot of good experience in Estonia. I got to know a lot of interesting and funny people during this journey. I could practise my English a lot, and it was also very useful. The Estonians are very polite and ambitious people. I like them and their country very much. My host family was really kind, and I felt like a king at their home. I hope we will meet again! Thank you!

Dániel Nagynemes
Hungary

Memories from Estonia

Hi, I’m Gabor from Hungary. I spent five fantastic days in Estonia. I was very excited because it was my first trip by plane. We landed in Tallinn at 6 pm and arrived in Kivioli at 8 pm. I was a little scared because I had no information about my host before, but some Estonian children helped me to find my host family.

My family was very kind, friendly and helpful. Their house was really cosy. We spent the second day watching project videos at the school. After this, we visited a war museum and had a picnic at a beautiful seaside.

On the third day we visited the capital city: Tallinn. It was very nice, I liked the old buildings so much.Int the evening we had dinner together, and we could taste some tradition Estonian dishes.

On the fourth day of our trip we had a free day, and we went to an adventure park with my hosts and some other Comenius students. It was very exciting for us. In the evening we were at a house party with our new friends.

Unfortunately, we had to come home on Monday. I’m glad because I have made a lot of new friends. The Estonian students were very kind and funny. I’d like to say thank you to my host family for the comfort they gave me. I enjoyed all programmes of this trip. I hope I can go back to visit my friends in Estonia.

                                                                                                                      Gábor Sólya

My Comenius Days in Estonia

We left our hometown: Szeged at 5 am on 29th May. We changed plane in Warsaw, and then we departed to Tallinn. We arrived in Kivioli in the evening. I had already known my host sister so it was easy for me to get on well with her and her family. Her whole family could speak English well so we didn’t have any problems with the communication.

 On Friday we went to their school that is really modern, and we watched the participant countries’ project videos. Then we had delicious lunch in the school canteen. In the afternoon we went to the seaside where I had never been before so it was completely new and exciting for me. It looked very beautiful, and we had a picnic there.

On Saturday we went to the capital city: Tallinn by bus. Our hosts came with us, too. Tallinn was very nice, and I loved its old buildings. I learnt new things about their past and present by taking part in a sightseeing tour, and then we had a few hours on our own to do some shopping.

On Saturday our hosts took us back to Tallinn by train (it was very modern) and we saw the view of the capital city from the top of a TV tower. We left for Hungary on Monday, and we arrived back in Hungary on Tuesday morning. Thanks for the opportunity and nice experience in Estonia.

                                                                                                                  Szalma Nikolett

                                                                                                                       Hungary

My memories from Estonia

On 29th May 2014 at 5 o'clock we left our hometown: Szeged to begin our adventure in Estonia. We arrived in Kivioli in the evening, but my host and her family were still full of energy, and they welcomed me in a really friendly way.

Next day we visited my host's school which is really modern, and it makes the pupils feel comfortable being there. I liked the game room with XBOX 360's very much.

Afterwards we went to the beach and had a lovely picnic at the seaside. The view was extraordinary, I adored it. We ate traditional Estionan bread with ham and a lot of vegetables. While I was in Estonia, I noticed that they care so much about their healthy lifestlye.

 On Saturday we travelled to the capital city: Tallinn. I loved this city because the atmosphere  was so romantic here. I was surprised because we could meet other Hungarians here. They said that Estonia was so cool, they loved living there. I think I will visit Tallinn again in the near future.

Unfortunately on Monday we had to say goodbye to our host because  our plane took us home to Hungary. We had so much fun in Estonia. My host and I are definitely going to keep in touch with each other.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Réka Somogyi (Hungary)

Memories of Croatia

Hello everyone,

find the compositions of the Croatian students posted below. 

They write about their trip to Estonia. 

Enjoy the reading and have a look at the photos as well :)

My days in Estonia

On May 29^th I went on a trip to Kivioli in Estonia. It was a very long trip. First we went by plane to Frankfurt and then, finally, we went to the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn. There we met driver, who took us to our hosts in Kivioli.

In Kivioli I met my host Marleen. I was in a very kind and happy family. We went to their school and we watched documentaries and hanged out with other students. After that we went to a museum and learnt something about the history of Estonia.

On Saturday we went sightseeing in Tallinn, the capital city, a two-hour driving distance from Kivioli. We were at the museum, and later we took a walk around the city. Though Tallinn is small, it is a very beautiful town, especially the Old Town. It has very beautiful buildings. Later, on our return we stopped in a small restaurant and tried traditional Estonian food. Trip to Kivioli was a bit longer because our tire broke. J In the night all students went to mountain Ash and hanged out.

On Sunday we went to an adventure park. It was very exciting and I will never forget that experience. The rest of the day, we spent hanging with each other and preparing for the return to Croatia.

This trip will remain in my memories as one very beautiful experience, and I will remember Estonia as a very friendly and beautiful country.

Marija Horvat

Estonia

This essay is about my trip to Estonia and the whole project Comenius. Before taking this trip we had made a movie on the subject Our Way to European union - Croatia. My head-teacher went on this trip with me and my classmate Maria Horvat on Thursday at 1 pm. First we went to Frankfurt in Germany and then, and after four hours of waiting we finally headed for the capital city of Estonia – Tallinn. We landed in Tallinn at midnight and we went to Kivioli. The hosts gave us a warm welcome and took us to their homes. We were separated and stayed with different families.

On the first day we went to their school where all countries met: Spain, Hungary, Croatia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland and, of course, Estonia and presented their documentaries. We went on a picnic on the beach afterwards and did some sightseeing around Kivioli. The next day we went to the capital city, Tallinn, went sightseeing and found out a lot of interesting things from the museum and the Old City. After a party in Tallinn we went to a restaurant only a few kilometres from Kivioli where we went to a beach, we saw the Baltic Sea, and we could even see Finland across the sea. We had some time off on the third day and my host family took me to the Adventure Park where we had a great time. We went for a lunch later and then home.

I saw many different things in Estonia: I saw their culture, the atmosphere of the night life etc. Estonia is one very peaceful country, very flat with only plains around where climate is very cold. I found it very interesting to see a culture and a lifestyle different from mine so I’m looking forward to another trip similar to this one.

Antonio Šimunac

Memories of Germans from Estonia

Hi,

today we're publishing the next part of the compositions written by the German students who travelled to Estonia in May. 

Enjoy the reading!

My Comenius days in Estonia

On Thursday the 29th of May we started our trip to Estonia. We met at the airport of Nuremberg and took the plane to Frankfurt and then to Tallinn. There we had to wait for the bus of another group to pick us up and drive us to Kivioli. When we arrived our hosts were already waiting for us, so we went home, had dinner and then recovered from the trip.

In the morning we went to school and our hosts showed us parts of the school, before we went to the presentation of the films about our topic: Our way to EU/NATO. After lunch in the cafeteria, we went by bus to the Vaivara war museum. There we made a walk around the area to see where battles took place and to see some old bunkers. In the museum we saw original weapons, uniforms and other things they found in the woods after the fights. Next we visited Narva-Joesuu and had a picnic at the beach and then travelled back to Kivioli with a short stop at a waterfall. On Saturday we went to the capital Tallinn. First we visited the museum of Occupation where we learned something about the history of Estonia. After that we had a guided tour around the old town. I think it’s really beautiful, because of all the old churches and old houses. We had some free time with our hosts after that, so we ate something and went shopping. When we went back we ate in a traditional restaurant with very delicious food and had some time at the seaside again, because we had a flat tyre.

On Sunday I went to a park with my host and her boyfriend. It was very beautiful there, because you have there gardens, old woods and the seaside.

In the evening we went to the beach to make barbecue. We had much fun and it was really beautiful there, because of the sunset. So on Monday we were very sad to say goodbye to our hosts and we all wished to stay there some more time.

Johanna Mehringer

My Comenius Days in Estonia

On the 29th of May, late in the evening, we finally arrived at our destination, the small but beautiful city Kiviõli in Estonia. We all were warmly welcomed by our host families and then went with them to our home for the next few days.

The next day started pretty early, because we had to be in school at 9.30 am, and my host sister wanted to give me and my friend a tour around their school, about which I can say now is more modern than our school. At 9.30, we all met in the Assembly hall to listen to the school choir and to watch national dances, performed by some younger students. After that, we watched the presentations from each country, with a short cake break and the presentations about Estonia. We had lunch in the canteen of the school and went later to Vaivara, a small town with a museum about the two World Wars in Estonia. In the evening, we had free time with our families, so my family took me canoeing on a beautiful lake near Kiviõli. Astonishing was, that we stayed at the lake until 10 pm, but the sun was still up as if it was at 5 pm.

On our second day, we went  to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. After a guided tour in a museum about the two World Wars, we had another guided tour, through the charming old town. The whole afternoon was free for us students again, so we had another chance to get known to Tallinn by ourselves. For dinner time, we drove to a traditional Estonian restaurant near the seaside. The food was there, as always actually, incredibly delicious.  Before we went on with our bus, we all went to the beach and walked a little bit. When we arrived in Kiviõli that evening, we all were too tired to do something, so we went to bed.

Sunday, the last day arrived too early, but our host families all knew a way to let us forget that the next day  we had to leave. After we all slept very long, my family took me to a Spa in Rakvere. We were there two foreign exchange partners (a girl from Spain and me) and our host sisters with family. Later, we had lunch and went to a mall, where we girls went shopping of course (Estonian stores have opened on Sundays!).  In the evening, we met other Comenius students again at a barbecue party near the seaside. We ate a lot, went barefoot to the beach, and some even took out a guitar and sang a bit. For most of us, this was the best way to end this exchange.

On Monday it was time to say good bye to my family and to fly back to Germany, where we arrived pretty late in the evening, tired, but happy that we were there.  I would like to say a big thank you for all the people that were in this magnificent journey, especially to my lovely host family!

Friederike Schattke

Comenius project – Estonia 2014

After our long journey by flight from Nürnberg over Frankfurt to Tallinn we finally arrived at the airport. A teacher from our partner school welcomed us there and together we waited for some of the other students that would take part in our project. When they finally arrived by bus, we climbed in and together we went to Kivioli. At school in Kivioli our exchange partners were already waiting for us. So we went home with our new families and had a great evening with them together. The next two days we had a very interesting  program. We visited the war museum in Vaivaraand, went to a look-out where we could see half of Estonia (more or less), had a beautiful picnic at the beach and went to Tallinn to visit the „old times of Tallinn“-festival. We were all enjoying the ambience and bought traditional candies made in Estonia. Sunday we had free time with our partners and so my host family went to a swamp with us. On the way I had the probably most exciting moment of our visit: I saw a bear in wildlife. In the evening  a group of us went to the beach to do a barbecue. With some of the Spanish people and our Estonian hosts we were making plans about visiting each other again and so we were all sad when the sun finally set in the sea and we had to go. The luggage was packed fast and in the next morning we were all so sad about leaving, but we finally had to. So we started out for our travel back. It was such a wonderful time with the whole group, so our thoughts are all the same: the time we had was too short, but thank you very much for the great time we had!

Annegret Lehmeier