Today was a great day!  We arrived safely at our destination, Freiburg, Germany.  Students and faculty connected with old friends and colleagues and met new ones.    Our German hosts welcomed us with open arms and tasty treats after a long day of travel.

Our flight from Dulles to Frankfurt with a stop in London Heathrow was pleasant and uneventful.  After collecting our luggage, we were greeted by Verena, the sister of Martina Boos, German exchange coordinator.  She guided us to the train station at the airport, where we began the final leg of our journey to Freiburg.  A normally 2-hour train trip turned into a 3-hour adventure because of rain damage to tracks in northern Germany.   The group slept most of this train ride finally waking up to sunny skies shining over the beautiful city of Freiburg.  

We were met by a large group from St. Ursula's Gymnasium including Headmaster Mr. Hummel, teachers Martina and Florian, and all host students, parents and siblings.  They escorted us 200 meters to the St. Ursula Gymnasium's courtyard, where a small Bavarian feast of German pretzels with butter, cake and juice awaited us. Sleepy, nervous Bullis students became energized as host students smiled, laughed and welcomed their guests with open hearts.   After participating in this communal feast and getting our first glimpse at the school, host parents departed with Bullis students who were in need of some rest and relaxation.  Mr. Strunk and I look forward to hearing about their family days when we meet the students Monday morning at 7am for our bus trip to Munich. 

Ms. Vardi