Over Spring half-term a group of 6th Form German linguists, Historians and Artists enjoyed a culture-laden trip to Austria. Our initial destination, Vienna, was cold but impressive and the students visited the beautiful (yet unfinished) Stephansdom, the magnificently yellow Schonbrunn Summer Palace of the Habsburgs, the Sisi museum in the imposing Hofburg Imperial Winter Palace and many art galleries including the Belvedere which housed Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss'. An abundance of Wiener Schnitzel, coffee and Apfel-Strudel was also consumed, the latter especially at Demel - the one time royal confectioner. The Colfians' stay in Vienna ended with ice skating in front of the wonderful architecture of the town hall (Rathaus) and the next morning it was off to Salzburg by train. Salzburg is a beautiful city, nestled between two hills at the foot of the Austrian Alps. The students took a cable car to the summit of the Untersberg mountain where there was not a cloud in the sky and the views were stunning. They also visited Salzburg's defensive fortress - the Hohensalzburg, saw yet more fabulous decor in the city’s Cathedral and got plenty of shopping in on the last afternoon. All in all it was a very interesting and valuable experience and the linguists especially tried out their Deutsch as much as possible.
