Berlin Trip 2006 - Moyle Park im Deutschland
During the mid-term break, while the village of Clondalkin was alight with fireworks and trick-or-treaters, a group of fourteen students, made up of twelve sixth years and two Transition Year students, with three teachers, set off early Monday morning on a history tour of Berlin. Berlin was the centre of so many historical events of the twentieth century: the infamous 1936 Olympic Games; the impact of the Nuremberg Laws were felt there;it was home to the leaders of the Nazi Army in World War II; and it lay divided for nearly fifty years during the Cold War.
Upon arrival, the group headed off into the centre of Berlin and enjoyed the city's main attractions on a city tour bus. We saw such buildings as the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and the 'The Broken Tooth' Church, one of the only buildings still standing from World War II. Later that evening, the group headed up into the dome at the top of the Reichstag to get an aerial view of the city at night.
On Tuesday, the group caught a train out to Sachsenhausen, home of one of the first concentration camps in Germany. Originally it was used by Hitler to hide away the undesirable sections of the population before the Olympics in 1936, such as the Jews and homosexuals of the time. Still standing is the gates of the camp whose inscription reads, "Arbeit Macht Frei", which means "Liberty through Freedom" showing camp inmates the way they could regain their freedom. The group as a whole were visibly shaken and shocked after the tour of the camp, not surprising considering the brutality endured in such a place which no book or television programme can show you. (See my photographs of the camp.)
On the final day, the group visited the Olympia Stadion, which recently held this year's World Cup Final and both the 1916 and 1936 Olympic games. The original Olympic Torch and Bell are still in the stadium, which is modelled on the Coliseum in Rome. Later, aftersome shopping in the city centre, the group visited Checkpoint Charlie and the venue for some of the most ridiculous and amazing escapes from East Berlin into the West.
The group as a whole thoroughly enjoyed the trip, which they hope they may take again after this year's Leaving Certificate (results depending!) and they would also like to thank Ms. Roche, Ms. Gray and Mr. Kavanagh for giving up their mid-term break to take them on such a great trip!Dean Alford
Click on the image (left) to see a slide show of the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen with photographs taken by Dean Alford.
This October 6th year history students along with two transition year students went to the German capital of Berlin during the Halloween
mid-term break.
We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Olympic Stadium where Zidane headbutted his way out of the World Cup final against Italy. For me, that visit to the stadium was the highlight of the trip.
The most emotional part was walking around the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen and going into the mortuary where we saw a stain of blood going from one side of the room to the other. We saw the small sheds that would house at least thirty bunks with no room to move around, only room to sleep.
Taken all in all, it was a great experience and a great break.
Joey Byrne
We flew direct to Berlin on an Aer Lingus Airbus A320, leaving Dublin at 7.30 a.m. on October 29th. Two hours we were in Berlin where we had to adjust to a new time frame which was kinda wierd as th clocks had just gone back that weekend.
Berlin is an impressive city, especially the Reichstag (the German Parliament) which has a big glass dome on the roof and the Brandenburg Gate which is an amazing size.
It was great to get away from Ireland at least for a few days. I had not been out of the country since first year. I now want to head back to Berlin. The sooner the better.
Robert O'Sullivan
The trip was very good and very well organised. We all enjoyed it and had a great time.
I think I can speak for everyone who went and say that it was one of the best trips we have ever been on.
I would like to say a spcial thank you to Ms Roche for giving us such an enjoyable trip.
Aidan Doyle
Ski Tour to Italy (Some student views)
On the 10th of February, 38 Moyle Park students set out for Italy to have a go at skiing on Monte Bondone. The flight was two and a half hours long; then it was a two hour bus ride up corkscrew roads. When we got to our destination it was snowing and everyone couldn't waitto go skiing. It was then time to leave our suitcases in reception and head down to the ski shop to get our skis,poles and helmets.
There were four hours of ski school each day with a two h
our break in the middle of the skiing for lunch. Each day we had a choice of pizza, hot dog and chips or pasta. Each night we had something to do. There was a disco available every night. One night we had a quiz and everyone got sweets for participating. Another night we went ice-skating and one night we went bum boarding.
The first day of skiing every one of us just wanted to get out onto the slopes. But we had to wait for our instructors to lead us on to the slopes. The second day was hard but, by the third day, most of of us had gotten the hang of it. We all came homewith bumbs and bruises but none of us had a serious accident.
By the end of the week we were tired and, after a great holiday, happy to be going home.
Keith Gleeson.
Enjoying the snow
Teachers on tour
Students on skis
Teachers on skis
Ski Tour to Austria (Some student views)
We arrived in Dublin Airport at five o'clock in the morning on New Year's Eve. The ski trip group consisted of senior students from 4th, 5th and 6th year along with the following teachers: Mr O'Byrne, Mr O'Reilly, Ms Doherty and Ms Heduaun. There were about forty students on the trip.
We had an hour and a half flight to Munich in Germany. From there we took a two and a half hour coach trip to our ski resort in Fugen in Austria. The hotel we were staying in was almost half way up the mountain. We had to take a gondola to get up to the hotel with our suitcases and newly rented ski equipment. We relaxed there until we were ready to go out for the new year celebrations. We took a taxi down to the town where there were many clubs and pubs to choose from. We ended up in an out door square for the fireworks and the countdown.
We skied every morning after that. Skiing started at ten o'clock and we had an hour's break for lunch at twleve. Skiing finished at thre
e but the advanced classes were allowed half an hour's free skiiing. This is where they went unaccompanied by their instructors.
Dinner was around six o'clock every evening and, after dinner, we had apres ski activities. This included swimming, iceskating, table tennis and bum boarding. We went to a different region called Hochfugen on the second last day. This was a mountain designed mainly for beginners with long and relatively flat runs.
We had an early night the last night as we had to be up at five o'clock in the morning for the flight home. We ended up being back in Dublin for lunch at half one on Saturday, 7th of January, after our seven day ski trip abroad.
Niall McHugh.
Finally the 31st of December was upon us, a long year of hard work and saving paid off. Today was the day we were going skiing. Forty students, Mr O' Byrne, Mr O' Reilly, Ms Heduan and Ms Doherty were off to the resort of Fugen in Austria. We all met in Dublin airport at 5.00 a. m. on Saturday morning excited and ready to go. Looking from the plane window, we saw there was no shortage of snow. Once we got off the plane, we went and collected our bags and went to meet our rep.
Ed was his name and we all knew we would get on great with him. We jumped on our bus and were off. And still every body was buzzing with excitement, the music blaring from many different mp3 players, the mood was great. Around lunchtime we arrived in Fugen to be met by a great surprise: to get to our hotel, we had to get a gondola up the mountain. We left our suitcases in the gondola station and followed Ed on a short walk through the town to be fitted for our ski equipment. When every body was sorted, the real craic began: two people, two sets of skis, two sets of boots, two sets of poles and two suitcases had to be put in a small gondola that barely could hold four people on their own and taken half way up the mountain to our hotel Alpengastof. Eventually we all got up safely, secretly hoping we would not have to do that again.
The four teachers and Ed sorted us all into our rooms where we unpacked and settled down. At around five, we had our dinner. The hotel laid on a feast for us that was fabulous. After dinner we explored the hotel which was a small family run hotel with great facilities and friendly staff. As the night was still young, the teachers announced we would be going down the town tonight to ring in the New
Year at an outdoor party. Every body went off to wash up and to put the glad rags on for a good night. We got taxis down the mountain and stopped off at the Ice Bar before walking down to the party. The Ice Bar was great. The whole bar was made of ice, the walls and even the ornaments were made of ice. Around eleven we headed off to the party. It was wicked; there were plenty of controlled fires to warm up at as well as plenty of fireworks and great music. The countdown to midnight was in German so all the Moyler lads, not knowing a word of what was being said, just followed suit and celebrated when every body else was. We had plenty of fun and made plenty of mates. Around 1.00 a.m. we jumped into taxis and headed for the hotel.
At eight the following morning we were being woken by the teacher for breakfast. We were all shattered, but knowing we were starting skiing today we dived from our beds and headed for breakfast. It was 9.30 a.m., the snow was falling heavily and we were outside the hotel meeting our instructors wrapped up like Eskimo's. There were four instructors, all in red jump suits. They introduced themselves to us and were very friendly to us. They also spoke great English. We all jumped back on the dreaded gonala up to the top of the mountain. It wasn't even half as bad as the day before because, without the large suitcases to drag on and off, it was a piece of cake. Once at the top we were split into four groups, two beginner classes and two advanced classes. We learned many different exercises to help us ski like professionals and to look like we knew what we were doing. At noon each group met up at a large restaurant on the top of the mountain for lunch. We finished at one and met back up with our instructors for more ski lessons until four. The snow was constantly falling and there was a lot of fog so the ski conditions were difficult but every body stuck with it and still had a lot of laughs. After skiing we all went back to our hotel to wash up and to have dinner. Our rep, Ed, came up to us and had a few games of cards with us and got to know us all. We had an early night to recuperate for the following day of skiing.
Like the day before, we were up early for breakfast and for skiing. At 10.00 each group met up with their instructor at the top of the
gondola to begin the day's skiing. Once again the weather conditions were not the best, but that never stopped each group from improving and going down more difficult slopes. We all met up for lunch at 12.00 and then went back skiing afterwards until 4.00. That night, after another well prepared dinner, we got a bus into Mayerhofen a neighbouring town of Fugen to go swimming.
For the following two day's our schedule was the same as before. The sun was fighting to come through the snow but never quite made it. Everybody was getting used to the weather and the lay out of the pistes so the skiing was not affected at all. On the Tuesday night, after dinner, we went ice-skating in the town of Zell am Ziller and then went to a disco named Rosso's. The Wednesday night we had toboggan races on the mountain. Afterwards we went into our hotel and warmed up with hot chocolate and had more card tournaments.
We woke early on the Thursday morning to the sight of the sun breaking its way through the cracks in the curtain. The conditions were perfect and just as well, because we were off to the much larger ski resort of Hochfugen where there were plenty more runs for us to tackle. We all ate our breakfast quickly and jumped on the gondola down to the town were we were getting the bus. Once we arrived in Hochfugen, we met up with our instructors and gazed at the endless runs. The weather was perfect, the skiing was almost professional and the runs were amazing. Every class progressed so much; the advanced classes were skiing down the black runs like there was no tomorrow. Ed and the teachers went to a lot of trouble to organise a packed lunch for us and we all met up at lunchtime to discuss the morning skiing. After lunch the skiing was just as amazing and nobody wanted to leave. We got the bus back to Fugen where we were allowed to have a shower and a sauna in a local hotel. We met up at 6.30 in the local pizzeria where we enjoyed a large pizza dinner. That night we were brought to the Winterfest, an Austrian version of St Patrick's Day. It was a big party with a D.J and than a very good band who sang all English hits. We were all up dancing and enjoying ourselves and so were the teachers and Ed. We had a lot of laughs before getting taxis home and crawling into bed.
Friday was our last day of skiing so we all took part in the
slalom races. Once everybody did the run, we went off for our last few hours of skiing. Each class skied from the top of the mountain all the way down to Fugen town where we left our ski equipment back into the rental shop. We had an hour before the last gondola went to up to our hotel, so most people got some shopping done. After getting washed up and having dinner, we got taxis down to a large disco named Badwandl where we were being presented with medals and certificates. Everybody did great in the races and felt very proud. We spent a few hours in the disco before returning home to go to bed.
We woke at 4.00 a.m. to have our breakfast and to get the bus back to the airport in Munich. We said goodbye to Ed before getting on the bus. Most of the journey to the airport was spent sleeping. We arrived at the airport just after seven where we checked in and got a bite to eat. Everybody was tired but still ready for some last laughs. We boarded our plane near eleven and set off for the journey home. I think everybody was sad to be leaving because it was such a great week, and also we were back in school on Monday morning. We landed in Dublin airport at ten past one and went and collected our bags. We were welcomed home by many parents and families, said goodbye to the teachers and our mates and went off home to tell about our holiday. Next year the senior ski trip is returning to Axamer Lizum close to Innsbruck in Austria for another week of fun and skiing.
Sean Fay
We met our tour rep at Munich airport. We got on the bus for the most boring bus ride ever. Two and a half hours later we were in Fugen. We went to collect our skis and boots and then headed up to the hotel on the gondola.
The next day we went up the mountain to meet our instructors. After skiing every day, we went back to the hotel to get a shower. Then we would go swimming, ice skating or just go down to the town to look around. That was it for the week.
This was my first time skiing and I thought it was one of the greatest things I have ever done. I would recommend it to anyone because the thrill and the rush of going down the slopes can never be matched.
Thomas Hill
The skiing in Austria this year was brilliant because the slopes were steep and there were many off-piste runs and ramps. The hotel was right in the middle of the slopes and you could ski to the front door of the hotel.
Every other time we went skiing the food was horrible but I have to say that this year the food was lovely. At night time the atmosphere was great. We went to the discos and the crack we had was unreal.
It was the best ski trip so far.
David McDermott
As it was my third ski trip with Moyle Park College, I had a good idea of what to expect of the ski resort in Fugen. But nothing could have prepared me for the week ahead.
The slopes were very challenging but, as we reached towards the end of the week, we were all masters of the slopes.
The trip this year was excellent with no faults at all. Now I better get saving for next year's trip.
Sean Ennis
The first real day of skiing, we were sorted into different groups according to our ability. We had lessons from ten to twelve-thirty, then lunch for an hour and more lessons until three thirty. After that we had free skiing, but we had to catch the last gondola at four, although the advanced groups could ski to the hotel.
It snowed heavily for the first two days, but then it eased up.
Friday was the last day of skiing. Every group had to race down a track and were timed individually. Later that night, we went to a presentation where we were all given a medal and a certificate.
Christopher McDermott
Paris Trip 2005
For information on this year's tour to Paris visit our TY in Paris page. This page deals with the two tours made in 2005 to the great capital of France. The first tour was in the spring with the Transition Year group of 2004-2005 and the second tour was in the autumn with the Transition Year classs of 2005-2006. Some students from other classes also joined these tours which, like the ski-tours, are now becoming a regular feature of life in the college.
A special thanks to all the teachers who helped make these two tours the success they were.
Click first button to hear the skiing.
