- by Leighton Conridge 12M

Over the course of four days, 22 Art and Art Photography students in Year 13, alongside three members of staff, were treated to a trip to Berlin! There they visited many art-related places and had an overall great time.

Day 1:

The trip got off to an early start with students and staff meeting at 5:30am at Stansted Airport. Two hours on from that and they were boarding the plane, which was said to be an excellent flight with clear skies and no turbulence. To add to the excitement, for a few of the students this was their first time being on an airplane!

Having arrived at Brandenburg Airport, the group made their way to Berlin via train. From there they proceeded to check in at ‘MEININGER Hostel’ which was to be their place of residence for the duration of the trip. Students were fond of the hostel; it even had a pool table! But others were less fond of the purportedly ‘plain’ food.

After having checked in, the group visited ‘Hackeschermarkt’, a sort of alleyway with all sorts of artwork such as graffiti and murals as well as print shops and the like. Interesting places in the area included a stairwell that extended up to five stories completely covered in graffiti and a nearby gallery.
From there the students visited ‘Monster Kabinett’, an art exhibition described by one of the teachers as ‘Mad Max meets the Rocky Horror Show’. Sadly, no photos were allowed to be taken inside, but it was apparently really good! It was full of bizarre automatons and other odd pieces of artwork.

The group then went back to the hostel and finished off the day with a pop music quiz.  Mr White also introduced students to the ‘The Big Berlin Photography Scavenger Hunt’ (or TBBPSH for short) in which students were tasked with taking photographs to depict a number of words as they explored Berlin. More on that later...

Day 2:

Having forgotten to book a timeslot for breakfast, the group was forced to wake up for breakfast at 7:30am (6:30am in the UK!) – that being the timeslot they were automatically allocated!  After shaking off any lingering sleepiness, the group embarked on a trek!

Their first stop was Berlinische art gallery, a huge space containing modern and contemporary art, photography and architecture from Berlin. 
Then, they visited the Jewish Museum. Architecturally, this was extremely interesting due to the lack of right angles within the building. It was also rather harrowing, the museum being a memorial of sorts to the Holocaust. One room of note contained a floor made out of steel faces which made a sound like clanking chains when people gingerly walked over it.

After the museum, the group then proceeded to the Reichstag – Germany’s equivalent of Parliament. Of particular note is the walk-in glass dome that sits above the primary chamber of the building. Visitors can look down on the workings of government, thus representing openness and democracy.  The group was treated to an interesting scene as a controversial immigration bill was blocked from going through right before their eyes!

Having finished that, the group went to Brandenburg Gate to take a group photo; with them was a murder of crows circling overhead. After this, the group returned to the hostel to eat the ‘plain’ food and go to bed, exhausted after their busy day.

Day 3:

Having risen early yet again in order to eat, the group visited RAW-Gelände, an urban art hub composed of formerly derelict buildings. It had an art gallery, a bookshop, studios and more! Groups of three at a time were even allowed inside a disco phonebox! It played music and had a disco ball inside and took a photo of you!

Afterwards, the group visited the East Side Gallery. It comprises a remnant of the Berlin wall around 1.3km in length that’s completely covered in artwork. Sadly the weather was rather foul at the time but this didn't hamper their spirits and from there the group went to possibly the most exciting location they’d been to yet – McDonald’s!  The service was said to be very good and they discovered that the Germans serve curly fries!!!
Remember TBBPSH from earlier?  To round off their final night in Berlin, the group had a bingo night involving all the photos they had taken. The winners, in order, were Nick Jones, Emily Hare, Isabella Heard and Findlay Smith

Day 4:

Having woken up early once again, the group packed their bags and checked out of the hostel. Having stowed away their luggage, the group split into two smaller groups. 
The smaller group of the two groups visited the Futurium Museum, one with a variety of exhibitions that primarily deals in imagining what the future may look like.  The larger group went to Museum Island. Sitting on the northernmost side of Spree Island, the area consists of five museums which were first built by Prussian Kings. The whole area is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Both groups then rejoined eachother and went back home. Having left England at 7:30am on Thursday, they arrived back at 7pm on Sunday.

All in all, the trip was a great one. A particular standout was the bingo night, but everything was spectacular!

Thanks for reading!

Article by Leighton Conridge 12M