Fitch, Boardman students visit Germany

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Neighbors | Submitted.Showing their allegiance to The Ohio State University, Kevin Homistek (left), Caitlynn Gilles, Samantha Devenport and Jena Finch (right) spelled out O-H-I-O on the stairs of the Cologne Cathedral.

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Samantha Devenport (left), Jena Finch, Caitlynn Gilles, Kaitlyn Elser, Kevin Homistek and Karin Weiss (right) are pictured by a 1 kilometer long section of the Berlin Wall now called the East Side Gallery.

Six Boardman and Fitch students, accompanied by Sieglinde Warren, recently returned from Germany where they stayed in the homes of students they had hosted this past fall.

Hennef is located on the Rhine River in west Central Germany near Cologne.

The German hosts planned many activities for their American guests. Among these activities were visiting the Mayor of Hennef, Mr. Pipke; an all-day trip on the Rhine which included viewing the Seven Hills of the Rhineland; a trip to the capital, Berlin, as well as to the former German capital, Bonn, where they shopped at the Haribo Outlet store of Gummibears fame.

In Cologne, they visited the Chocolate Museum and also climbed the 533 steps to reach the top tower of the Cologne Cathedral.

This is the sixth year that the exchange with the Gesamtschule in Hennef has taken place. A seventh exchange is planned with the same school in November with 12 German students and two teachers arriving for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The goal of the exchange is to provide an opportunity for the German, Boardman and Austintown Fitch students to experience each other’s culture in their home and school.