For this week's trip down memory lane we wind back the clock ten years to a Hermitage Academy exchange trip to Bavaria.

Here's how we reported the trip in the Advertiser on October 11, 2007...

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SIXTEEN Hermitage Academy pupils, accompanied by two teachers, set off on the first, exciting leg of the school’s German exchange trip recently.

Since the summer, the group, have been corresponding with a German pupil from a school in Neumarkt in Bavaria.

This trip gave them the enviable position and opportunity to see for themselves what it would be like to be a pupil in Germany and gain a taster of German culture. They were certainly not disappointed with what Germany had to offer. During the fun-packed week, they saw things like the famous St Peter’s Cathedral and the river Danube in Regensburg.

In Nuremberg they were taken to the gothic Church of St Lawrence where we got to see the Angelic Salutation and a famous fountain. Legend has it that if you turn the ring and make a wish, your wish will come true. It may only be a legend but they all had a go!

In Neumarkt they visited the brewery and both the Catholic and Protestant Churches. All of the churches and cathedrals were very impressive, with beautiful stained glass windows that were well maintained.

However, this trip was not all about sight-seeing. On two days they had the opportunity to visit Neumarkt school and accompanied their paired students to all of their classes, which meant getting up at 6am - which took a bit of getting used to!

From the outside the school there looked uncannily like the Academy, but on the inside the facilities on offer were certainly superior to those available in the building Hermitage pupils occupy just now – though the pupils are sure that the new Hermitage will be able to give Neumarkt a run for its money!