What comes to mind when you think of German food? Beer and sausage? That's a good start but the traditional German kitchen offers much more (as our students soon discovered). On a lovely WLE social activity evening, we headed for one of our favorite local eateries in Heidelberg, the ‘Brauhaus Vette’. Located in Heidelberg's Old Town, this establishment famous for its traditional German food is just 5 minutes away from the WLE office. What’s more, a further attraction of this brauhaus is the fact that it brews its very own beer! The brewpub’s specialty is ‘Vetter 33’ which back in 1994, was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the strongest beer in the world! Although today it can no longer claim this fame, it is still one of the world’s most renown strong lagers. What a delight it was for our students to have the unique opportunity of tasting this amazing beer!

Outside the restaurant in the beautiful old town

The massive beer brewing kettles inside the restaurant

Apart from beer our students had great fun choosing delicious traditional German dishes from the menu including Käsespätzle (thick noodles with cheese, a delicacy from Swabia), Obazdabrot (bread with cream cheese and onions, originally from Bavaria), Schnitzel and Sauerkraut. It was the perfect evening with great food,

The WLE students enjoying the world's strongest beer

Cheers! Richard, Satomi, Ki-Yeon, Owen, WLE Staff Jan and Marco eagerly await the scrumptious traditional German food

Enjoying German food

Owen and Satomi after the dinner: full but happy

Another attraction in Stuttgart is the local soccer club, the ‘VFB Stuttgart’. This club boasts its current rank as No. 5 in the ’Bundesliga’, the German soccer league, and it qualified last season for the UEFA champions league.

On the way to Stuttgart: Satomi, Ki-Yeon, Hui Feng and Richard

When we arrived in Stuttgart we were greeted by the city filled with soccer fans – it was no surprise as its soccer stadium has a seating capacity for 57,000 fans.

Supporters of the different teams were easily recognizable by the colors of their team. Amongst the memorabilia sold to the hordes of supporters included brightly colored scarfs, shirts and caps. Needless to say some of our enthusiastic students bought scarfs in the colors of the local soccer club.

Inside the stadium

Ki-Yeon, Richard, Satomi, Hui Feng and WLE Staff Jan supporting their team with focused passion

A real challenge for the students was to learn all the different chants bellowed by supporters during the match. This fun filled atmosphere entertained us all. It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of this great sporting culture – right in the midst of a football stadium filled with thousands of German soccer fans!

Students practicing the chants

Having fun with the soccer memorabilia

On a sunny afternoon we met at the WLE Student Lounge and left for the Memorial. The Memorial is located in the old town of Heidelberg and close to Neckar River and also very close to our World Link Education Office.

Inside our Student Lounge

Outside the Memorial in the old town

Our guide explaining the living room

Cooking in the 19th century

A contemporary bed with a hot-water bottle

A characteristic desk from the 19th century

That's what a bar looked like in the times of Friedrich Ebert

A contemporary telephone

There were numerous exhibits depicting the political career of Ebert. He became the first democratic elected president of Germany in 1919 after the First World War until his death in 1925. His presidential term was highlighted by signing the peace treaty of Versailles and his re-election in 1922.

Our nice guide and the WLE Students Ki-yeon and Hui Feng

We learnt much about the great history and political influence left by Ebert thanks to our informative and friendly guide. Many of the questions raised by our students were answered and we left with such a valuable insight into this important period of German history.

Name

How are you finding you studies?
I have really enjoyed the classes. I think the main reason is that because the study is intensive and I can notice myself improving each week, which is rewarding.

What do you think is the BEST thing about studying here?
Heidelberg has been a great place to study, because it is a beautiful town and not too big, also because it is a University city there are lots of other students around.

How do you find the relationship between students and between students and teachers?
Because my class was small I got to know the other students as well as the teacher very well. Everyone gets along great, and I think the teachers are very good!

What is your accommodation like?
I lived with a guest family who where really fantastic, very accommodating and nice. They always had time to talk to me if I wanted to practice German.

What is the most interesting thing you have done or discovered in Heidelberg?
Tourist-type things: walking through the old town, seeing the castle and the philosopher's path.

What kind of tips on living and studying in Heidelberg can you give other potential students?
If you really want to improve I think it is important to try and speak as much German as possible outside the class and watch TV to improve comprehension. Living with a family was helpful in this regard.

What were the major (cultural, social, educational, etc.) differences from your home country that you experienced when you first arrived in Heidelberg?
I was actually surprised at how similar the lifestyles were between here and my home. I didn't really have any trouble settling in, and did not have any major difficulties.

Do you think you will come back to Heidelberg or another part of Germany?
I definitely will come back to Germany to travel more thoroughly in the future. Heidelberg may be a good place to start because I now know some people here as well as my way around the city.

Jan joined the WLE Team in January 2005. He is originally from Wächtersbach, a town near Frankfurt. He studied History and German Philology at the University of Heidelberg and is currently working on his dissertation. Besides German and English, Jan speaks Japanese, as he spent a semester working abroad in Tokyo as a German teacher.

Jan organizes social and sporting activities and excursions for our Total Program students and provides valuable assistance to students while they are here.