Steinmühle Boarding School’s House Trips: Lots of Caution, but Still Great Fun
As part of the annual program, boarding school students set off on what are known as “house trips” immediately after the start of the school year: Each residential group heads to a different destination in Germany together. Reports indicate that this year’s trips were once again a lot of fun. “The ‘Häuserfahrten’ have become an established tradition at our boarding school—a trip that each residential group can effectively use for team-building activities and to get to know one another,” reports boarding school director Anke Muszynski.
Bremerhaus: In the Footsteps of the Vikings
This year, the Bremerhaus traveled to Süsel in Schleswig-Holstein. The stunning location—with Lake Süsel right on the doorstep of the Tannenhöhe youth vacation center and just a few minutes from the Baltic Sea—couldn’t be dampened even by the occasional rain. With the two birthday celebrants, Sarah and Luke, everyone celebrated together in the group room. And as if they were all true Vikings, the students and counselors braved the rain and embraced Viking Day on Friday. “Oars up!” In a traditional boat, the residential group navigated across Lake Süseler after trying their hand at Viking games together, including axe throwing, archery, and Viking chess. On Saturday, the sun came out for a relaxed and playful day at Scharbeutz Beach on the Baltic Sea, which came to a perfect close with a sumptuous barbecue buffet in the evening.
The parent company’s goal: A campground in Heidelberg
Heidelberg is this year’s destination for the residents of the main house. Once there, they headed to a campground and are spending the night in small cabins. A nice touch: there’s virtually no internet reception at the campground. So “digital detox” became the theme of the weekend for the residential group, allowing the students and educators to fully focus on themselves. In the evenings, they also had barbecues at the main house and enjoyed spending time together in a relaxed atmosphere. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim. The main attraction there: a Concorde.
Heidepark in the Spotlight at the Hessenhaus
The Hessenhaus group headed toward Hanover: Near the capital of Lower Saxony—which has beautiful, natural spots on its outskirts—they fired up the grill in the evening and chatted. Since there were no other groups staying at the very modern facility at the time, the Hessenhaus group was able to feel completely at home playing soccer and basketball and enjoying the lively evening atmosphere. The group had planned a visit to Heidepark for the next day: endless fun, games, and excitement for the new residential group.
“MS Mühle in the harbor of Lake Wißmar”
The “MS Mühle,” jokingly dubbed the “passenger ship of good cheer,” sailed into the “harbor” of Lake Wißmar near Gießen on Friday. After setting up camp at the campground, firing up the grill was at the top of the agenda. Since Ivo, whose birthday it was, was on board, a little celebration was in order for Saturday.
Other activities planned for the residents of the Mühle: group icebreakers and team-building activities, as well as a visit to “Jump & Fly” in Linden. After a cozy evening and a quiet morning, the soccer fans in the residential group were looking forward to watching the Champions League final after a manageable 30-kilometer trip back.
Westfalenhaus: “Being a Kid Again”
The Westfalenhaus headed to the tried-and-true group house in Weeze, North Rhine-Westphalia, which used to be a school. On the grounds, various games proved to be the perfect way to pass the time before everyone could satisfy their appetites at the long-awaited barbecue and the evening came to a close around the campfire. The “Wunderland Kalkar” amusement park served as an attractive highlight of the weekend together—with attractions for all ages, “not only to get our adrenaline pumping, but perhaps also to simply be kids again for a while.”
Biohaus: Getting to Know and Trust Each Other
For the youngest house at the Steinmühle boarding school, the focus was clearly on age-appropriate, relaxed, and fun team-building and trust-building activities. So this year, the Biohaus headed to Düsseldorf for an overnight stay at a youth hostel and a visit to a climbing park that is part of the Alpenpark Neuss. Climbing as a group activity: As a true team, the students overcame their fear of heights together; guided by the experienced team of educators, the younger students motivated one another throughout the climbing course and, in the process, grew together into a real group.
