The Year 9 & 10 German students recently visited Hahndorf and the Barossa Valley to learn more about the history of early German settlement in South Australia. In Hahndorf, they enjoyed Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) at Otto’s German Bakery, ordering in German of course, before visiting the German Migrant Museum and doing a historic walking tour of the town. They then drove to Tanunda in the Barossa Valley where the class stayed in cabins. During their stay, they did a digital Schnitzeljagd (treasure hunt) in Tanunda main street. Students also visited the historic Langmeil Cemetery where the class completed a grave hunt for key early settlers and visited the Kegelklub where they had a game of traditional German nine pin bowls using the original wooden alley from the late 1800’s. They followed this up with a game of 10 pin bowls at the modern bowling alley to compare the difference. Students also did some research at Luhr’s pioneer Cottage in Light Pass and viewed the enormous painted wine barrels at Chateau Dorrien Winery which tell the German migration story. They ate German hotdogs, pretzels and schnitzel and enjoyed board games, night walks, and a German TV sitcom. On the way home, the class stopped at the Herbig family tree. The Herbig family lived with their children in the trunk of this tree for the first 2 years of their marriage until they had enough money to build a mud cottage. Students enjoyed all things German on this trip, learned a lot, and had heaps of fun.
