Over the summer, 18 students, 4 teachers and 5 parents from BV took a 12-day trip through six countries in Europe. They visited famous sites and landmarks, including the remnants of the Berlin wall and the St. Vitus Cathedral, while exploring cities like Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Krakow, Budapest and Vienna.
“I was surprised at how well our students traveled,” history teacher Molly Cowan-Johnson, who sponsored, organized and led the trip, said. “We had an arduous journey to Europe, and our student travelers took it in stride and were ready to explore Berlin as soon as we landed, despite sleep deprivation.”
The trip was planned and guided through Education First (EF) Educational Tours, a company that specializes in safe and reliable travel for students. Cowan has worked with EF Tours many times on previous trips.
“They have a very well-developed infrastructure in each country to ensure that we have safe travels,” Cowan said. “I looked at other companies like this, but none of them have the network EF does.”
One of the key aspects of this trip for students is the opportunity to explore the cities on their own. They enjoyed diverse food options, visited fascinating sites, and observed life in a different country.
“It’s important for people to be able to experience different cultures and see how places do things differently,” senior Jenna Jones said.
Between different places, the exchange rate varies.
“The currency changes were interesting,” Jones said. “What might seem like a lot is just a couple of USD.”
A favorite place among students was the Széchenyi Baths in Budapest, one of the largest medicinal spa baths in Europe.
“It was super unique and had some really cool architecture,” Jones said.
“Leading up to it, many of our student travelers were apprehensive about it,” Cowan said. “The ‘baths’ are basically swimming pools, so I think the concept of a ‘bath’ freaked them out, but once we were in, many of the students were all in and greatly enjoyed the experience.”
Another highlight of the trip was the river cruises in Prague and Budapest.
“It was a nice laid-back way to see the city from a different perspective,” Cowan said. “It was lovely to watch the sunset from the river.”
Cowan’s favorite part of taking students on trips is how they can see the places they have learned about in class.
“On this trip there were many, including sites impacted by the Reformation, the invasion of the Mongols and the Ottomans, and World War II sites like Auschwitz” she said.
Cowan has taken students on many trips to different places, and the next will be to Japan in 2027, her third time since 2018.
“This trip’s itinerary is different than our last two trips, it includes some more off-the-beaten-path experiences like Matsumoto Castle and Naraijuku village, historical sites like Hiroshima, but also fun pop cultural experiences like Akihabara in Tokyo,” she said.
Cowan also believes in the importance of understanding the different cultures around the world.
“I always hope students gain some appreciation of our world, the people and cultures that inhabit [it],” Cowan said. “We also went to Auschwitz on this tour. It is one thing to know what happened in history, it is entirely different experiencing it at a place like that. I hope they took away a real experience about history with that visit.”
