School trip part 4

On Friday morning we packed our things and left the hostel in Luxembourg. After a few hours in the bus we arrived at an adventure park in northern France where we got to climb up a hill and conquer obstacles up in the trees. After that we drove back home to SSB.

School trip part 3

After visiting the Maginot line on Thursday we went back to Luxembourg. There we got a tour around the city to learn about the history of Luxembourg city.
     The whole city is built on a hill and is surrounded by fortresses. The oldest parts of the fortresses date back to the roman times. Under the whole city there are casemates, which are old tunnels built in the mountain in order to be able to protect the city. Soldiers would stand inside the casemates and could see the enemies before they saw the soldiers.
     One of the things I found interesting was the myth of Melusina:

In the beginning when there was nothing on the hills of Luxembourg, a man called Siegfried decided the place was so beautiful that he decided to settle there. Others thought Siegfried was a fool deciding to live in the middle of nowhere and told him he would never find a soulmate out in the wilderness. 

But one day when Siegfried sat on the mountains he heard the most beautiful singing from the river down below. He went down to see who it was and discovered the voice belonged to a beautiful lady who was sitting on a rock in the middle of the river. 

Siegfried fell in love instantly and asked the girl to take his hand in marriage. The lady, who had introduced herself as Melusina agreed to marry him on the condition that she would be left alone every Saturday. 

Siegfried agreed to the conditions and the couple got married and had several children and lived happily. Melusina was left alone every Saturday and all was well. Until one day... 

Siegfrieds friends had started wondering what Melusina was doing every Saturday locked up in her room and confronted him about it. Siegfried claimed it was none of his business and he trusted his wife fully. But the doubt was planted in his head and he too became suspicious. 

Therefore, on a Saturday, while Melusina was locked up in her room Siegfried went to see what she was doing. When he looked through the keyhole in the door he let out a scream, for Melusina had a shiny long fishtail. Melusina heard the scream and realised that Siegfried had discovered her secret. Melusina jumped up and went out and dissappeared into the river forever.

Although Melusina disappeared into the river she still loved her city and swore to protect it. Now and then when the city has been in danger, a woman in a white dress has been seen walking on the walls of the fortress and waking up the guards when enemies have been approaching. 

School trip part 2

On Thursday, the second day of the school trip, we left our hostel in Luxemburg early to go to the Maginot line in France. The Maginot line is a fortification built after the first world war in order to protect France in case Germany would attack.
       In 1940 Germany invaded France. The Maginot line was never fully used, but took part in some smaller attacks from Germany.
       Our school got to visit the Maginot line and we got a tour inside the tunnels. We travelled with a train from the 1940s in the tunnels and were showed how the different things worked at the Maginot line. Almost everything is still fully functional and in the same state as they were when the line was built.

http://i.imgur.com/hgb4GwO.jpg

Maginot Line in 1940 

http://ndynes.weebly.com/uploads/8/8/1/1/8811313/3804860_orig.jpeg

School trip part 1

At the beginning of every school year SSB organises school trips for all the students in order to bond and get to know each other. This year pre-IB/Gym1 - IB2/Gym3 went to Luxemburg.
      We left on Wednesday to visit the Bouillon castle in southern Belgium. The castle was first mentioned in the 900s but has existed there for a much longer time. Its advantage is that it is so high up and has rivers running on both sides of the hill.
      In the castle there was a falcon show with several different birds of pray, which we then got to see and take part in.
     Inside one of the oldest rooms in the castle there was a chair carved into the rock. According to legends, if a young girl sits on the chair she will be married within a year. I took this as a challenge to break the myth and was the only one to go and sit on the chair. Well, we will see what happens, and if the old legends of Bouillon are true.

Waterloo market

Today after work I went with Frida to the Waterloo market. The Chaussée was closed from traffic and all kinds of stores and tables had were put up along the street. Different performances were held everywhere, and kids could take part in activities. A beautiful day with 32 degrees outside, it's still summer in Belgium!

IB BBQ

Wednesday an IB barbecue was held by an IB1 for all the students in IB to get to know each other. The evening was spent talking about interests and random things until late in the night. Thank you for a great evening!

Back in Belgium

This weekend I flew back to Belgium and got to start my senior year at SSB on Monday. It feels good being back and meeting both old and new friends. This year will be very exciting as it is my last year of school and then it's time to graduate. I'm looking forward to another amazing year!