Without being bogged down by schoolwork and other such engagements, spring break is an ideal time for students to travel to new places. In honor of the 500th year of the Lutheran Reformation, a group of Manhattan High students went on a church trip to Germany during their week off.

“This was my first time [visiting] Europe,” senior Kelly Wichmann said. “[Although] my family was able to reconnect with four past exchange students we’ve hosted.”

The tour of the country began in its capital city, Berlin. From there, the group ventured south and wandered through several small towns. The trip drew to a close in Munich. Throughout the week, the travelers explored many cities, landmarks and the general splendor that the area had to offer. The differences in the culture that the students were exposed to was another highlight of the trip.

“I’ve been to China and Israel before and the thing that I liked more about Germany was the food and the culture,” senior Gavin Larios said. “There was a church there that had a dome walk on the top and you had to climb [endless] stairs to get to it but once you got there, you could see all the way across Berlin and the other churches that were beaming from the ground into the sky.”

Despite the lengthy flights of stairs, the most memorable part of the experience, according to Wichmann, was their visit to the city’s largest church, the Berlin Cathedral.

“I [enjoyed] climbing to the top of the Berlin Cathedral and looking out over the Berlin skyline,” Wichmann said. “The inside of the cathedral was also spectacular, amazingly intricate and baroque.”

For Larios, on the other hand, the most remarkable moment of the trip was not the extravagance of the unique city. Rather, it was immersing himself into the daily life of those who call Germany their home.

“[My favorite part was] getting to talk to our bus driver,” he said. “He meant a lot to me because he tried to communicate and cared about what I had to say just as I did for him.”

In their conversations, Larios learned several things about German culture, from the proper way to flip and catch a drinking coaster, to what life means to them.

“He was selfless and he sort of made me realize that I value the wrong things in life,” Larios said. “I worry about what I’m going to look like and how people view me but it just holds me back from truly helping others…He showed me that you have to enjoy life no matter what happens because if you don’t, then it’ll just make your own life boring and exhausting. Life is meant for us to enjoy and explore. So why don’t we?”