Hamburg-Vigo Exchange 2016- 2019

Our first trip after being welcomed at the partner school was to Vigos harbour. When we went there we got shown around and later entered a fishing boat where we were guided. On this day we learned much about the machinery of fishing boats and about the life of the fisherman, a very important job in Vigo, as it marks a big part of its industry.

On Wednesday we, the Germans, went on a city tour with the bus to visit several interesting locations. We even got an audio guide that explained the history behind several sights while we saw them. A few times the bus stopped and we could go out and explore a famous place. First we visited Monte O Castro again, this time we didn´t go to the ruins but rather enjoyed the sight from the top.  A place to rest Beautiful view from the top In continuacion we visited a beautiful park. Visiting an estate while on a sightseeing bus tour  A small measure of idyll Park laberinth Other impressions from the bus tour:  Horses dancing in the light of the sun Another quick look at the beach

Archaeological Excavation on Monte Castro During our stay in Vigo we had the pleasure of seeing the relics of ancient population in Vigo by visiting the reconstructed village from long ago, whichs foundations had been discovered and uncovered by archaeologes. A guide was there to explain to us how the people used to live there and what their everyday-life looked like. We also got a chance to walk into the reconstructed stone houses and take pictures.     The original excavations  

Walking around in Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela As already mentioned in a previous post , several seperate groups visited Santiago de Compostela, a city known to be a popular destiny for pilgrims (due to its religious importance). It was a city very different than Vigo but just as beautiful, with many different sites and actually a church at almost every corner. Sadly the Cathedral was being repared by the time of our visit as can be seen in one of our fotos.  The impressive Town hall  Ruins in a park  In the Streets of Santiago A view at the city (Cathedral in the background)

-from the German perspective- During our stay in Vigo, we had the opportunity to get to know a very different lifestyle. That was due to the many cultural differences there are between us northern Germans and the Galician people. The first example would be that the Galicians are far more relaxed . Like seriously, Germans tend to be so punctual and so exact with everything (well most of them), so it’s a relief to get to know the much more loose lifestyle of Vigo and its surroundings, where you don´t necessarily make a big deal about the 30 cents that your friend still owes you and it´s not tragic if you´re a few minutes late (I quite like that actually). On the other hand of course there are some people that take that a bit too far and sometimes you have to wait up to an hour until your friends arrive to the meeting place. They might however bring a few people with them, that you don´t know. But since you´re in Vigo, that’s okay, since Galicians are far more open . They a...

The city of Vigo, located in the south of Galicia, Spain, was founded during the age of the Roman Empire. The Romans called it „Vicus“, which means village or town in Latin. The most important part of the city during the Middle Ages was the quarter Berbés, which is now the city centre.  Medieval was a hard time for Vigo: About the year 1000, the city was destroyed by the Moors and not resettled until 1170. Attacking Normans caused more problems and in the 14th century, the plague killed nearly the whole population. But Vigo profited very much during the siglo del oro and became a rich city. But this was not the end of the destruction... - Under the leadership of Sir Francis Drake, british soldiers destroyed Vigo in 1589. - In 1619, the city was attacked by turkish pirates. -In 1702, the British came back and looted another time. - In 1808, french soldiers during the empire of Napoleon tried to overwhelm Vigo- the citizens made them move away just three months l...

We made several trips and tours during our stay in Vigo, but most where together with the teachers and where organized by them. But in our free time our exchange students wanted to show us another famous city near Vigo, so we planned a trip to Santiago.  We went there by train, which was very different from travelling by train in Germany. First difference is, that you have to put your baggage in a control which is like the ones at the airport and the second is, that they only have trains to travel to distances that are farther to get. Here in Germany we have the “S-Bahn”, which connects even short distances.  When we arrived in Santiago, we travelled through the city by foot and saw a lots of beautiful things, like the cathedral which is the end of the way of St. James. The cathedral was built in 1075 over the rest of an older church. Together with the historic city center is the cathedral a World Heritage Site since 1985. Both, the historic city center and the cathedr...

The Galician language When I was in primary school there was a study group on the Spanish language. I took part in it but we mainly danced and learned to play the guitar. After that I only ever learned a little Spanish here and there, so my speaking abilities weren’t really on the bright side when I came to Vigo. But I liked the language and was able to get around. On top of that there was also the Galician, I was confronted with it in a couple of situations. First of all, my host student took me to get to know her family. They were a lovely bunch of energetic people but they really did not speak a single word of English. While my host student was busy somewhere else, I was happy about how good of a dialogue some of her family members and me actually were able to have. After I had talked to everybody there for a little while, her grandfather waved me over to him. My host student had told me that he was the only person in the family that spoke Galician exclusively, so I was a little...

Museum of Contemporary Art in Vigo In addition to the exciting visits to all the museums, which have brought us closer to the history of Vigo, the last museum we visited was the "Museum of Contemporary Art. Vigo". During our entire stay in this art museum, a guide was available to us for the duration of our stay.  Especially the great paintings of different male artists but especially of many female artists have astonished us very much. If we had questions about individual pictures, our guide could answer them with no problems and sometimes we were lucky enough to get much more background information about individual paintings.  The most beautiful time for us all was after the guided tour, as we were able to see new pictures throughout the museum.

Located at the coast of the Atlantic ocean, Vigo is an original fishers village. The old fishing industry is still visible in the historic center, although in contrast to this the modern fish industry dominates the coast side. Vigo is worth a visit not only because its breathtaking Landscape but the culinary delicacies based on fish and seafood in order to its economical main pillar. So let the 24 hours in Vigo begin...  10 am – harbor of Vigo     We start the day by visiting the place Vigo is probably the most famous for. The harbor of Vigo. Here in the morning, it is already pretty busy. You can watch the fisher already coming back from their trip and everywhere are cranes transporting big boxes. The port of Vigo is the world´s largest and transports tons of fish all over Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and even parts of China. 11 am- Illas Ciés So now that we are already at the sea side of Vigo we can make a little...