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Our adventure began on a cool and dark morning on 8th April at 3.15 am in Galway coach station. We said farewell to our families with nervous anticipation and boarded the bus to Dublin airport. At the airport we checked ourselves in and joined the long security cues. There was barely time for a Burger King before the flight but we managed to squeeze it in. We all exchanged mobile numbers in case of an emergency and then boarded the plane to embark on the first ever Archbishop McHale student exchange with Tuam's twin town, Straubing.

After a comfortable two and half hour flight, we landed in Munich airport. A bus was waiting for us as we exited the airport and the journey to Straubing took just over an hour. We met our German host families at Ludwigs Gymnasium secondary school. German students, parents and teachers all waved excitedly as our bus drew near and a fresh wave of nervous hope swept over all of us. We were introduced to the exchange partners and the teachers and brought to our new German home straight away. The rest of the evening was spent getting to know the exchange partners and host families. Some of us were brought into Straubing town to explore its beautifully quaint streets and shops.

The next morning our group met at 8 am at the school to get a bus to BayernPark. The theme park

was well-equipped with rollercoasters, go-karts, water rides, water rafting, a boat ride, drop slides,

many restaurants and more. We spent four hours enjoying the sunny park and its attractions with

our German hosts and all felt it was a great start to our trip. After BayernPark our bus took us to the

BMW factory in Dingolfing. Here we had a presentation on the history of BMW in Germany and

learned some very interesting facts about the production processes. We were offered

hi-vis vests and headphones that allowed our guide to speak to us clearly with as little

interference from the loud factory background. The tour was very impressive and we were awed by

the huge machinery as it pressed an moulded flat sheets into doors, roofs, bonnets and interior

panels.