AJY Study Trips

The program organizes four study trips each year for AJY students and their language partners. On these trips, you are provided with bus transportation, guided tours, hotel or hostel accommodations, breakfast and usually one other meal a day en route. These trips vary from year to year-but the examples below are typical.

The Romantic Road
Explore medieval towns and villages along the former trading route now known as the Romantic Road. Stay overnight in the medieval monastery at Bronnbach, enjoy the picturesque charm of Wertheim, visit the castle and gardens at Weikersheim, let yourself be awed by the baroque pomp at the Wurzburg Residence, get lost in the maze of narrow cobbled streets in Schwäbisch-Hall. Learn how architecture reflects cultural trends and historical periods.

Four Countries Trip
Based in the island city of Lindau, this trip focuses on the four countries with a predominant (or very large) German-speaking population. Note the contrast between the early medieval castle at Meersburg on Lake Constance and the 19th century castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau in Füssen. Wander through the fascinating Rosengaart Collection of modern art in Luzern and enjoy the Altstadt, overlooking beautiful Lake Lucerne and the Alps. Visit Vaduz, the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein, where modernity and tradition merge. Weather permitting, an entire day is spent hiking high mountain paths in the Austrian Alps.

Berlin - the capital city
Stroll through the historic Brandenburg Gate, visit the Bundestag and climb the glass dome atop the Reichstag building, take a boat ride on the Spree past the Chancellor's new residence, check out the escape methods documented at Checkpoint Charlie, examine ancient cultures in Berlin's world-class museums. Spend a day in Potsdam and forget your cares at the palace Sanssouci. Explore the daylife and the nightlife of Berlin's many diverse neighborhoods.

Saxony and Thüringen
Trace the footsteps of Goethe and Schiller in Weimar, discover the beauty of Erfurt's Altstadt, try to fathom the brutality that took place at Buchenwald concentration camp, familiarize yourself with lively, high-tech Jena, discover the Wartburg castle at Eisenach that inspired King Ludwig of Bavaria, and marvel at the extravagance that created Dresden.