Scotland-Trip
7S, 3.-11. October 2014

Highland Tour / Day 1 

On Friday, 3rd October our journey to Scotland started with our flight to Edinburgh. After a long and exhausting day we finally arrived at the youth hostel in the centre of Edinburgh, where we spent the first night. The next day the Highland-tour through Scotland began with a trip to the famous Glenturret Distillery, where we guided through an exhibition and we learnt how whiskey is produced. We also took some pictures with the biggest whiskey bottle of the world. After driving for another two hours we had lunch a Killicranckie, where we stopped to walk down to the river and had a look at the famous place called “Soldier’s Leap”. The third destination on the first day of the tour was the Falls of Bruar. There we walked around in the forest and took pictures of the spectacular falls. Our last stop was Culloden, a historic battlefield, where we attended an exhibition about the battle. This battle field was a perfect scene to pose with the Scottish flag. Some of us also walked over to the Scottish Highland cows. After this stay and a long drive to Aviemore we arrived at the Youth hostel where we spent the second night.
by Lisa Sch. and Marlene J.

Day 2

Having had our great breakfast at the youth hostel we set off for our second day across the beautiful Highland of Scotland. Our first destination on this day was Loch Ness / the Loch Ness Experience. Although we were all very tired we were also excited to learn about the monster Nessie. The museum was really informative and explained all the scientific fact about the monster and the research that had been done to prove that the monster did not exist. Unfortunately we couldn’t spend much time there because the schedule for the day was rather busy. The place we visited was Urquhart Castle, the largest ruin in Scotland. It was impressive to see the castle directly next to the loch. We had much time to explore the ruins, to take photos and to climb on the castle walls.
Our next stop was Fort Augustus, where we had a short lunch break and we had the opportunity to walk around the old town, which is famous for the Caledonian Channel which divides it. Here we could also observe the sluices open and boats pass.
After a short bus trip to Glencoe we arrived at the visitors’ centre, where we learnt even more about Scottish history. Not far from this place we took a group photo with the beautiful Three Sisters (three mountains) in the background. Unfortunately this was the last destination and soon our tour ended and we drove back to Edinburgh.
There we met our host families who picked us up from the language school… …we were really excited to see who would be our host parents for the following week.
by Franziska S. and Jakob G.

Students’ comments on the week in Edinburgh:

“My expectations were topped. The Highland tour was rather amusing and I was impressed by the landscape. Furthermore, our host grandma was very kind and she cooked delicious main courses for us. “ Fabian M.

“During the first two days we had a tour across the Highlands. I enjoyed the beautiful landscape most. We met a lot of interesting people and I had a good time at school. For example I learnt a lot of phrases that Scottish people use. For instance they say “cheers” instead of “thank you”.
It was a really new experience to stay with host families and we learnt a lot from the many conversations we had with our families. I recommend visiting Edinburgh to everyone. It was a nice trip , Scotland is beautiful and interesting. If I had the chance to go back to Edinburgh I would take it.” Sonja Th.


“…..School wasn’t like our school in Austria. Teaching included more fun- activities. Our language school, which was called Mackenzie School, sets very high standards.
I was surprised at the food in Scotland in a positive way because I liked it – not as I had expected before.
Edinburgh is a superb place to do shopping, but you can also see old buildings, a castle and cathedral. To sum up: it has been one of my favourite trips.” Celine R.

“ The language course was a nice experience for every one of us. Nearly every host family was friendly. We also learnt a lot of new words and phrases during our stay. The best experience of the whole week was the visit to Edinburgh Castle. But I can claim that the entire city is beautiful. The organisation was good, everything went well, without aby complications and we also had a nice flight home.” Arthur F.


“Surprisingly, school was really good fun and amusing every day. After the short school-programme every day we explored the old town of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Castle was a highlight. We also visited Holyrood Palace. In my eyes it was a great week in Edinburgh and I would have liked to spend more time there.” Jakob G.

“I liked the stay in Scotland because we didn’t just sit in the class but we could see some places that Scotland is known for, like Loch Ness. I also liked the host family, or host-grandmother, as she called herself. The meals were really enjoyable and far more than enough. I also enjoyed staying in school because of its great facilities like a pool/ billiard table or table tennis. The only negative thing was the packed lunch, which was not enough or good. Altogether I really enjoyed the stay and I would have liked to stay there for a few more days.” Stefan L.

“Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. We had an amazing week. First we went on the fantastic Highland tour and we saw the breath-taking landscapes of Scotland. Then we were at host families’ homes and went to the Mackenzie school. In this week I learned a lot about Scotland and we practiced speaking English a lot. “ David B.

“The trip to Scotland was a really great experience for me. I enjoyed staying in my host family’s apartment because my host father was really nice. We talked a lot at the dinner table so it was a good training for my speaking skills. I also liked the common room in school, where we often played after school. The best thing about the journey was the two-day-tour through the Scottish Highlands.” Moritz L.

“The city of Edinburgh, with its old buildings and its shops and pubs, made quite an impression on me. We had a beautiful view of the city from Edinburgh Castle and that could only be topped by our climb onto Arthur’s Seat over Edinburgh. The bus ride from Leith to the city centre by double decker bus was always exciting and the fact that the British drive on the left side of the road flashed me every single time. The most surprising and all-over positive thing was probably the weather, which stayed warm and dry most of the time.” Axel K.

“Edinburgh is such an interesting city with lots of nice people. We visited many sights like the castle or we walked up Arthur’s Seat. This was probably the most entertaining thing we did together. The school where we had our English lessons was quite a nice place where we could play pool, table tennis or Fifa . I really enjoyed this week and I probably will go back to Edinburgh some time later.” Felix H.

“On the first two days we went on an amazing Highlands tour. We got to know various rocks, castles, battlefields, waterfalls in Scotland. Everybody enjoyed meeting the Highland Cow called Hamish. After these days we were waiting for our host families and the time passed so slowly while we were waiting because we were so excited…” Viola L.

“ I really liked our trip to Scotland! We have learned a lot at Mackenzie School and it was great fun. We learned what we were good at and we learned to be better at many things. I really liked the city of Edinburra, the old houses and castles and the nature and the sea. It was a great experience to discover it all and we learned that the clichés aren’t always true. For example I only saw one person wearing a kilt and it rained only about three times – but I think it was good luck. All in all I liked it so much that I hope to go back there soon.” Carolin L.


“ We visited the Glenturret Distillery on the first day of our Highland tour. But unfortunately we weren’t allowed to taste the whiskey. We hoped to see Nessie in Loch Ness, but of course, we didn’t. After these exhausting but unique days we went back to Edinburgh, where we met our host families the first time. In school we spoke about another topic in each lesson. No it was obligatory to speak English all the time. We had various activities after school, like the treasure hunt in Edinburgh or the visit to the castle. After these we had enough time to go shopping or do other things. In the evenings we had dinner with our host families. The whole week passed by really quickly and on Saturday we started a ten-hour journey back to Linz.
It was a gorgeous week but now the everyday life starts again.” Kathi K.