Each year, Delbarton hosts a student exchange program with German university prep school Bildungszentrum Markdorf in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. The exchange is one of the many global travel experiences that Delbarton offers through our Global Programs. promotes cultural understanding, learning/improving understanding of German in an authentic environment while appreciating the history, culture, and natural beauty of Central Europe. Enjoy Coulson Conn '26's account of his summer 2024 adventure in Germany.

From the day after school ended on June 5th, Finn Loughrey '26, Evan Saik '26, Tommy Murphy '26, and I were put into a world of new, exciting, and foreign experiences in Germany. None of us spoke much German, but we didn’t need to in order to have an amazing time.

Unlike some other trips that Delbarton runs, this exchange saw us staying with host families that we met when they came over here to America in April. I stayed with a girl named Noemi, and it was really fun being with her and her family, playing board games, and going on trips on days off. Not that we had many days off—the schedule was packed!

We visited three countries, over a dozen towns (excluding ones my host family brought me to), and saw so many churches I could write an essay on them that would fill AP paper requirements! We saw amazing castles, from the towering beauty of Neuschwanstein to the more modernized castle Hohenklingen in Switzerland. We saw incredible wildlife, like monkeys and storks. We even got to swim in Lake Constance, attend one of the world’s best theme parks (Europa Park), and were featured in the local newspaper. Even the long car rides weren’t boring, as my Delbarton brothers were there with me, and we all struggled for the “Rider” game high score.

I think my favorite moment of the trip was in castle Hohenklingen, where there was a dark room with a deep chasm you were supposed to look down. I won’t spoil what’s down there, but experiencing that together with Tommy, Evan, and Finn definitely made it more special. A close second would be between the Rhein Falls, the biggest waterfall in Europe, and a trip with my host family to the city of Ulm. Europa Park is another close third, with amazing rides and each section being themed around a different European country.

When it was time for the exchange to end on the 20th of June, we made a connecting flight to Paris and then to the United States. I, however, stopped in Paris for a family trip. My dad, who ran the German Exchange, flew back nine hours after just flying that time, accompanying the other guys to America, all to meet the rest of my family and me there. In Paris, we met up with the French exchange for a day, seeing the Catacombs and Notre Dame. After that, we ate a final dinner, full of frog legs, snails, and beef tartares.

The French exchange had more students than the German Exchange did, but the fun and bond of the students didn’t seem affected. Overall, the trip was sensational, and I cannot recommend the German (or French) exchange more if you are looking for the experience of a lifetime!