POLAND: The European DIPLOMACY experience - Luxemburg, Brussels, Amsterdam in three days.
On the 29.10-2.11. 2007 a group of students from our school, which takes part in ‘School of Chances’ supported by Polish government and the European Union, went on a trip to Luxemburg, Brussels and Amsterdam.
During the trip we have visited many interesting places.
Luxemburg
In Luxemburg, for example, among the most interesting ones were fortifications called Kasamats. I think that even today they would be hard to built despite using some hi-tech devices.
I also admired the Notre Dame cathedral, its interesting interrior design as well as capacity inside the building.
In the old part of town in Luxemburg we came across the Center of European Information where we learnt about EU policy and were given lots of leaflets on that issue.
After that we went to the most modern part of Luxemburg with the European Union’s administration buildings.
In the evening we went to an elegant Chinese restaurant for delicious supper. Late at night we arrived at our hotel in Belgium for night sleep.
Brussels
The next day was hard but also very important to all of us. At 9.30 we had an appointment with the Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ireland in Brussels Mr Seán Ó hAodha who gave us an interview on Ireland and its culture.
When the meeting ended we went to the European Parliament which was within two minutes walk from the Irish Embassy.
Thanks to Mrs Genowefa Grabowska, our Polish Member of Parliament we could see what it is like and learnt lots of interesting things on how it works.
We were also presented a slide show and shown the place were the MPs gather for voting.
In the afternoon we saw Atomium and mini Europe where all the buildings of historical importance were there.
In the evening we could take a nice stroll along the lit streets of Brussels and admire beautifully decorated renaissance buildings and squares like Grand Place.
Amsterdam
The next day we spent in Amsterdam where I was shocked seeing the enormous amount of bicycles there! We had to be very careful in order not to be run over by one of them.
We began the sightseeing tour in Amsterdam with Riksmuseum and its astounding collection of paintings. Later we went to Van Gogh museum and admire his famous ‘Sunflowers’.
In the evening the whole city was full of light and looked really amazing.
Also here in Amsterdam we went for a long walk to see the famous Ajax Amsterdam sports club. We came back to the city center by underground.
I’m so happy that I could see all those places and meet so many interesting people. They will stay in my memory forever.
............
Bartek Krupa, student from ZSEI Swietochlowice
|
