Student Exchange Germany

Germany is an excellent introduction to Europe for international students. English is widely spoken, the country is modern and functional, and with an excellent educational infrastructure. Despite the setbacks Germans have faced in two world wars, they have meticulously restored their historic areas and forests; the smaller villages retain their quaintness and scenic treasures.

Students usually plan to spend some days in the city and evenings in some of the older, more remote towns. Include the restful vistas of Germany's lakes, ice-capped Alps, or historic coastal havens.

Students can cruise the entire length of the Elbe, from Hamburg to Bad Schandau—almost 650 kilometers (400 miles) of waterway that pass such "lost" gems as Wittenberg, Magdeburg, and historic Meissen.

In the south lies richly forested Bavaria, with its jovial, easygoing ways. The eastern alpine tableau soars up to 2,743 meters (9,000 feet), the snow-chilled source for some of the most famous rivers on the continent. Students that want to travel can sleep in any of five dozen castles or go schloss- (or castle-) hopping by the shores of the Rhine, Moselle, Main, and Weser. At Lübeck, in the north, there are the salty reminders of the mighty days of the Hanseatic League, though modernists might prefer the briny slap and dash of Olympic sloops at Kiel. And there are magnificent woodlands in every sector, not just in the Black Forest.

Festivals star the calendar, offering everything from Wagner to rock, from films to furnishings, from book fairs to toy shows. Germany is never at rest.