The journey full of experiences began for a group of students and teachers from Banská Bystrica on Friday evening. They spent the morning in their classrooms and in the evening set off to gather experiences and memories at their new partner school in Valmorea, Italy, in the Como region. Since traveling by train in Slovakia is often associated with surprises that few people need when traveling several hundred kilometers across Europe, the Erasmus+ team decided to use the services of a private carrier, which transported them safely and on time to the train station in Vienna.
From there, the eager group took a night train in a sleeping car to Venice. Well-rested, relaxed, and full of anticipation, the students and teachers set out to discover the beauty of this historic and tourist-friendly city. In four hours, they visited St. Mark’s Cathedral and museum, walked across the Rialto Bridge, and tasted authentic Italian pizza. And all this in picture-perfect weather. From Venice, the journey led almost directly (with only two changes) to Varese, where the students’ eager project twins and their parents were waiting for them. After a few shy seconds, the right pairs were found, and the adventure could begin.
The partner school from Augsburg began its journey on Saturday morning. With suitcases full of expectations (among other things), they boarded the train and traveled via Zurich to Lugano. Here they spent three interesting hours not only with a break for a tasty lunch, but also with interactive discovery of the city’s historical attractions using the ActionBound app. From there, the group set off to Varese where they were warmly welcomed by their project twins.
Given that the project focuses on a highly topical global issue – climate change – both partner schools decided to use green modes of transport, as recommended by the European Commission. These include using low-emission, sustainable transportation—such as trains, buses, carpooling, or bicycles – for most of the journey to and from the host destination. It aims to reduce the environmental impact of this student mobility.
