15 Staff + 50 Students + 1 Castle =

Schloß Dhaun. Two words which I first heard on a Warwick uni open day about three years ago, and have been reminded of at regular intervals since. Therefore it was a bit of a milestone to finally be on the ICE on my way there. To explain, Warwick German Department hold an annual 'year abroad residential school'. The lecturers fly over from England, meet the year abroaders and everyone spends a weekend together in a castle in Germany (called Schloß Dhaun). It sounds bizarre, as I realised when trying to explain it to my teachers/friends, but as one of the major selling points of doing a German degree at Warwick had a lot to live up to.

Schloß Dhaun

There was a definite feel of school trip as we arrived at the castle, found out which rooms we were in (or if we were relegated to staying in the hotel... hmph). Well, a school trip in which you haven't seen your classmates for a few months.

Over the course of the weekend we analysed some short prose by Kafka (one of the most confusing writers ever; the sort for which you need to suspend your concept of time and space to understand), had a day of translating and generally discussed our varying experiences of living abroad. There were personal tutor meetings, careers presentations and final year modules to apply for. But it wasn't all about the academic stuff.

It was just lovely to see everyone again. Between the walk, numerous coffee and cake breaks and a bar there was so much time to have a chat: sometimes to people I knew well already and sometimes to people I barely knew.

There was an open mike night which could have been awful but was actually brilliant. The lecturers sang and guitar-ed, the students sang and guitar-ed... we had an excellent singalong to Wonderwall... Even I got involved in a rendition of Is this the way to Amarillo, in honour of Marie (the departmental secretary who is leaving very very soon)... purely chosen so we could point at her every time we sang Marie! What could have been an incredibly awkward evening became a reminder of how lovely the department is.

The last night was a time to let our hair down (literally in the case of a lecturer I shall not be naming). There was a band and a bar so we had an amazing evening of dancing... potentially with the lecturers... 

Schloß Dhaun made me realise how much I like my uni department. I can honestly say that it was amazing to see everyone again, and I really mean everyone. What's so nice about being a small department is that you are not anonymous. The tutors actually seem to care, and I suspect that all the other students actually know who I am (a status which I never achieved at school!). We are all very different people, but together we form an amazing year group in the best department at the best uni (biased? me? nahhh).

I have far more memories than photos, but the memories will last for a very long time (the bus singalong, the midnight walk that never happened, the power of dance to name a few). It was a chance to spend time with everyone, lecturers and students alike. There are not many uni departments that could pull off going away for a weekend together but Warwick German definitely can. Absolutely amazing.