Students:Tuesday, Day Four

Today was the German Day. We caught a rental bus from the town square and were transported over the border to the toy producing town of Seiffen. Dropping into the house of the local pastor, Michael Harzer, the students heard a presentation from Herr Harzer on the history of the local region and town, which included a discussion afterwards with local resident, Herr Peetz, an 83-year-old who has lived in Deutschneudorf his whole life and as a boy used to accompany his post master father on mail runs into Sudetenland on the Czech side of the border.

Dr Jens Uhlig also delivered a presentation on regional planning from a Saxon perspective. Lunch was had at a local restaurant called Pyramid, which represented the famous local Christmas decoration which resembles a circular pyramid with rotor blades on top that are driven by the hot air emitted of candles placed on the base.

Herr Harzer then returned to guide the student group around the most interesting sights of the town, including the huge holes created in the 16th century as a result of tin mining. An ampitheatre created by this activity was the venue for an impromtu singing performance by Herr Harzer and his young children. The tour ended with a visit to a local toy manufacturing factory that specialised in miniature toys, and in particular miniature carriages, and which included a talk from the factory owner on the history of his manufacturing business.

Finally, the students got an opportunity to wander the town by themselves and make some purchases before catching the bus back to HSK at 4.30. The day ended with presentations of the results of the previous day's stakeholder mapping, and a compilation of key comparative points on both sides of the border on the summer school wiki.