International Weekend

On the weekend of 25 January, it was that time again: our pupils from thirteen nations proudly presented their home country at Schloss Neubeuern. As every year, it was a cheerful, colourful and unique event for which we also open our doors to guests from the local community.
Our pupils and guests were able to fortify themselves with soups from all over the world before joining the “queue of people” that gathered on the north terrace – before entering the castle with a lot of “Tam Tam”. Pupils, staff, former pupils, parents and guests curled around our blue roundabout in a polonaise towards the main portal, also laughing. From there, it was off to the International Fair in the castle. The colourfully decorated stands provided detailed information on the customs of China, Italy, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam – and Bavaria! Dressed in their national costumes, the international pupils offered many delicious specialities that they had cooked and prepared themselves in the school kitchen. They received a little help from some parents and the teachers of the International Department. This exciting occasion not only involves a lot of cooking, but also the realisation that good organisation always pays off.
This year we were given a great honour: right next to Lennart and Leopold’s Bavarian stand, the “Volkstrachtenverein Edelweiß Neubeuern” presented its history and a selection of historical traditional costumes. In joyful neighbourhood to the stand from China and Colombia, it became visible what we learn together at Schloss Neubeuern – namely that the diversity of cultures is a wonderful enrichment from which one can benefit a lot – of course only if one opens up and treats each other cordially.
The programme then continued on a truly “cordial” note. The “Presentations from around the world” took place in the foyer of our MINT Centre over coffee and cake. Our international young people, some of whom have only been learning German for a few months, gave entertaining presentations on tea culture in China, the Mexican Day of the Dead, Ukrainian legends and much more. The guests were also given the opportunity to attend a Polish language course. In between the presentations, the pupils performed their musical talents, which finally won the hearts of those present. An all-round successful afternoon that rewarded all those involved for all the hard work and effort that went into the preparations.

Candlelight dinner with musical menu
In the evening, the party continued impressively for the castle family. In our colourfully decorated halls, Eva and Timotée hosted a very emotional evening programme. Under the guidance of our music teacher Christina Rothmayer, the international pupils performed classical music from Tchaikovsky to pop music from Ukraine and Michael Jackson’s global hit “We are the world”. With this song, the choir of all the pupils in the International Department filled the ballroom with emotion – rarely has this song been as admonishingly meaningful as in these times.
A special highlight was the “Romantic Letter” by Zhang Qu – a Chinese fan dance performed by Yuting from Year 10 and a sample from the repertoire of Daria, who recently won the Bavarian Youth Championship title in rhythmic gymnastics this year.

A special gift in honour of Julie von Wendelstadt
The Edelweiß Neubeuern folk costume association has a special relationship with Neubeuern Castle. The association’s youth group therefore gave us a special gift for the international brunch on Sunday morning. Together with their parents, nine pairs of children marched out of the castle in the pouring rain and presented some Bavarian folk dances. Excited about their visit to our castle, they gave an unforgettable performance that delighted our pupils. The old wooden floor of the ballroom stage became the purest sound box for the hearty Schuhplattler, during which the boys let it rip once again as a farewell. The sight of this local troupe brought a special glamour to our ballroom, under the eyes of our Julie – Baroness von Wendelstadt and founder of our boarding school, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.