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Since 1990, West Lutheran has offered a 2-week European educational experience. This experience is offered to parents, students, teachers, and past alumni alike as it takes you to selected countries of Europe.  Along the way, the fun and educational content that is experienced includes the plethora of sounds, tastes, sights, and smells of the different European cultures in a 2-week whirlwind tour. Anywhere from England to France to Germany to Switzerland, the West Lutheran European trips are essentially a classroom on the move which helps enhance the educational journey well beyond your four years of high school at West Lutheran. 

You can sign up on the ACIS website. Click the "Register Now" button to register for the trip or explore the page to see what the trip will be like!


Group ID: 9362
Code: Meitner

Learning Objectives - WWII in Depth: 

  • Students will be able to trace the steps the British Army took to protect their people and parliament during the Second World War.
  • Students will view some of the most important sites during WWII like Omaha Beach (D-Day), The Palace of Justice in Nuremberg (The Nuremberg Trials), and Adolph Hitler's mountain retreat of Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest.)
  • Students will be able to reflect on the memorials that survive and explore some of the most popular cities in Europe today.

European Trip Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Who's in charge of the trip?  
    The trip is led by the world-renown travel company ACIS & Mr. Phil Meitner who has traveled with ACIS globally since 2002.
     
  2. When is the trip offered? 
    The trip takes place the spring of even years (2022, 2024, 2026 etc.), leaving the week after graduation.
     
  3. What are the accommodations? 
    Minimum 4-star accommodations in all the places the group stays.
     
  4. What is the cost of the trip? 
    The cost depends on the tour taken. Past trips have been in the range of $4600-$4900.
     
  5. What is all included with the cost of the trip?
    Airfare, hotels, transportation (bus/train/cruise ship), two meals per day, and most major sights and walking tours.  
     
  6. Can I get academic credit? 
    Yes, a 0.5 social studies credit is earned through the extensive keeping of a detailed journal which is then handed in to the group leader at the the end of the trip.
     
  7. What about security? 
    ACIS has a 24-hour global support network in case of any emergency.
     
  8.  Is there insurance? 
    Yes, there's a basic protection plan which provides medical coverage and insurance.
     
  9. Do we have a guide through the entire trip?
    Yes, ACIS provides the service of a tour manager. This is a highly trained, multilingual guide, educator, and travel expert who provides educational commentary and activities in addition to managing the travel logistics.                                         

Testimonials from Past Students & Teachers 

"WARNING: This message is meant ~totally~ as a means to encourage you, THE PARENTS, to think about the possibility of joining in on this fun, I mean VERY FUN, European Adventure with the West Lutheran High School Group!
 
“Does my head look BIG?” That is what I felt like asking people after we arrived back home from Europe this past June 2018. I was sure my head looked physically larger with all the new knowledge, learning and experience we had encountered in the previous 10-days traveling to Spain, France and England. What a fun time we had!
 
I’m not going to say that our “West Son”, now a 12th grader, was ~thrilled~ that when he signed up that WE signed up. But you know what? It’s not always ALL about them, is it? We easily disregarded his suggestion that we ‘stay home’ and in fact we even packed up his little brother, now in 9th grade at West, and brought him along, too! You know? Like a FAMILY vacation? I could feel my senior roll his eyes just now as I typed that.
 
Leaving the country to travel is ~not~ something that we would naturally do on our own. To have this trip all arranged, planned, plotted, and guided for us was extremely “sweet”! The only thing that would make it better would be to have it paid for, too! Ha! But, you only live once and you can’t take it with you… I think I’ve heard phrases like that at times in my life.
 
During our time in Europe we experienced so many things! Where does a person begin? In Spain we saw a castle, the Museum Prado, went to see Flamenco Dancers, ate Tapas and even saw an actual Bull Fight!
 
In Paris we saw the Mona Lisa and many other famous pieces of art, spent the day in the Artists area, Montmartre and the Basilica, took a scenic boat trip on the River Seine, ate Crêpes and escargot and… let’s see if THIS passes your ‘smell test; we even toured the SEWER of Paris!
 
My personal highlight was also in Paris… having ~op~ to photograph and climb the Eiffel Tower. In fact, it was on one day in Paris that my FitBit registered 30,000 steps. That, after making that daunting, exciting, exhilarating climb up the tower.
 
For the final leg of our trip we took the Train at 200 mph from Paris to London. In London we spent time at The Tower of London, took a bus tour of the city, visited the British Museum, enjoyed the scenic River Thames, went to Buckingham Palace, saw Big Ben entirely shrouded in scaffolding, and gorged on Fish & Chips… several times in fact! Yummy!
 
The trip went fast! From our first ~foggy-oh-NO!-what-have-we-done~ dis-embarkment from the plane in Madrid… to the horrific realization that “We need to keep up with this group of 19 KIDS!”… settling in to realize it wasn’t all that bad… to the phenomenal experiences!... the time went SUPER fast! Even faster than the 200 mph Eurostar!
 
As for our son who didn’t want us along on the trip? He settled in, too, to that fact that we were there. And although we spent very little time with him… he was off with his friends… we DID see him each morning when he came in search of money. So, in the end, he probably actually appreciated that his own personal bankers were along on the trip." - Rhonda Broberg ('18)
 

"The Europe trip allowed me to get out of Minnesota and explore the world" - Jillian Hanlin ('14)

"Most of what you'll want out of Europe in one trip" - Kayle Latteral ('14)

"Seeing all the different cultures was amazing" - Danielle Hicks ('12)

"Phenominal architecture and art as well as amazing food" - Rudy Nelson ('12)

"I loved seeing all the things I've learned in real time" - Tyler Krueger ('12)

"I loved all the different kinds of food we got to try, mostly the gelato." - Anneliese Preus ('10)

"This trip really showed me all the possibilities that are open." - Maggie Franz ('10)

"The Europe trip was a trip of a lifetime! I made the best memories and rarely go a day without bringing it up." - Erin Oakland ('10)

"This trip helped bring history to life for me." - Scott Anderson ('10)

"The Europe trip has enhance my teaching of Western Civilization and changed my ministry forever." - Mr. Veach ('08)

"My Europe experience only makes me want to do the trip again." - Matt Meitner ('02,'04,'06)

"Being in Europe with my classmates and close friends was the most fun thing I've ever done. The times and memories we shared together will last a lifetime." - Aaron Johnson ('08)

"It was great to see western civilization that I learned in school in real life." - Amanda Johnson ('08)

" I would so love to come back one day, it was such an awesome experience." - Julie Martin ('02)

"Europe was a great time and I learned a lot from the experience. My favorite part was seeing the colleseum but everything was AWESOME!" - Anthony Schendel ('08)

"Our English tour manager was amazing." - Nik Schultz ('02)

"It's a trip I still remember as if it were yesterday." - Peter Grubbs ('94)