As the first event of the DACH National Week, the Swiss Society organised a "Soirée Suisse" on Monday. After a brief presentation about Switzerland, providing the College with the most important information about the little grey zone in the centre of the EU map, our three Swiss fellow students organised an interactive and very informative quiz. Finally, everyone was invited to join a little taste of Swiss products in the foyer.
On Tuesday, an interactive language crash course prepared everyone for the rest of the DACH week. In only one hour everyone learned how to order a beer in German, how to flirt with a German and how to get out of trouble if things go wrong. These new skills definitely came in handy at the party on Thursday...
On Wednesday, the DACH team prepared a traditional Kaffeeklatsch offering a wide range of classics such as Apfelstrudel, marble cake and Streuselkuchen for those customers of the Phoenix Café with a sweet tooth. Staffed with German speakers, the café turned into a practical lesson on how to apply the phrases from the language course: "Ein Stück Apfelstrudel und einen Cappuccino bitte". "Gerne. Das macht dann 3 €." But not only cake lovers were spoiled: seemingly odd to some, our Mettbrötchen – bread rolls with raw minced meat and topped with a slice of onion – went down very well for those who dared to try. And oh, how mouthwatering after an intense day of baking!
On Thursday, we continued the culinary success of the day before and brought German and Austrian food to the student restaurant: in addition to Flädlesuppe – a bouillon with strips of pancake, which is particularly popular in southern Germany and is also known as Frittatensuppe in Austria, we offered traditional German meat rissoles with dumplings, red cabbage and sauerkraut, as well as Swabian green spelt fritters for vegetarians as our main courses. We also spiced up the salad bar with pasta and potato salads – what else! Another highlight was definitely the Kaiserschmarrn we served as dessert. Mahlzeit!
After so much food we were really thirsty – off to the bar! On Thursday evening, the Yellow PubMarín played the sounds of well-known German party music. Our fellow students were visibly surprised that we actually can have a lot of fun after all, especially when German schnapps is poured down our throats with a watering can. Those who still remember it today, drank and danced too little!
On Saturday night, the highlight of the DACH National Week finally followed: The EUROPABALL. What we had all been looking forward to for so long, finally came true: The whole College dressed up to show off the waltz 
skills we had acquired during the tailor-made dance classes on Tuesday and Friday. Inspired by the Vienna Opera Ball, volunteers of the DACH Society opened the ball with a classical choreography. Accompanied by music from a live orchestra, everybody then waltzed for hours and hours until dawn. What we remember is that when the last ones left O’teur, it had already been bright outside for quite a long time... what a wonderful memory!
The DACH week came to an end with a screening of the Oscar-winning movie Das Leben der Anderen on Sunday night at Oliebaan. The audience did not only enjoy the compelling movie, but also used the opportunity to discuss the persisting differences between East and West in contemporary Germany.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of our events and hope you all had at least as much fun as we did!