Stefanie Evans thought American sports crowds were raucous until she saw firsthand how Germany celebrated its World Cup victory.

“It was crazy, but it was a lot of fun,” Evans said. “I couldn’t believe how excited they were when they won the World Cup. There were people crying, shouting and just celebrating. We left our World Cup party at 1:30 in the morning and they were still celebrating.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

That experience was one of many things that a group of 20 exchange students from Hartselle High School and two chaperones got to experience while visiting Clausthal-Zellerfield, Germany July 1-17.

The students were repaying a visit that the German exchange students from Robert Koch Schule, the school in that community, made earlier this year.

Houston Blackwood, a HHS teacher who led the group to Germany, said they had the opportunity to visit many historical sites around the country, including Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust memorial and remnants of the Berlin Wall. The group also spent time visiting the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, the Parliament building, the US Embassy and the Brandenburg Gates.

One site that stuck out to Evans was visiting a concentration camp in Germany.

“To know what happened there, it was a moving experience for me,” Evans said. “It is something I will never forget.”

In addition to the tours around the country, Blackwood said the students went to school with their German hosts three days.

One thing the students had to adjust to was how little the people drive in Germany.

“We walked everywhere we went and we used all kinds of public transportation – buses, trains and subways,” Evans said. “It was almost like taking a step back in time.”

The one thing that Evans will miss the most is the chocolate.

“I spent 30 Euros on chocolate while I was there,” Evans said. “Their chocolate is way better than American chocolate.”