When I was a young teenager I participated against my wishes in a German exchange. My 'friend' and I didn't get on in fact we had a fight at Hanover zoo and I fractured my wrist punching him in the head. But we did do some organised trips as there was a quite large amount of us. One trip I remember was a visit to where they made the VW campers and vans. Here are some photos I found on the web. More on my German exchange here