In the spring or summer of 1828 Spiess went to the University of Giessen to pursue the study of theology. He at once joined the _Burschenschaft_, which had been organized ten years previously and now concealed itself under the name _Waffenverbindung_, and his active habits at once took the form of assiduous practice in fencing, the favorite student exercise.[65] Before the end of the year he had become proficient in the art. There were also many excursions with friends to neighboring peaks and castles, and an acquaintance has borne witness to the skill he displayed in all forms of physical activity—riding, swimming, skating, dancing, and gymnastics. Music and drawing, too, for which he possessed both taste and talent, absorbed a portion of his leisure. With other students he left Giessen at Easter of 1829 and journeyed on foot across the Vogelsberg to Schnepfenthal, where as a schoolboy he had met GutsMuths nine years before, and then on to Halle, there to continue his theological studies in the university. An excursion through the Harz Mountains later in the same season was made the occasion of a visit to Jahn. In Halle there were opportunities for renewed practice on the horizontal bar, the parallel bars, and the horse, and fencing, too, was not neglected; but the greatest interest was excited by certain outdoor games. For these they used to gather twice a week, and often to the number of a hundred or more, in Passendorf, singing and playing together until nightfall. About Christmas time of the same year Spiess went up to Berlin for some months. This gave an opportunity to frequent Eiselen’s private gymnasium, and though that master himself was confined to his home by illness the young student saw and learned many new exercises from Philipp Feddern, his assistant.