A GROUP of 35 Droitwich residents traveled to the twin town of Bad Ems in Germany last month.
There were also 25 players from the Droitwich Boys and Girls Football Club as part of a separate event organised by Frank Holliday.
The footballers played a nearby town Azbach in several games over the weekend.
The weekend started with a welcome event in a square alongside the River Lahn where bratwurst and German beer was enjoyed while a brass band played music.
Chairman of the German Twining group David Morris spoke at the welcome, saying: “We are now, longstanding, friends who share our families and experiences. “We are united in many things so let’s enjoy our time together and our new experiences and also think of our many colleagues who can sadly not be with us.”
On the Saturday there was a coach trip to Wiesbaden where there was a guided tour of the city. The highlight of the tour was a trip on a funicular railway to visit the Russian Church on a hill overlooking the city.
On Sunday morning the visitors had some free time with the host families. In the afternoon there was a boat ride up the Rhine to Spay where there was wine tasting at a local winery. Nine wines were tasted in total, all made with grapes grown in local vineyards. The group had dinner on the boat trip back, travelling as far as Koblenz and onto the River Mosel.
On the Monday gifts, including Droitwich salted fudge and Pershore apple juice, were exchanged at the farewell dinner at a local restaurant. There were also humorous speeches, music and dancing at the event.
At the farewell David said: “A lot is made of Brexit, but whatever unfolds it will not affect our links and friendship, that will remain and be something we are always thankful for.”
The group wants to stress no public money is used in the town’s twinning association activities.
Anyone wanting to join can visit the website: http://www.droitwich-twinning.freeservers.com/ or email [email protected] for more infomation.
