At the end of May, a party of seven Rotarians and their partners travelled to Germany where they were hosted by the Rotary Club of Soest-Lippstadt. They were joined by a group of fourteen from the Rotary Club of Harderwijk in the Netherlands, the third club in this contact group.
As usual on these occasions there was a busy programme of varied activities throughout the weekend, starting with an informal get-together and barbecue on Friday evening.
On Saturday morning we all met at Lippstadt golf club to discover how agriculture had given way to golf and leisure, followed by a friendly putting competition and lunch.
A cultural visit in the afternoon took us to the Abbey Museum at Liesborn where the Liesborn gospel takes pride of place. This manuscript has only recently been returned to Liesborn where it was created over 1000 years ago.
Another change of mood – and clothes! – was needed for the formal dinner on Saturday evening. A delicious meal was followed by speeches from the Club Presidents. The Harderwijk guests entertained everyone with their performance of how all the Dutch learn to swim – essential in a country where so much land is below sea level !!
A leisurely start to Sunday found us at a gallery of modern art in Soest before moving on for lunch in a local restaurant. All too soon it was time to say good-bye to friends old and new.
It was certainly an action-packed weekend, but there was also plenty of time for fun and friendship, two of the cornerstones of Rotary.