Town twinning association visits friends in Bernburg and Trakai
BERNBURG/TRAKAI/RHEINE. An eventful Whitsun weekend full of encounters lies behind the members of the town twinning association. While the 14-member bicycle group led by Engelbert Nagelschmidt reached the twin town of Bernburg an der Saale on Saturday as planned, a small delegation in Trakai experienced the celebrations for the 700th anniversary of the twin town – and also made promising new contacts. “It was really impressive how the town of Trakai staged this historic anniversary,” reports Reiner Wellmann, chairman of the twinning association.
In Bernburg, the group from Rheine was given a great reception at the traditional Rose Festival on Karlsplatz. Mayor Sonja Ristow gave the cyclists a warm welcome and was impressed by the performance of the people from Rheine. She emphasized the long and intensive partnership between the two cities and stressed that the bicycle tour of the Rheinenser was a sporty demonstration of this solidarity. Afterwards she invited the participants of the bicycle tour to a common coffee drink on the Karlsplatz and lingered for a long time in the midst of the guests from Rheine.
Engelbert Nagelschmidt presented the Bernburg mayor with a pair of the new Rheine cycling socks. “I am overjoyed that the tour went so well and that all participants enjoyed it so much,” Nagelschmidt said. “It was a success all around. I’ve done the tour four times, but this was really the best tour of all,” Nagelschmidt said. All the cyclists were really challenged in the Goslar area on the “king’s stage”, where an ascent of 20 percent had to be mastered….
Compliments also from Nico Gosselt from the partner committee Borne, who had cycled along with his wife Marjan. “It was a great week. Of course, we had very good weather for the most part. But the most important thing was the people we made this trip with. Throughout the week, everyone was in a great mood from early in the morning until late at night,” said Gosselt, who is also chairman of the cycling club in Borne. “In the Netherlands, it is sometimes said that people in Germany have a bad sense of humor. But we can now say that’s not true. We really laughed a lot together,” he added with a wink.
He particularly praised the organization by Engelbert Nagelschmidt: “It was really perfect. By the way, the group was looked after by two helpers, Karl Laschewitz and Manfred Noack, who had always prepared refreshments at the agreed rest stops and thus made a decisive contribution to the success of the tour. A positive side effect for the town twinning association: All participants were registered for the city cycling and thus ensured that the association stands very positively in the overall standings.
In Trakai, Mayor Peter Lüttmann, Reiner Wellmann and Winfried Hülsbusch from the board of the town twinning association took part in the 700th anniversary celebrations at the same time over the weekend. The celebration began on Friday evening with the signing of the twinning agreement with Schönebeck – incidentally a neighboring town of Bernburg. On Saturday the traditional parade took place. Delegations of twin towns from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Poland and Germany took part in it. The highlight in the evening was a laser show against the backdrop of the historic Inselburg – supported by drones and other effects. At the same time, a music concert was held on the stage at Lake Galvez in front of thousands of spectators.
Significant for the current situation was a speech by the representative of Azerbaijan, who described Lithuania as a prime example of a country in which many ethnic groups and religions have lived together peacefully for many centuries. The town twinning association Rheine promised Trakai’s mayor Andrius Satevicius a support of further 20,000 euros for various aid projects in Ukraine or for the care of Ukrainian refugees. The essential part will be used for the purchase of medicines for hospitals in Ivano Frankivsk and Luczk. “We are very grateful for the high level of willingness to donate and at the same time glad that the money can be used in such a targeted and meaningful way through our direct contacts,” said Reiner Wellmann in conversation with Andrius Satevicius. www.friendsineurope.com
The town twinning association is happy to receive further support. Monetary donations can be transferred to the account IBAN DE 65 4035 0005 0000 0642 53 under the keyword “Help for Ukraine” at the Stadtsparkasse Rheine.