The Hilbrinks from Borne and Maybaums from Rheine met more than 40 years ago
Rheine/Borne. More than 40 years ago Rolf Maybaum was secretary in the volunteer fire department Rheine. In the same office in Borne was Frans Hilbrink. Both got to know each other at a first meeting of both fire departments. That was shortly before the twinning between the two municipalities was officially sealed.
Of course, Frans with his wife Mike and Rolf with his wife Brigitte were present on Sunday at the concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the town twinning.
In many commemorative speeches, it is always emphasized that close friendships often develop from official town twinning. A great example is the relationship between these two couples.
Maybaum climbed the career ladder within the fire department Rheine. For several years, he was the city fire chief until his retirement. Hilbrink did the same and eventually became commander of the Bornenser Blauröcke.
From the very beginning, a close friendship developed between the Maybaums and the Hilbrinks. They visited each other, went on city trips together, such as to Berlin or Amsterdam. They spent vacations together, again and again also on the Dutch island of Texel.
Always only harmony between the Germans and the Dutch? Even when it comes to soccer?
Brigitte and Mike laugh: “They even wanted to watch the final of the last World Cup between Holland and Germany together on television. For well-known reasons, nothing came of it, because both national teams were eliminated in the course of the tournament. It is possible that the shared grief over the poor performance of the footballers tightened the bond of friendship between the two couples.