Four members from Elmbridge joined the 2009 Friendship weekend which was hosted by club Munsterland Sud in Germany. There were also visitors from the other linked clubs, Kristiansand in Norway, Almelo in Holland and Silkeborg in Denmark. It was yet another inspiring weekend for all with lots of talk, laughter and some serious discussion.<\/p>\n
We\u00a0all arrived ion Thursday evening in Ludinghausen, and were welcomed in the Hotel zur Post with tea, coffee and cakes (funeral tea!) and, of course, we chatted!\u00a0\u00a0 We were distributed to our hosts and taken to our homes for the next few nights.\u00a0\u00a0 It was interesting to see the distances members had to drive to meetings.\u00a0 One hostess was 45 minutes from the meeting place.<\/p>\n
Friday dawned and we were driven into Ludinghausen, where we boarded the coach for Remondis, the largest industrial recycling plant in Europe \u2013 it was enormous!\u00a0 The main offices were in a listed building \u2013 very art-deco.\u00a0 We were treated to a very enthusiastic talk by their PR guru who spoke immaculate English.\u00a0 The German Government allows for only 20% of waste to go into landfill, and the rest MUST be re-cycled.\u00a0 We were taken round the plant by coach and shown (the outside and the inside) of the various sections.\u00a0 They re-cycled over 60% of industrial waste, from plastic bottles to industrial toxins, from compostables to electronics.\u00a0 Did you know that the fleeces that we wear to keep warm are made from old Coke bottles?\u00a0 This plant did not actually deal with paper or card, but with almost everything else.\u00a0 We then watched a DVD (copies available!) and had a snack (delicious) lunch.\u00a0 This company has plants all over the world, and the British one is in the Midlands.\u00a0 What an impressive way to see how re-cycling can and should work.<\/p>\n
We were taken back and changed into \u2018evening dress\u2019 and on our way to our various \u2018host dinners\u2019.\u00a0 Food and conversation were first-rate, even if one couldn\u2019t understand everything!<\/p>\n
On Saturday we drove to Munster, a lovely city, where we met the charismatic owner of a Publishing House (of children\u2019s books) who explained his work.\u00a0 But he was also a collector of ephemera from flea-markets all over Europe.\u00a0 You name it, he had it!\u00a0 His offices in a \u2018re-cycled\u2019 fire station were a wonderful eclectic treasure trove of objects.\u00a0 Lunch in a harbour-side restaurant, and then a walk around Munster Cathedral and the city.\u00a0 Home again and into glad-rags for the Gala Dinner.\u00a0 Again, a super meal with good company and conversation long into the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following breakfast in the stunning architecht designed home of Monica, we departed for home the next day and\u00a0the two of us driving\u00a0managed to get us lost trying to get out of Germany!!\u00a0 So many acquaintances sent their love and good wishes to absent friends, and the whole week-end was a delight.\u00a0 We cannot recommend it highly enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Next year we\u2019ll be in Kristiansand in Norway another opportunity to enjoy the wonderful Soroptimist hospitality of our friends.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Four members from Elmbridge joined the 2009 Friendship weekend which was hosted by club Munsterland…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"yoast_head":"\n