Friendship Force Visit in June 2012
to
Halle/Salle, Germany and Vienna, Austria Exchange
Sixteen members of Friendship Force of Baton Rouge visited Halle, Germany and Vienna in June. Halle, Germany; a 1200 year old city welcomed the Baton Rouge ambassadors on June 1 for a week of
sightseeing, informal dinners, and sharing of experiences and food.
All of the Baton Rouge group enjoyed the trip to Dresden, Germany and were remarkably impressed with visiting the Zinger, Semper Opera House, and other masterpieces from the August the Strong era of 1694-1733. The group also visited St. Nikolai Church and Nikolai Column in Leipzig where the local people gathered and demonstrated solidarity in helping bring down the GDR regime and leading to the
reunification of Germany. We met with one of the local Halle officials who gave us a personal tour of the Tower of Marienkirche and later presented us with a token pouche of Halle salt. We ended our visit to Halle with a farewell dinner held at Pepos Kanteen located in the Neustadt part of Halle.
Traveling to Germany and Austria were Bob and Gayle Duncan, Darwin and Linda Knochenmus, Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Betty Alford, Carole Corkern, Karen Pharis, Sheila and John Melancon, Vera Martin,
Keith Corkern, and Jo Ann Wall. Mac and Gaby Mackenzie joined the group from Florida.
On June 8 we said goodbye to our new friends in Halle and made our way to Vienna, Austria by car, by plane, and by train. Informal dinners, boat trips on the Danube, and visits to Vienna's Prater were greatly appreciated by everyone. In Vienna, the city of music, the group attended Wiener Hofburg-Orchester's concert featuring the works of W. A. Mozart and J. Strauss. Earlier we toured the Staatsoper, Vienna's internationally know Opera House.
On our personally guided walking tour of Vienna we visited St. Stephen's Cathedral, Kunsthistorische's Museum, and spent a day at the grand Schloss Schonbrunn. We ended our stay in Vienna with a farewell celebration at one of the local Heurigens (local wine gardens) surrounding Vienna. Our farewell entertainment of the famous New Orleans Mardi Gras dance by our group was joined by numerous kids and adults from the surrounding tables. With Wiener Schnitzel and sachertorte and newly made friends either we are going back to Halle and Vienna or they are going to visit us. The last of the Friendship Force ambassadors arrived back in the U.S. on June 25.
sightseeing, informal dinners, and sharing of experiences and food.
All of the Baton Rouge group enjoyed the trip to Dresden, Germany and were remarkably impressed with visiting the Zinger, Semper Opera House, and other masterpieces from the August the Strong era of 1694-1733. The group also visited St. Nikolai Church and Nikolai Column in Leipzig where the local people gathered and demonstrated solidarity in helping bring down the GDR regime and leading to the
reunification of Germany. We met with one of the local Halle officials who gave us a personal tour of the Tower of Marienkirche and later presented us with a token pouche of Halle salt. We ended our visit to Halle with a farewell dinner held at Pepos Kanteen located in the Neustadt part of Halle.
Traveling to Germany and Austria were Bob and Gayle Duncan, Darwin and Linda Knochenmus, Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Betty Alford, Carole Corkern, Karen Pharis, Sheila and John Melancon, Vera Martin,
Keith Corkern, and Jo Ann Wall. Mac and Gaby Mackenzie joined the group from Florida.
On June 8 we said goodbye to our new friends in Halle and made our way to Vienna, Austria by car, by plane, and by train. Informal dinners, boat trips on the Danube, and visits to Vienna's Prater were greatly appreciated by everyone. In Vienna, the city of music, the group attended Wiener Hofburg-Orchester's concert featuring the works of W. A. Mozart and J. Strauss. Earlier we toured the Staatsoper, Vienna's internationally know Opera House.
On our personally guided walking tour of Vienna we visited St. Stephen's Cathedral, Kunsthistorische's Museum, and spent a day at the grand Schloss Schonbrunn. We ended our stay in Vienna with a farewell celebration at one of the local Heurigens (local wine gardens) surrounding Vienna. Our farewell entertainment of the famous New Orleans Mardi Gras dance by our group was joined by numerous kids and adults from the surrounding tables. With Wiener Schnitzel and sachertorte and newly made friends either we are going back to Halle and Vienna or they are going to visit us. The last of the Friendship Force ambassadors arrived back in the U.S. on June 25.
Photos of our 2012 Exchange to Halle/Salle, Germany and Vienna, Austria
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Several Baton Rouge Members went on a "Discover Amazon" Exchange along the Amazon River in the states of Amazonas and Para, Brazil in August 2012. Twenty-one Friendship Force Amabassadors from all over the U.S. and Canada spent 17 days experiencing what the Amazon had to offer. The Ambassadors were treated to a week long home-stay in Belem by the Friendship Club of Belem, Brazil.