The partnership associations in the Ebersberg district have had to cancel their travel plans not just once, but twice because of the corona pandemic. The longing to finally be able to hug friends from abroad again after waiting so long is all the greater. Some partnership committees are already in the planning stage, while others are still hesitant. How confident are the twinning clubs that it will finally work out this summer? What is planned?
“The desire to see each other is great on both sides,” says Michael Baier from Vaterstetten, chairman of the partnership association with the Croatian municipality of Trogir. And given the current status, he sees no reason why the exchange cannot take place this year. “At least we are more confident than last year. Nevertheless, we have a pandemic and an exciting global political situation,” says Baier. Although he cannot see into the future either, the planning is already underway. Anyone interested can register for the trip from April.
“When we meet again, we have to hold ourselves back so that we don’t hug each other too much.”
The partnership between the community of Vaterstetten and Allauch in France is also preparing for a trip in June. Chair Ursel Franzel is optimistic that the exchange can take place this year. “We all have a great longing for each other after being thwarted for two years,” says the 77-year-old. And: The partnership is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. “In this long time, many friendships have been formed,” she says.
It’s been a long time: Father Stettener and guests from Allauch having a picnic at the Reitsbergerhof.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
“We also had some Zoom meetings, but it’s just not the same. When we meet again, we have to hold ourselves back so that we don’t hug each other too much.” The group of cyclists from Vaterstetten also wants to get back on the saddle this summer and take on the thousand kilometers to the French city. At a joint Bavarian evening, all arrivals will then celebrate the big reunion in France. In order to bridge the waiting time until June, the Jumelage is planning a special event each month on the occasion of the anniversary: In March there will be a French wine tasting in Vaterstetten.
Host families wanted
“We have the same plan as two years ago,” says Edeltrud Schickl, chairwoman of the Ebersberg partnership committee in Yssingeaux, a French town in Auvergne. “In the last few years we canceled the exchange with mutual consent. Now we hope that the French will come to Ebersberg this year,” said the 68-year-old. It should be ready in the last week of July. The program has already been worked out down to the last detail: a beer reception, a joint dinner, bathing excursions and a visit to the chocolate factory in Rott – there should be something for everyone here. “The hunger for exchange is great,” says Schickl. She is very much looking forward to the visit of the French. If you want, you can register as a host family.
In 2018, the town twinning of Ebersberg and Yssingeaux celebrated its 20th anniversary.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
“This year, for the first time, we have also planned a program for schoolchildren,” says Schickl. In recent years, the demand for German lessons in the French partner city has fallen sharply. The exchange aims to rekindle the young people’s interest in the language.
Other partnerships are less confident
However, other partnerships in the district are more reserved. In Poing, for example, where there is a friendship with the Croatian town of Poreč. In any case, Mayor Thomas Stark says that the current corona situation continues to determine freedom of travel. A visit by a larger group from Poing to the partners in Poreč is therefore currently not planned.
At the celebration of the anniversary of the partnership between Grafing and St. Marcellin in 2018, there was a chain of hands through the entire hall.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Udo Helmholz from the Grafinger partnership with Saint Marcellin also reports that so far there are no concrete plans for encounters or a student exchange. Although the French partners have been invited, there has not yet been a firm commitment. A joint project by young musicians from Grafing and France is being planned for 2023. Then it should work for sure.