Fixed band for Europe

Created: 04/10/2022 13:02

By: Stephan Müller-Wendlandt

A celebratory moment, the entry in the guest book: The French mayor Richard Mallié framed by district administrator Stefan Frey (3rd from left), mayor Sontheim and the Tutzinger guild, which performed the Madison.

© Andrea Jaksch

With a cornucopia of impressions, new acquaintances and experiences, the 55-strong delegation from Bouc Bel Air, Feldafinger's partner community in southern France, started their journey home today, Tuesday.

The first return visit by a group of visitors from Feldafing is planned for spring next year.

Feldafing

– It was an evening full of surprises that the leaders of the community of Feldafing and the Friends of Bouc Bel Air association offered their guests from Provence on Saturday evening.

In the citizens' hall in the town hall, decorated in the colors red, white and blue, which represent the French nation and the Free State of Bavaria (without red, of course), the focus was on culture and cuisine.

The brass band Traubing welcomed the guests of the evening with a strong cast.

For one of the moments of surprise, the performance of a Madison interlude - a dance that is hardly known here but is a kind of national dance in France - the ensemble had obtained and rehearsed suitable sheet music.

The dancers had received instruction in the sequence of steps from dance teacher Peter Schuh (we reported).

The hosts had previously served a well-fed and crispy roasted suckling pig.

In addition, there was everything that flatters the Bavarian palate at the richly filled buffet: pretzels, farmhouse bread, savory rolls, radishes, salads, sauces and and and.

The white and blue cuisine was also a new experience for the guests from southern France.

Mayor Richard Mallié spoke of "unknown eating habits".

Which prompted his counterpart in Feldafinger, Bernhard Sontheim, to make a smirking remark: "We also eat with knives and forks."

In his speech before the entry in Feldafing's Golden Book, Mallié was enthusiastic about the warm welcome in Feldafing.

For him and his fellow passengers, it was compensation for the exhausting outward journey.

Due to a flight crew strike, the group could not fly directly from Marseille to Munich.

She had to take a machine that had Frankfurt as its destination.

From there, after a change, we continued to the Bavarian capital.

In addition to all the travel misfortunes, a number of pieces of luggage had not arrived in Munich at the same time.

The travel stress was gone by Saturday evening.

Mayor Mallié expressed pride and gratitude in front of the story.

"Who could have imagined more than 75 years ago that Germans and French would celebrate together at the Oktoberfest," he said in anticipation of the Wiesn visit scheduled for the bank holiday Monday.

Mallié spoke of a long journey since the founding of the first German-French town twin town in 1950 between Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg and the town of Montbéliard in eastern France.

There are now around 2,300 partnerships at municipal and regional level.

"There is no France without Germany, and there is no Germany without France."

Host Sontheim had previously recalled the establishment of the partnership in Bouc Bel Air in November last year.

A lot has happened since then.

The partnership association was founded in Feldafing and currently has 40 members and is chaired by Ilse Vossius.

"She takes care of the partnership around the clock," praised Sontheim.

The focus of the relationship is youth exchange, "the best basis for a common future at European level." Seven young French people took part in the district's youth camp in July.

And 40 high school students from Tutzing recently visited Bouc Bel Air.

"The growing together of Europe is not a vision for these children, but a reality they have experienced," said Sontheim.