Leicester Fire Fighters visit Krefeld. May 2019
Leicestershire Fire Fighters visit to Krefeld
May 10th to 13th
In this 46th year of our twinning connection with the Krefeld Feuerwehr, a party of twenty three serving and retired members of Leicestershire Fire Service set off from Birmingham airport early on Friday morning.
We were met at Dusseldorf by a fleet of red (Fire Service) taxis and whisked away to Station 2, situated near the Rhine in Krefeld. Here we were welcomed by the full Watch parading in front of their vehicles and the Union flag proudly flying from a vintage Turntable Ladder. After speeches from the Chief Fire Officer and the hosts organiser, Frank, we were fed freshly baked pizzas whilst we caught up with friends old and some new.
During the afternoon, those who wished, took a guided tour of the newly built Krefeld Feuerwehr Headquarters whilst the remainder visited the historic castle of Burg Linn.
In the evening we all met up at an Inn in the countryside just outside Krefeld called Hülser Bergshänke. Here, the proprietor, Robert had prepared a fantastic meal for a party numbering at least fifty all at his own expense and this included drinks. We had first met Robert back in 2014 by chance and so impressed was he by our twinning connection this was the third occasion he had invited us to join him at his establishment.
The Krefeld Oberbergmeister, Frank Meyer was also in attendance and made a very impressive speech congratulating us on our links. Some more speeches and presentations took place and this included a gift of a short holiday to Robert and his wife as a thank you for his generousity.
Saturday saw us meeting up at Station 2 and being loaded on to a tractor with passenger trailer which drove us to a Rhine Ferry crossing just south of Krefeld. Here we crossed the river and visited the historic Town of Kaiserwerth before boarding a tourist boat which took us down to Dusseldorf Centre.
On the banks of the Rhine in Dusseldorf we were met by two tourist guides who gave us a tour of historic sites and old pubs in the city before we finished at an establishment where our evening meal was provided. Again the Red Taxis were on hand to take us back to Krefeld but not until we had time to sample the night life of Dusseldorf.
On Sunday morning we were taken by bus to a location near the Dutch Border, here we were shown a farm which was to be our base for the day and night. With Straw filled troughs for beds, BBQ, camp fire and various outdoor games it was going to be a fun visit. However, not before we had completed our first challenge. We all boarded a farm trailer pulled by a tractor and towing five rubber boats.
We were driven about five miles away from the farm and told to split up into five raft crews and start paddling back. Just to make it more interesting at intervals along the river we had to stop and complete various challenges, most involving beer drinking.
This all took a couple of hours and gave us big appetites but of course there was no shortage back at our temporary farm base. Fun and games went on long into the night and gathered around the camp fire all you could see was a group of good friends, all national differences long forgotten.
An interesting note to the afternoon was when one of the original hosts from 1973, Heinz arrived at the farm. The previous year Frank Byrne had shown the Krefeld chief, Deitmar Meissner, A photograph from his first involvement in 1974. The chief had identified several members on the picture and one actually now lived in the village where the farm was located. He came armed with photographs of a very young Frank and many others involved in those early meetings. Some sadly no longer with us.
Monday morning dawned on some sore heads but most agreed sleeping on straw mattresses had something going for it, as long as you didn’t suffer from hay fever.
We had a plane to catch in the evening but not before we had been challenged to game of Zorb Football. Basically each player got into a large inflatable ball with only his legs protruding and then some attempt was made to play a game of football. It was all great fun and no one was sure who had won but at least it didn’t go to penalties.
For added interest and for reasons best known to ourselves the English boys had all dressed up as Bavarians, complete with lederhosen and felt hats. After the initial shock our Krefeld hosts found this most amusing.
Time for goodbyes before our departure to the airport and already the talk was of next year’s proposed trip to Majorca and what plans we had to celebrate our fifty years of links between the two fire services which would happen in 2023. Another excellent trip with new participants on both sides which bodes well for continued strong links.
Jerry Askham
