Citizen bus trip to La Celle-Saint-Cloud
4 days of Franco-German exchange
Beckum's French twin town La Celle-Saint-Cloud celebrates its summer festival at the end of June. Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich, representatives of local politics, members of the association for the promotion of town twinning in the town of Beckum and interested Beckum residents made the journey there again this year. After checking into the neighbouring town of Bougival, the first meeting with the French friends took place in the evening over dinner in the town hall of La Celle-Saint Cloud.
On Friday, a visit to "Vaux le Vicomte", around 40 kilometres south of Paris, was on the agenda. In the time of Louis XIV, the opulent castle served as a status symbol for his finance minister Fouquet. After a picnic outside the grounds, the group from Beckum took a look at the old walls and the extensive gardens before returning to the twin city a few hours later. In the evening, at the invitation of the mayor of Cellois, Olivier Delaporte, everyone met for a social get-together in the town hall.
Saturday was characterised by the French capital in the midst of preparations for the Olympic Games. After just 20 minutes on the train, the group reached "La Defence" and was able to travel quickly to their desired destinations on various lines. The participants went on walks through Paris in 3 groups and returned to the hotel in the afternoon with many new impressions.
In the evening, everyone enjoyed themselves at the summer party in the park of La Celle-Saint-Cloud with great music, German beer, French wine and Beckum sausages. The visit was crowned by the impressive fireworks display after dark. With many impressions and warm encounters in their luggage, the Beckumers made a detour to the old town of Senlis before travelling home on Sunday morning.
Once again, the bus trip to La Celle-Saint-Cloud was characterised by a friendly exchange full of wonderful experiences.