From 6 to 8 September 2024 the 4th International Servas Meeting in the Ruhr area was held in Bochum.
A total of 27 guests from Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and even from Australia and New Zealand came to the Ruhr Area where they stayed with hosts from the area. There were also 8 day guests and we all had a really enjoyable weekend together. Together with the hosts we were a group of 58 people.
Some guests arrived a few days before the meeting and were able to spend more time with their hosts. At 10.30 on the Saturday morning the whole group met at the Kumpelstreff, the café at the German Mining Museum in Bochum.
After we’d all had the opportunity to chat and get to know each other, there were two interesting guided tours (in English and German) which also took us to the reconstructed mine with its true-to-life tunnels. There we were able to get to grips with the world navigated by miners in the past.
That afternoon we all met at Kemnade Lake in the south of Bochum for a boat tour. The weather was beautiful and here too we were able to have some really good chats.
That evening we all enjoyed delicious food at a restaurant by the lake.
The weather was really good the next day too when we met in the picturesque historic old town of Hattingen with its timber-framed houses. Hattingen is a small town on the southern edge of the Ruhr Area and the old city is still partly surrounded by the city walls.
There were three guided tours, one in English and one with a medieval night watchman. As it was Open Monument Day we were able to go in and see the inside of one of the buildings.
Servas member Maria Christina then treated us to a wonderful organ recital at St. Georg Church, the oldest church in Hattingen, where she is church musician.
Lunch was then enjoyed at a restaurant in one of the old buildings. We were able to chat again and our meeting closed with a sing-along accompanied by Servas member Uli on guitar.
Once again we had a very successful meeting with lots of very nice people.
We are already looking forward to our next meeting in 2025.
Report: Claudia Miebach
Photos: Helen Heim-Hueber, Heinz Miebach, Monika Remlinger
