England

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From July 16 to July 29, 1995 England was our chosen destination.

We travelled by bus via Passau to Cologne, then by ferry from Calais to Dover and further on to London.

We explored the british capital: Besides a city sight-seeing tour we visited the Tower of London, the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the famous Madame Tussaud's wax figures. One evening we saw the world-renowned musical "Starlight Express" written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. As a matter of course, we also got impressions of typical English pubs.

On our way to our final destination Leeds we we had a tour at Windsor Castle.

Leeds is situated in the centre of the County of Yorkshire. We were accomodated at the homes of the members of The Leeds Branch of Royal Scottish Dance Company for one week. The british hosts made up a wonderful sightseeing programme for our group. Additionally three public dancing performances were organised.

Trips to Robin Hoods Bay on the east coast, to the "Dracula City" of Whitby, to the Yorkshire Dales National Park, to the village of Grassington which is surrounded by stonewalls and by flocks of sheep as well as to the city of York with a well-preserved city centre – a great experience! On the last day of our stay we went to Beverly, nearby the city of Kingston upon Hull, where we performed for the last time on our trip to England before we said good bye to our friends.

Handing over of the official gifts by the chairmen

After a tearful farewell we went on the night ferry from Kingston upon Hull to Rotterdam. From there we went on to Cologne by bus where we stayed for one more night. The next day we went back home to Stainz.

The journey to England showed that friendships can help to unify the world.

The "Bankplatter"