As of the end of Dec. 2017, Coburg, Germany & Toledo, Ohio are officially Friendship Cities – the first step in becoming Sister Cities. Coburg is located in the very northern part of the state of Bavaria in Germany. It sits on the western side of what used to be the East-West German border. They, like Toledo, are a glass center. The town itself is quite a bit smaller than Toledo with about 47,000 people, but it is a very pretty little town with winding cobblestone streets leading up to the fortress on the hill above the town. During the summer of 2017 we exchanged visits with them. This year 2 of our members visited the Coburg representatives in mid-April, then a group from the Bavarian Sports Club of Toledo, stopped for an overnight visit in early June. Toward the end of June, 4 of our Committee members accompanied the Greater Toledo International Youth Orchestra on a concert tour to play first at the Fete de la Musique in Steinen, Germany, in the very southwest tip of Germany and then on to play a concert in the St. Moritzkirche in Coburg.
Now some of our group will be helping to man the TSCI table at the German American Festival in Oregon, Ohio from Aug. 24 – 26. In Sept. we will participate in the 25-year Gala celebration of the Toledo Sister Cities International and in starting to work on the International Festival. Then on Oct. 6 & 7 some of us will travel to Indianapolis to be part of the Kick-Off of the Germany Year In the US, at the invitation of the German Consulate in Chicago.
We are also working on a golf game among members of both of our cities to take place both here and in Germany. Other future projects include an exchange of choirs and each local orchestra performing a piece composed by someone from the partner city and hopefully sending a buckeye tree to Coburg and receiving one native to them to be planted here. During the 2017 /2018 school year Maria Herman’s German students at Maumee High School and those at the Casimirianum Gymnasium ( college-prep high school) produced a video of their towns and narrated it in the other person’s language. We look forward to many more combined efforts and to getting better acquainted with each other as the months and years go by.
Our plans are to become official Sister Cities in 2019. We usually meet at Dave & Rogene Kohler’s house in Lambertville every 3rdThurs. Everyone is welcome. Please join us. For more information or questions or comments contact president Rogene Kohler at dkohler376@aol.com.