Friendship Force is a non-profit international organisation promoting cultural understanding and education through homestay journeys.
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Home hospitality marks the difference between travelling as a tourist or being immersed in another culture.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Day 4 ………… FREE DAY.
A day of different activities for ambassadors and hosts. Various suggestions were put forward, so the options of what to do were many and varied. So much to see and do in the Blue Mountains; it’s not just dramatic scenery, bushwalks and cascading waterfalls. The area is dotted with picturesque historic villages, galleries and gardens, providing a plethora of different things to see and do.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Day 3 continued.
Another Day 3 excursion to Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens for two of our ambassadors and their hosts. Then at the end of another lovely day weather wise there was a pot luck dinner for 16 at Faye and John’s house, where a convivial evening was enjoyed by all who attended.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Day 3. Zigzag Railway
Most of the group took a 90 minute ride on the Zig Zag railway near Lithgow. Established in 1869 it linked Sydney with Western N.S.W. and was a marvel of engineering in its day, easily traversing spectacular mountainous country. Nowadays this heritage listed railway offers visitors the chance to step back in time to enjoy the thrill of steam train travel just like it was in the past.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Day 2 continued.
After spending time at the historic Hydro Majestic Hotel, our ambassadors and their hosts enjoyed discovering some of the magnificent vistas of the Blue Mountains. There were other delightful places to discover as well, to enjoy a meal or a warming glass of mulled wine.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Day 2: Tour of the Hydro Majestic Hotel.
Our ambassadors and hosts enjoyed a tour of the Hydro Majestic Hotel, an iconic and historical hotel stretching just over a kilometre, along an escarpment overlooking the Blue Mountains Megalong Valley. Opened in 1904, it was Australia’s first health retreat and quickly became popular with celebrities like the opera divas Dame Nellie Melba and Joan Sutherland and other celebrities from across the world - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to name just one. This heritage listed hotel boasts an unusual mix of heritage styles, including Art Deco and Edwardian, with a key feature being the Casino dome, bought in Chicago and shipped to Australia.
BLUE MOUNTAINS JOURNEY: Meet and greet afternoon.
A ‘Welcome to the Blue Mountains’ afternoon at Springwood Sports Club for our 9 FFSC ambassadors. Getting to know each other over some refreshments in an ambient atmosphere and the first opportunity for our club members to acclimatise to the much colder mountain temperatures than what we experience here on the Sunshine Coast.
Special thanks to Tony, our club’s publishing and multimedia guru, who for many years has been Editor of our club’s monthly newsletter, Sunseeker. He has also put together the Journey booklets with bios of ambassadors for outgoing journeys or host bios for incoming ambassadors. Christmas lunches always feature a video created by Tony of journeys that have taken place during the year and other club events such as picnic meet-ups, dine-outs and other special club occasions. Anniversaries, like our club’s recent 35th Anniversary have also been commemorated through his editorship. A big thankyou to you Tony from all members of the club, as you retire from the position of Editor!
JULY DINEOUT at BUDERIM TAVERN:
It was a cold and windy winter’s day outside but warm and cheerful inside, with a tasty winter menu being served at the Buderim Tavern. Thirteen club members enjoyed the ambience and were able to wish Jean a HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Saturday with drinks all round. It was lovely that Gayle was able to pop in for a chat too.
Our club President Jane and Vice President Jeff recently met with the new Sunshine Coast Mayor, Rosanna Natoli to formerly thank her for accepting the role as Honorary Patron of our club. It was an opportunity to discuss meeting with our Canadian Ambassadors from Manitoba when they visit us in November.
PICNIC MEET- UP at ALEXANDRA HEADLAND:
What a perfect Queensland winter’s day for a picnic and what a perfect location! Some members enjoyed sharing lunch together on an absolutely brilliant winter’s day at one of the many Sunshine Coast’s beautiful beach picnic spots.
Two of our club members are enjoying themselves on a Global Journey in Romania. They added this Global Journey on to our club’s recent week in the Schleswig Holstein area of Germany, as guests of FF Hamburg and then FF Lübeck.
HAMBURG and LÜBECK JOURNEY: The Free Days.
We had a free day during both Journeys when our hosts or co hosts took us out to various places, that were not on the week’s program. So we all enjoyed going on different outings and finding out afterwards from the others where they had spent the day. Below are some photos of places visited, together with some random photos, just because they show what a good time we all had, during the 2 weeks we spent in the Schleswig Holstein area of Northern 🇩🇪 Germany.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: Farewell Dinner continued.
What an enjoyable evening it was. Some members of FF Quebec also came to dinner. Two of our members had been on a Journey to Quebec a few years ago, so it was a pleasure for them (and for the rest of us present) to have them join us for this occasion.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: Farewell Dinner.
They say ‘all good things must come to an end’, and so it was that we had to say good bye to FF Lübeck, after a wonderful week of getting to know our hosts and other club members, through the various activities this active club had organised for us. We have made new friends will take home special memories our time spent in this historical town in the Schleswig Holstein region of Northern Germany.
Here we all
LÜBECK JOURNEY. A day at TRAVEMÜNDE.
On the final day of our Lübeck Journey we caught the train from Lübeck Hauptbahnhof (Cetral Railway Station) to the beach at Travemüde on the Baltic Sea. The weather was nowhere near warm enough for any of us to go for a swim and in fact we didn’t see anyone venture into the calm water. However some of us did test the water with our hands and/or feet; the consensus ……. FREEZING!
DINE-OUT at BULLCOCK BEACH:
While 14 members of our club have been enjoying Lübeck as the 2nd phase of a Journey to the Schleswig Holstein region of Northern Germany (Hamburg being the 1st phase) others members at home on the Sunshine Coast have enjoyed a Dine-out at Aqua Restaurant, Bullcock Beach, CALOUNDRA this week.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: Border Museum at Schlagsdorf.
This museum tells the story of the border between East and West Germany from 1945 to 1990, from the perspective of the people living in the border area. The border lasted for almost 40 years, with consequences for people living on both sides. The outdoor section, a short walk from the Museum building, features a watch tower, part of the original fence and other original devices have been relocated here.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: “Gläserne Molkerei”.
A pleasant drive out of Lübeck’s city limits and we were in fertile farmland. Several crops are well and truly on their way to maturity now; wheat, corn barley, to name but a few. The dairy was surrounded by fields with various wildflowers in bloom, as well as farms.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: Sharing hobbies.
We joined individual Lübeck members for an afternoon to learn about their hobbies. These included felting, crocheting, painting, quilting, rock and fossil collecting, community gardening and sailing.
LÜBECK JOURNEY:
We spent the morning at Helmut Naujoks Tannery; estblished 70 years ago by the present owner’s father. Helmet is the 7th generation of tanners in his family.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: Afternoon walk through another part of the Old Town.
After lunch Ingrid shared her knowledge of Lübeck’s rich history again. We wove our way through many more streets and lanes, marvelling at more of the town’s historical architecture and hidden residences, with their tiny courtyard gardens alive with colourful spring blooms.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: St Mary’s Church (Marienkirche).
St Mary’s started as a Roman basilica but during the 13th century it was converted to a Gothic cathedral constructed of brick. In March 1942 on Palm Sunday evening, St Mary’s was almost completely destroyed by fire. Reconstruction of the church began in 1947 but the bells remain in a shattered heap, in the exact position they fell during WW2. Marienkirche towers over Lübeck, dominating the city’s skyline with its twin copper spires.
LÜBECK JOURNEY: A tour of Lübeck City Hall.
What a beautiful building the Lübeck TownHall is; (German name - The Rathaus). The President of Lübeck gave a welcome speech, while we enjoyed some wine and marzipan chocolate. Then he took us on a tour of the building before he had to attend a meeting. The President was able to tell us about some of Lubeck’s history, highlighting that it was once a very wealthy European city, due to it being a sea trading port.
LÜBECK JOURNEY:
Ingrid from Lübeck’s club took us all on a very detailed walking tour of Lubeck’s old town, so we were able to access parts of the town we would never have found, had we been exploring on our own. We walked through some very old low tunnels to access some enclosed courtyards where delightful old houses are still inhabited. We were impressed by the Spring blooms of the courtyard gardens. The sound of church bells loudly and persistently tolling alerted us to an event happening in one of the churches, which turned out to be a large Confirmation ceremony.
LÜBECK JOURNEY:
Lübeck, situated on the German Baltic coast, is a much smaller city than Hamburg with a population of less than 250,000. The historic old town which is located on a built up island is an extensive UNESCO World Heritage site. It has the highest number of tall church steeples in the world! The city is dominated by 7 church towers from its 5 main Protestant churches. Lübeck is also a university town with the University Medical Centre, Schleswig Holstein, a Techical University of Applied Sciences and the Lübeck Academy of Music.
THEATRE EVENING ………… ‘ALLO ALLO’:
Whilst some of our club members are being hosted in Germany 🇩🇪 on a 2 phase journey, some other members back on the Sunshine Coast have enjoyed a theatre production of ‘Allo Allo’ put on by the Caloundra Chorale and Theatre Company.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: Stefanie’s Beatle’s Tour.
Stefanie interspersed her anecdotes about the Beatle’s time in Hamburg with renditions of some of their hits, accompanying herself on the ukulele. The tour was a nostalgic trip back in time for all of us who grew up when the Beatles were at the height of their career.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: Stefanie’s Beatles’ Tour.
Live entertainment at the Indra Bar from Stefanie; a great singalong atmosphere.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: Stefanie Hempel’s Beatles Tour:
What a memorable afternoon we had visiting the sites in St Pauli, where the Beatles performed many gigs in the early 1960’s. Stefanie is a musician herself, so after giving us some history about the various clubs and venues we stopped at, she would sing one of the songs that the Beatles performed night after night, accompanied by her ukulele. At the end of the tour we gathered at the Indra Club, where after refreshing drinks, Stephanie gave a concert 🎵🎼🎶 of more Beatle’s hits, this time accompanied by her acoustic guitar. We all sang along to many of the group’s greatest hits. Summing up Stefanie’s tour is an interactive, enthusiastic hommage to one of the greatest bands of all time; we all loved it!
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LÜBECK JOURNEY: Farewell Dinner. They say ‘all good things must come to an end’, and so it was that we had to say good bye to FF Lübeck, after a wonderful week of getting to know our hosts and other club members, through the various activities this active club had organised for us. We have made new friends will take home special memories our time spent in this historical town in the Schleswig Holstein region of Northern Germany. Here we all
HAMBURG JOURNEY: Stefanie’s Beatle’s Tour. Stefanie interspersed her anecdotes about the Beatle’s time in Hamburg with renditions of some of their hits, accompanying herself on the ukulele. The tour was a nostalgic trip back in time for all of us who grew up when the Beatles were at the height of their career.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: Stefanie’s Beatles’ Tour. Live entertainment at the Indra Bar from Stefanie; a great singalong atmosphere.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: City Hall continued; the beautiful dome.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: City Hall continued: There were lots of questions from our club members and Hamburg club members about the workings of the Parliament as well as the artistic components of the rooms.
HAMBURG JOURNEY: More on City Hall. The interior of the City Hall is very elaborate. The guide was excellent and explained the significance of each of the rooms and the art works within. The craftsmanship on show in the decoration and furnishings was awe inspiring.
DAY 7: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: FAREWELL DINNER continued: Our ambassadors got lots of our members up to follow them in a dance; it was great fun for those who joined in and equally so for the spectators!
DAY 7: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: FAREWELL DINNER continued: We were entertained by our ambassadors firstly with a lovely Japanese song, whose tune was definitely familiar 🎼 🎶🎵 (see video below) A dance followed, encouraging all present to follow behind, attempting to mimic our ambassadors movements. Many of our members joined in, in what turned out to be rather like a long conga line (video # 2 - next post) which circumnavigated the room, giving those that joined in plenty of time to follow the choreographed movements with some degree of success.
DAY 7: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: CALOUNDRA - Shelly Beach to Kings Beach. After the sausage sizzle, when the rain had cleared and conditions had improved we went for a walk with our ambassadors along the Caloundra Headland Memorial Walkway. This trail showcases the coastline and along the way there are memorial sites dedicated to those who served defending our nation in various conflicts. Over 2,000 plaques commemorating the service of Defence personnel line the pathway as well. Coral explained the significance of the walkway when we stopped at one of the memorials and our ambassadors told us something of how they commemorate victims of the terror inflicted on their city at the conclusion of WW2.
DAY 7: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: Happy Valley to Kings Beach, CALOUNDRA ………… (to be continued). The wind blew 💨 and heavy rain squalls 🌧️ descended, so the treasure hunt walk to Kings Beach had to be aborted before it was finished. Plan 2 was decided upon and we were all ferried by car to the undercover picnic shelter at Shelly Beach, where the planned lunch-time sausage sizzle became brunch. Miraculously the foul weather slowly subsided and by the time the sausage sizzle was ready to be served, the rain had stopped with a hint of sunshine peeping through the leaden skies 🌥️. The wind died down a little bit too 🌬️and by the time we had finished eating, we were able to do a walk back along the coastal trail towards Kings Beach.
DAY 5: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: Q CAMELS. 🐪🐪 (DAY 4 - Out and about in Noosa coming after Day 5 posts) Q Camels is the world’s only organic dairy; it produces the world’s first (and currently only) Certified Pasteurised Camel milk. This unique milk 🥛 is very palatable and has many benefits, being rich in nutrients and high in antioxidants, making it particularly nourishing. It has less saturated fat than cow’s 🐄 milk and is actually one of nature’s superfoods, rich in vitamins and minerals. All these benefits make it highly beneficial for one’s gut health. Apart from the positive benefits of their milk, the camels are lovely animals who really love interacting with humans, especially when they are offered some tasty fruit and vegetables.
DAY 3 continued: NAGASAKI JOURNEY: The rain didn’t let up, so we decided it was time to return via the Visitor’s Centre to the car park, then onward to Maleny and beyond. It was somehow appropriate though that we walked in the rainforest while it was actually raining! 🌧️
PART 3 continued: The singalong to finish off a day full of fun and laughter. A great start to 2024 and to mark our first GENERAL MEETING of the year.
PART 3 continued: The end of a great day, full of fun and laughter!
PART 3: A short excerpt from our singalong to finish off with. After the meeting was over and we had finished eating our delicious barbeque lunch, there was more to enjoy! Thanks Mike for your creative mix of well known Aussie songs. 🎶🎼🎵🎤
PART 3 continued: The ´Sunshine Clapper’s’ with their teacher, instructing all of our club members on a simple body percussion sequence, before the main performance.
PART 3: Christmas lunch entertainment featuring the ‘Sunshine Clappers’: what a talented lot we FFSC are!
FESTURI FESTIVAL continued: An energetic local Zumba Dance Group invited the audience to come up and join in. The festival was a day of fun for everyone.
FESTURI FESTIVAL continued: Our New Zealand neighbours demonstrated the Haka, traditionally performed by men before going to war, where the aggressive facial expressions were meant to scare the opponents as well as lift the men’s morale. On the other hand the Poi dance uses gentle, graceful movements and is only performed by women.
FESTURI FESTIVAL continued: Colourful dancers from Mexico.
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