d 'Hammerbachtaler blouses

Enthusiastic about hospitality
Hammerbachtaler Blous'n is set in Russia

Report: Amberger Zeitung Freudenberg. (san)

The enthusiasm can still be seen in them, although they have already been back a few days. Richard Zweck, Herbert Wawersig, Franz Gericke and Herbert Freitag still rave about Russia. She was completely impressed by one thing above all: the warm welcome and hospitality that the people of Yekatarinburg in the Urals showed them.
"Absolutely positive," says Richard Zweck, summarizing the impressions that the Hammerbachtaler Blous'n gathered in one week in Yekatarinburg. He and all the other musicians in the group were very pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome they received from the German consulate as hosts, but also from the Russians. The group was well looked after by the consulate team in Yekatarinburg, said Gericke.

Friendly welcome

Consul Markus Forster, who incidentally comes from Ammersricht, accompanied the musicians to the performances every evening, acted as interpreter and took care of his compatriots. "That was overwhelming," says Richard Zweck, who is happy that a small friendship has now emerged as a result. The Hammerbachtaler Blous'n still rave about the friendliness of the people in Yekatarinburg, but also about the Russian food. "It tastes really very good," says Richard Zweck.

"The impressions were really overwhelming," he sums up. None of the musicians regretted starting the trip. "After a week we said: wow!" The time in Yekatarinburg, a city in the Urals with a population of 1.3 million, was far too fast. "It was like a movie," said Herbert Freitag. In one week, the people of Upper Palatinate learned a lot about the country and its people: that the average monthly income is 800 euros, but the prices for groceries are "at least as high as ours".

Brunch at the consul's

On the last day, Consul Markus Forster had invited his compatriots for a brunch in his private house. "That's when we got to know his family," says Gericke. The musicians unanimously praise the important encounter between Germans and Russians that the consul does. And if they were invited, they would accept immediately.