After a flight from Heathrow and two trains six Seniors and five officers arrived in Husum in the evening to a round of applause and a welcome from the Schobüll Pfadfinder Scout Group. We were taken by our host families to their houses for our first night in Germany. On the Sunday we joined the Pfadfinder group in church for a welcome service which was in German and English. We were due to spend time in the forest but the rain prevented this, so instead we spent the time playing games with the group and getting to know them. The evening was spent with our host families.

On Monday some of the members went to School and became German pupils for the day. Three of the adults (Jonathon Salter, Tom Russell and Graham Knight) went to the local college and helped with an English class which was a great experience for both them and us. We were due to stay at the college for another class and the Boys to stay at school for longer but an announcement was made to change our visit. The storm that had hit Britain the day before was going to hit Husum and all schools and colleges were closing, and people were to go home and ride out the storm. The storm hit Husum directly in the afternoon, ripping off roof tiles, and demolishing road signs and trees. Many of us helped our host families and the neighbourhood with securing buildings and furniture, also clearing away roof tiles after the winds had died down. The storm brought us together in a way we couldn’t have experienced in any other way.

On Tuesday we went to a very wet Tönning to visit the Multimar (Wadden Sea National Park Centre) and had a guided tour. This helped us to dry out after walking in the rain from the station. In the evening we joined the Pfadfinder group for games and a meal. They gave us a presentation on their summer camp which was very interesting.

The Boys went to School again on the Wednesday as the schools had also been closed on the Tuesday. Graham Knight also went to School and helped his host Silke in the English class for the 10-year-olds.  Later on we met at the North Sea Museum and had a guided tour before going off to lunch. Afterwards we started to walk along the dyke from Husum to Schobüll but the weather had other ideas and we ended up taking shelter in a restaurant by the river for a coffee. After being rescued by the minibus we went back to the vicarage where the group meet and had waffles cooked for us which were very nice. The forest where some activities should have taken place was out of bounds as the storm had blown most of the trees down. There were some 80% of trees blown down in the forest and woods around Husum and fallen trees were all over the area.

On Thursday morning we went to the Market Service in St Marien Church and the pastor gave us a welcome and a guided tour of the church. We spent the afternoon looking around Husum town centre and buying presents. On the last day it rained again but we were indoors at the Church in Schobüll and Silke Raap who is the pastor showed us around the church and explained its history. In the afternoon and into the evening we joined the group for their weekly meeting. We took part in their activities and explained to the members about the Boys’ Brigade. We presented Silke Raap with a Boys’ Brigade polo shirt and a bouquet of flowers. From the group we were each given two badges that they wear on their uniform and these will be put on our polo shirts. To end our visit our host families joined the group and we spent the evening singing songs in German and English. Also we invited the group to Kidderminster and we hope that this will happen. 

On Saturday we left Husum on the train after a last group photo on the platform. The visit was a memorable one for us. We were not only made to feel welcome but we also felt part of the families we were staying with and part of the Pfadfinder group. The group is look forward to many more years of visits.

It has been confirmed that the Schobüll Pfadfinder Scout Group will be visiting Kidderminster in October 2014 after an invitation they received from our group.