PW_04_2017

Professional Development

Sun, lakes, mountains Steve Bretherton Cambridgeshire branch Cambridgeshire branch members, Phil Barnes and Steve Bretherton travelled to Klagenfurt in the Austrian Alps to take part in the Mittelkarnten Branch 30th anniversary friendship week.

Phil Barnes covets number plate

T he visit in June was the latest exchange between branches in Bielsko-Biała in Poland, Wolfsburg in Germany, Mittelkarten and Cambridgeshire, going back over 10 years. Steve Bretherton said, ‘Around 20 members from Germany and the U.K. joined our Austrian hosts to enjoy a busy 4 day itinerary, which started in a completely different country as our budget flight flew into Ljubljana just over the border in Slovenia. Our accommodation, the Strandhotel Pruller on the shore of the Wörthersee Lake was first class and with daily temperatures in the high 80s a dip in the lake at the end of a hot day was a delight.

The full itinerary laid on for us included a hike in the mountains along the Austrian-Italian border organised by the local branch. We all dutifully posed for photos on the border and enjoyed the whimsical exhibits dotted around the landscape such as the three Vespas in the colours of the Italian flag on their side of the border. After our hike in the mountains we joined a huge IPA BBQ. At the end of the BBQ our hosts suggested rounding off the meal with a coffee. We agreed that this was a good idea, so we popped back over the border to Italy for a proper Italian espresso!

View of Lake Wörthersee from the hotel.

POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 4, 2017

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