PW_2_2019

Article

Kohlfarht IPA Bremen Germany visit 2019 André BAK , Nottinghamshire Branch In January, a group from Nottinghamshire Branch travelled to visit Kohlfarht IPA Bremen, in Germany. We were met at the airport by a colleague from Germany. He made four trips to the airport to collect our group throughout the day. Our group included Brendan from Ireland and Kiran from London, along with Notts members; John & Sue Mason, Gurmit Kaur & her guest Roxanna from the West Midlands and André & Dianne Bak.

A t our lovely hotel, the Radisson Blu in Bremen, we met friends from our own Branch’s 60th Anniversary. Then we all walked through Bremen town centre through light snow showers, to the Swiss Hotel for our evening meal with 240 other guests. Here we met with other UK members, who were seasoned guests at this event. The surprise of the evening was the entertainment; a traditional German Shanty group. Next morning we opted for a shopping tour of the town centre. This was followed in the afternoon by 240 guests lining up outside the hotel to follow a handcart carrying many bottles of spirits. We had all been given fancy shot glasses and cups, which we wore on strings around our necks. We rambled down to River Wesser and there, the traditions started. Shot glasses at the ready, everyone was cheered as we posed for photos with the local Police chief and his Police car, with blue lights flashing. We

Once the drinks started flowing the dance floor filled up, to sounds of the disco until late into the night. The other surprise of the evening was that at the Kohlfahrt they appoint a new King and Queen every year. A lady called Chris, who is the wife of Steve Gale from Region 6 UK Section, became Queen for the year. This ended the Kohlfahrt, but some of us spent Sunday sightseeing around Bremen. Then on Monday we visited the States Police HQ, arranged by our German colleague Nils from IPA Bremen. There we saw the indoor shooting range and handled some firearms. We had a Cybercrime presentation by Nils and then went on to visit the Helicopter and the Traffic departments . A big thank you to IPA Bremen for making this visit so memorable.

had a steady meander along both sides of the river. Along the way we met lots of other groups, who were following their own hand carts and exchanging drinks as they passed. Everyone was so friendly and it was a great atmosphere. Eventually, some three hours later, we arrived at our bus, to be taken to our evening’s event. Our group had a full table and we were made extremely welcome by everyone in attendance. This was an all-inclusive evening so no need to worry about whose round it was. In fact I remember seeing three bottles of Bacardi on our table at one point. The food was plentiful and drinks were like an open tap.

POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.2, 2019

15