In the second week of June, Lake Schiedersee in the heart of Germany hosted the annual music event with soap bubbles, beats and fireworks. It attracts hundreds of people who celebrate and enjoy the music, fun and spectacle at the beautiful scenic location. Johanniter Germany provided medical first aid cover for the event and was joined by three colleagues from Johanniter Austria.
Three Johanniter volunteers from Austria travelled to Lippe-Höxter to deliver support without borders. Karin Stampfer and Christoph Aufegger from the Johanniter Patergassen in Carinthia and Josef Huber from Johanniter in Vienna gained new impressions in Lippe-Höxter as part of the JOIN Volunteer Swap exchange programme. For the first time, Johanniter Lippe-Höxter took part in this cross-border programme with two medical services, in which the Austrian guests also played an active role. Andreas Beckmann from the local motorbike squadron had prepared a varied programme, which started with a welcome dinner on the day of arrival. Patrik Benzler, member of the regional board, and Franziska Otto, local head of emergency services, welcomed the guests and gave them an initial overview of the work of Johanniter in the region. After the first night in the Horn-Bad Meinberg youth hostel, the day began with a visit to the regional headquarters in Blomberg and a tour of the rescue centre. After lunch, the guests explored the local organisation in Bad Salzuflen and inspected the emergency vehicles. In the evening, the first joint paramedic service at the BubbleBeats Festival at Lake Schiedersee was on the agenda.
Pictures by Karin Stampfer and Andreas Beckmann
On Saturday, the German and Austrian Johanniter teams visited the Hermann and Berlebeck eagle observatory together for an impressive air show. An excursion to the Externsteine (a striking sandstone rock formation in the Teutoburg Forest makingit a natural landmark and cultural monument) completed the first part of the day, before heading to the second ambulance service at lake Schiedrsee ‘SchiederSee in Flammen’ in the late afternoon. On their departure, everyone agreed: “We’ve seen and experienced a lot and would love to come back.”
“The programme aims to expand the friendship and professional exchange through visiting internships between the Lippe-Höxter regional association and the Johanniter in Austria in the rescue service,” says Patrik Benzler. “The Volunteer Swap programme supports this by partly refund travel costs, which enables the volunteers to gain cross-border experience and learn from each other.”