Some history

The first meeting in what was later mentioned as a “multi-town meeting” was in Strassburg in 1998. Margreet and I joined for the first time in the year 2000 in Frankfurt. In our opinion such a meeting was great, and that is why we have now met more than twenty times in one of our towns.

A long weekend of staying overnight with Servas hosts and ‘do touristic things’, pleasant evenings with lots of singing and meals together, enjoying each other’s dishes (with everyone’s local touch) that we had agreed to bring with us (we have learned to call that a “potluck”). All these things together made it a golden recipe.

And that is why we have done that the same way year after year in so many different towns. A visit to Utrecht was the next in 2001 and later Trier and Mainz. Leuven joined in, as well. Until the Corona pandemic spoiled our pleasure: no meeting was possible in 2020 and 2021.

We were all too happy to see it possible again this year. The Leuven team had the feeling that the Belgian coastal town of Oostende (Ostend) would be a suitable venue. And right they were. Ostend would inspire and offer many agreeable opportunities.

Dear reader, that was the background for the multi-town meetings. This year’s (2022) was the 22nd one, and to add a perspective for the future, the Servas friends from Utrecht will try and create the sequel for 2023.

To read the full article, please click here