WHISKEY appreciation was on the menu when 20 twin town members from Monmouth headed to Germany for a five-day visit.

That’s because the Waldbronn Twinning Club invited along their town’s Whiskey Appreciation Club for the farewell dinner, as hosts and guests raised a glass to 31 years of twinning.

This year it was the German club members’ turn to play host, and the Monmouth party, which included members from the Forest of Dean, travelled to Waldbronn on Friday, June 9, flying from Birmingham to Frankfurt.

From there, they were transported by three new bright red mini­buses, courtesy of the Waldbronn Fire Brig­ade to meet their hosts, many of whom have been firm friends of their visitors for years.

On Saturday afternoon, the first excursion was to a picturesque former mill, now a restaurant, in the town of Stettfeld serving traditional flammkuc­hen – which is similar to pizza – and beer and wine.

The Baden area is the third largest wine producing region in Germany and, having the warmest climate, it produces most of Germany’s red wine as well as famous whites.

Sunday had a leisurely start with an excursion to a garden show in the picturesque village of Bad Herrenalb, followed on Monday by a coach trip to Pforzheim to take in the spectacular 360° Panorama of Ancient Rome artwork displayed inside a disused gasometer.

The artwork by Berlin-based artist Yad­egar Asisi is huge, being 110m around by 35m high with a 17-metre viewing platform in the centre.

After lunch in a nearby beer garden, the party travelled to the hilltop spa resort of Bad Wildbad. Ascending to the top by funicular railway everyone experienced the treetop walkway ending in the 40m-high viewing platform with magnificent views over the Black Forest.

Monmouth party spo­kesman David Evans said: “The quick return option was a 55m tunnel ride (flume) to the bottom, but not all chose that route.”

The evening took in a hilltop restaurant with a view of the Bad Wildbad hinterland 300 metres below the patio, while Tuesday was spent with host families or visiting the idiosyncratic Transport Museum in the nearby pretty village of Marxzell.

Mr Evans said: “The visit was concluded on Tuesday evening with an excellent community barbecue, where Richard Bond, chairman of the Monmouth club, presented a commemorative plaque to the Waldbronn chairman Manfred Czychi.

“The group was joined for the evening by the very enthusiastic Waldbronn Whiskey Appreciation Club, as the Waldbronn Twinning Club is fortunate in having the owner of the local micro-brewery, Lindenbräu, as one of its members who kindly donated all the beer and wine for the evening.

“The Monmouth group returned on Wednesday, June 14, after emotional farewells with many Waldbronn friends. The hospitality of the Waldbronn Club and its love for Monmouth is almost overwhelming.”

For more information about the Waldbronn/Monmouth Twinning Club, call Evemarie and Richard Bond on 01600 714357, or go to monmouthwaldbronntwinningassociation.btck.co.uk

You can also attend the club’s coffee and cake morning on Saturday, August 19, from 10am to noon at The Priory, Monmouth.