International Jamborees: 1994 Report Luxembourg
1994 - International Jamboree, Luxembourg
Report by the Contingent Leader Mr J D Drysdale
Eleven South African Scouts, looking smart in their National Scarves and Scout hats left from Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg on 24 June 1994 for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe.
Amongst other activities the boys got to know all the underground Metro systems of six cities, climbed and sat on what remains of the Berlin wall, stood in red Square, Moscow and visited Lenin's tomb, went inside the Kremlin, visited the famous "Hermitage" and Winter Palace of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg (where we stayed with private Russian families), stayed in the "Hotel Sputnik" in Moscow and made good contacts with young Russian folk with whom we still correspond.
We visited the ancient city of Prague in the Czech Republic, with its famous cathedrals, castles, music - and the St. Charles bridge over the Vltava River, by far the most impressive city in Europe - full of atmosphere and charm - and of course all the flea markets with their great souvenirs and bric-a-brac. Much South African pocket-money now lines the pockets of Russian, Czech and Hungarian traders. We also paid a visit to the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich with its lively Bavarian band, and on a more sober note visited the Nazi Concentration Camp (now a memorial) at Dachau, also paying a visit to the ancient medieval city of Rothenburg.
One of the highlights of the trip was a six-day visit to the International Scout Centre in Kandersteg in Switzerland where we visited and swam in an alpine lake, climbed a Swiss Alp (mountain), slept in an Alpine hut high above the snow-line and slid down a section of a glacier on our raincoats. We met plenty of other Scouts and Guides from other countries, made friends and exchanged badges and addresses.
Another highlight was the five-day stay at an International Jamboree in Luxembourg held at Berg, which is part of the local authority of Betzdof and is about 15 kilometres east of Luxembourg City. It was attended by 4 000 Scouts and Guides and the programme included workshops, sports, hikes, camp fair and many friendships were made. We made from there, a day excursion to Amsterdam where we hired bicycles and cycled along the dykes to an old Dutch fishing village - and of course had a sneak look at their other "tourist attraction" - the Red Light District.
The lasting impressions of the tour however were the camaraderie and good fellowship of the group - the fantastic friendships made with others (lots of invitations both ways to come back and visit) and the real warmth of so many people we met. At almost every place we went people commented on the smartness and friendliness of the South African Scouts and I believe that we played a meaningful role as ambassadors for our country. Sadly all good things come to an end, and five weeks later, a very tired, but excited Group of boys came back to reality at Jan Smuts Airport to relate lots of stories of a most exciting experience.