During a weeks-long trip with Abington Senior High exchange students, Abington Township Commissioner John Spiegelman presented a plaque to Dr. Christoph Lung, mayor of the town Bad Reichenhall which is located in the southern outskirts of Germany.

The plaque symbolizes “the special friendship forged between our communities over 20+ years of the Austausch (exchange),” Spiegelman wrote. He and student Seamus are pictured above wearing the official mayoral chain of Bad Reichenhall.

From Commissioner Spiegelman’s Facebook post:

Dr. Lung was friendly, welcoming, and incredibly gracious, answering questions about his job (each mayoral term is SIX YEARS—can you believe that?!) and letting both Seamus (one of our awesome Senior High students) and yours truly wear the official mayoral chain.

According to Spiegelman, the exchange program was started almost 25 years ago by Ester Eichler, longtime Abington High School German teacher.

Abington Senior High School students listen to a lecture by Dr. Lung; photo courtesy of Commissioner Spiegelman

For updates, photos and more information on the trip, you can click here.

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