THE Salisbury Xanten Twinning Association (SXTA) welcomed 50 visitors from the German city of Xanten.

Salisbury was twinned with Xanten, which is in North West Germany on the Dutch border, in 2005 and since then a number of visits have been made between the two cities.

Following the most recent trip, Sussanne Kappel, wrote an article about Salisbury for the Xanten local paper.

She wrote: “Not only was the country friendly, but above all the people.

“Our hosts were there to meet us, for some there was a big hello and pleased to see you again, for us as new-comers there was an equally warm welcome and we were then taken home by our English hosts. “Then it was all about reactivating the language from our school days - it was about getting to know one another.

“Time and time again during our stay I was struck by the kindness of the English people, not only our hosts, but also the people in the streets, in the cafes, shops or museums.

“When we had to depart the following day, we had the feeling of not only leaving a lovely country steeped in history, but also of leaving new friends which we had made.”

Salisbury is also twinned with Saintes in South West France; Salisbury, Maryland; and Salisbury, North Carolina.