Lake Zurich to greet German visitors from sister city

Lake Zurich hosts guests from its sister city, Nittenau, Germany, for six days beginning Aug. 14.

A group of 31 Nittenau-ians will be in town, staying with host families and touring the area.

"They enjoy the hospitality of the hosts, they enjoy getting a feel for daily life in America," said Andrew Ziarnik, co-chair of Lake Zurich's sister city committee.

The group will get a taste of big city life as well, with a full itinerary of site-seeing arranged. They will attend the Chicago Air and Water Show, a concert at Ravinia and see Millennium Park, the John Hancock Center, the Chicago Board of Trade and more.

The partnership was formed through Sister Cities International, a nonprofit organization that promotes international community. The two towns have been sister cities for 10 years.

This will mark the fourth occasion Nittenau residents have visited Lake Zurich. Ziarnik, who is a German teacher at Lake Zurich High School, said some of his students have kept in contact with past visitors.

"There are several students involved from the high school ... they'll get to use their German," he said. "Some will host other teenagers."

Craig Taylor, a Lake County Board member and former Lake Zurich trustee, was one of the founders of the sister city partnership in 1999. He said a resident who had business contacts in Nittenau introduced the idea and both municipalities liked it.

"It was done to foster a relationship with them for student and business exchange," Taylor said.

Representatives from Lake Zurich have traveled to Nittenau. Taylor said he was there with a group two years ago for the town's 1,000th anniversary.

For the first time, a Lake Zurich High School student will spend a semester studying in Nittenau this fall. Nittenau, a town of about 8,700, is about 90 minutes from Munich.

"It's a small town, quite rural," Ziarnik said. "German towns are different than American towns, they're more compact."