The Vinton WorldTrekkers recently returned home from a trip across the globe to Central
Europe, including Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, France, and Switzerland. The group, led by
Ashley Satterfield, a teacher at William Byrd High School, consisted of 10 people from the
Vinton community–Ashley and Will Satterfield, Kristi and Zane Telsch, Nathan Hale, Hudson
Cain, Dionne and Sydney Nichols, Steven Hornady, and Oakley Wilkerson.
They left Roanoke on July 14th and returned on the 26th. The group works through Education
First (EF), a company that provides student-based tours throughout the world to broaden their
global perspective.
The Vinton WorldTrekkers is a group spearheaded by Cherrybell Damasco-Farrington, an
I.T.R.T. and Spanish teacher at William Byrd High School. The two other group leaders who
make up the WorldTrekkers are Satterfield, also is a teacher at Byrd, and Dionne Nichols, a
former Byrd teacher who is now working with Roanoke City Schools. Their purpose, especially
for this trip, was to “allow the travelers to experience a culture that was different from their
own.”
Satterfield, with her husband, designed this tour with the historic locations in mind. The Vinton
travelers were joined on tour by a group of 24 from West Virginia. By the end of the twelve days
together, the two groups felt like they’d known each other for quite some time!
The 12-day trip was led by Tour Director Benedikt Urban. He is a guide and tour director who
works both in the private sector, as well as with EF. His patience, knowledge, and laid-back
demeanor quickly helped the entire group of travelers feel like a family.
Kristi Telsch, one of the travelers, stated that Urban “was extremely knowledgeable about a wide
variety of things, which was wonderful.”
The trip had a rocky start due to storms that delayed flights both here in Roanoke, and again in
Washington D.C., However, the Vinton WorldTrekkers arrived in Vienna, Austria, in time to
enjoy their full itinerary!
After two historic days in Vienna, they continued on to Salzburg and then Munich.
While in Vienna, the group toured Shonbrunn Palace, enjoyed a night of classical music by
Schubert, and witnessed the beauty of the old town with medieval origins. In Salzburg, the group
had a chance to view filming locations from “The Sound of Music”, tour the Salzburg Fortress,
and learn more about Mozart’s life.
From Salzburg, the group traveled to Germany where they spent two nights in Munich. Here,
they spent a day touring the city with time spent at the Olympic Stadium from the 1972 Summer
Olympics as well as the BMW Museum and Showrooms. Later, they spent the afternoon in the
city center of the Old Town, beginning with the Marienplatz. The following day was again a very
educational experience as the group toured the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.
From Munich, the travelers moved to the iconic Neuschwanstein Palace, the castle used as a
model for Disney’s Cinderella’s Castle, then on to Linderhof – both palaces were residences of
Ludwig II in the late 1800s. More traveling brought the group on a quick visit to Innsbruck,
Austria before they moved on to Vaduz, Liechtenstein, the capital. On their way to their hotel for
the night, they toured a Swiss Chocolate Factory. The Munz Chocolate Factory was a fantastic
way to stretch their legs and collect some treats to bring home.
The whirlwind didn’t stop there. The travelers had a busy day in Lucerne, starting with the Lion
Monument, a memorial to the Swiss soldiers who lost their lives in 1792 during the French
Revolution. Then, they toured the old town, including the Kapellbrucke, an iconic bridge that
spans the Reuss River.
A relaxing Lake Lucerne boat cruise led the group to the base of Mount Rigi, a peak known as
“Queen of the Mountains,” where the travelers rode a funicular to the peak and spent the
afternoon with spectacular panoramic views, including watching a storm get closer, hit, and
subside. That evening, after descending the mountain, the group enjoyed a traditional Swiss
dinner including fondue, Alpine horn playing, yodeling, and music and dance galore.
The next day was a day of travel, but that also included a slight detour to Colmar, France, where
the group spent the morning and enjoyed a fantastic lunch in the quaint town.
left to right are Will Satterfield, Oakley Wilkerson, Steven Hornaday, Hudson Cain, Nathan
Hale, Zane Telsch, Dionne Nichols, Kristi Telsch, Ashley Satterfield, with Sydney Nichols in
front. (photos courtesy of Dionne Nichols)
They continued on to Heidelberg, Germany, a beautiful historic city in Western Germany. It is home to one of the
most well-known castles that stands over the Neckar Valley. Here, they spent a quiet evening in
Speyer, Germany, which was one of Telsch’s favorite stops. It was a “sleeper success” –
surprising the group with a cathedral that was consecrated in 1061.
Telsch recalls that “hearing the organ music coming from within the Cathedral before the bells
rang at 10 p.m. was a lovely, surreal experience.”
From Heidelberg, the group continued north and west into Germany, with a Rhine River cruise
that began in Rudesheim Am Rhine and ended in Loreley, and touring Koblenz before spending
a day in Bonn, where they were able to tour the Haribo Factory and Showroom, and Cologne,
where they saw the Gothic Cathedral.
Here they visit the Gothic Cathedral in Cologne, Germany.
One of the most exciting parts of the trip was the sheer mix of history – spanning from medieval
to present day. The travelers visited castles and fortresses, but also churches and historic sites.
From Vienna to Cologne, there were even ancient Roman features preserved – some open to the public and some behind glass – where people could see just how established these communities
were.
In asking the travelers which location was their favorite, the answers are so varied, it is safe to
say this trip was truly enjoyed by all and held something for everyone. History, religion, food,
and beautiful views – from the heights as well as from the water – the tour was a resounding
success.
When asked what is next for the Vinton WorldTrekkers, Damasco-Farrington and Nichols state
their line-up –Stories of Scotland in July of 2026, led by Nichols, and Discover South Korea in
2027, led by Damasco-Farrington.
“Stories of Scotland” will offer a full tour of Scotland, beginning in Glasgow and moving north
and east to Inverness and Edinburgh. South Korea will start in Seoul and move south to Busan
and Jeju.
While all three group leaders are educators, their goal is multi-faceted. They wish to broaden the
perspectives of their students, but they also wish to give families an opportunity to share
adventures together and make memories that will last a lifetime. This is one key reason they
encourage the community members to join the tours.
Would you like to learn about their future tours? An interest meeting for the 2026 and 2027 tours
will be held on September 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the William Byrd High School Library. When asked
if they would encourage others to join the trips, several travelers enthusiastically responded.
Telsch, who traveled with her son, states, “This was the trip of a lifetime. It was truly one of the
best experiences of my life! I saw sites I never thought I’d visit in person. You owe it to yourself
to check these tours out.”
~Submitted by Dionne Nichols—Vinton WorldTrekkers
