Stonehaven representatives shared highlights from their weeklong trip to Athens during a twinning proclamation signing Wednesday declaring Stonehaven and Athens sister cities.

Phil Mills-Bishop, chair of the Stonehaven and North East Scotland Twinning Group, said he was “gobsmacked” by how great the week had been.

“I’m gobsmacked and overwhelmed sometimes at how well you have treated us,” Mills-Bishop said.

He explained twinning began in World War II, when Germany would reach out to cities affected by the war, but he envisioned more for Athens and Stonehaven.

“I wanted it to be something different, something real,” Mills-Bishop said. “It’s not just civic — although we will have the civicness — but it will be about other things that involve us two communities separated by thousands of miles.”

Some of those “other things” include Skype calls between Athens elementary students and Stonehaven primary students, Athens High School students working on projects or short exchanges and Athens State University students spending a few months to a year in Scotland.

Before those could take place, however, delegations from either city must visit the other. The visit to Athens this week included tours of the city, stays in the homes of local residents and even a karaoke night with city officials.

At one point, Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson pretended to arrest Mills-Bishop, who said he wanted to know what it felt like. The representatives were also treated to a visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Jack Daniel’s distillery in Tennessee and a meeting with Athens elementary students.

“Phil was out of the room, so I had to do something,” said Richard Holman-Baird, co-chair of the Stonehaven Twinning Group Committee and Chieftain of Clan Baird Society. “I said, ‘Have you got any questions?’ They all looked blank, and then they looked at each other, and then one little hand went up.”

Soon, the students were all asking questions, he said. During a separate point in the tour, one student asked Mills-Bishop what kind of food they ate in Scotland.

Mills-Bishop told the student about haggis, a Scottish dish involving sheep organs mixed with suet, oatmeal and seasoning then stuffed in a bag traditionally made from the animal’s stomach. The child then asked if they had a Taco Bell or McDonald’s in Scotland, to which Mills-Bishop said he replied they did have McDonald’s.

He said this seemed to be acceptable to the child, as they admitted they were “very concerned” for the Scotsman’s diet.

Mills-Bishop also shared a moment many Athenians are probably familiar with: a train passing through town during church.

“We were in church, and the pastor was saying, ‘And the Lord was speaking,’ … and I thought, ‘Well, he speaks in many tongues,'” Mills-Bishop said.

He told Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks that he hoped they would be able to provide just as memorable a trip when the Athens delegation travels to Stonehaven at the end of July.

“I will work the hardest to see that you and the delegation enjoy yourself and see as much as you can, and you get the same respect and enjoyment,” Mills-Bishop said.

“I know you like to mix. I know you like to dress up in ladies’ clothing,” he said, to the laughter of the audience. “So we’ll give you that opportunity.”

Marks said the Athens Sister City Committee did a wonderful job in organizing the trip, and he was glad for the friends that had been made during the week.

“We have had a fantastic week to kick off what I think is going to be a good future on the education level and the economic level, and the culture and art and other activities,” he said. “It’s been a really good time, all the way down to having Phil arrested.”