Kathy und Carsten - Half the Reason we are Here!

I met Kathy back in my senior year of high school - she was our German exchange student. While we kept in touch throughout the years, we did not see much of each other. But when we are together, it's like no time has passed. She's one of those friends. Certainly a friend I very deliberately choose to have in my life. This picture says it all.

When she visited Jordan and I in October we didn't skip a beat. Suddenly all the German curses and dirty words came flooding back and we spent most of the time laughing, reliving old times, and making new times with our new participants/partners Jordan and Carsten. When she invited us to their wedding, neither Jordan or I skipped a beat - of course! So today was the long awaited day (it also happened to be our nation's birthday and Jordan and my engagement anniversary). Kathy looked beautiful in her dress. I oddly don't have any good pictures of it, but if you're curious there are some on my Facebook. Here is the back. 

The wedding happened to fall on the hottest day of the year in Germany in 2015. It reached well into the 90s and almost hit 100. While I'm not complaining (I do that enough in other posts) it is relevant to the story. The room you see above is where their ceremony was. It was in a beautiful old stone building complete with ornate fixtures and a charming garden outside. 

Once we crammed the 100 people inside, the room became one of the hottest places I think man has ever endured. Looking back I think I am being a big baby, but in the moment it was rough. If nothing else It was certainly memorable! Complaining aside, as soon as the ceremony was in full swing I couldn't care less how hot it was. The joy, happiness and love that filled the room was palpable. Even though we only understood the odd word here and there, we knew exactly what was happening and how special the moment was. 

Once the vows were said, songs were sung, poems were read, and the state rep pronounced them man and wife, we headed outside to greet the newlyweds and have some champaign from a converted VW van, because this is Germany and imports are hard to come by. 

After a group photo and a selfie, it was time to caravan to the reception location for the real party to begin. 

Apparently it's a German tradition when they win a big soccer match or get married to hang out the car window and honk incessantly in a caravan. This was no exception and Kathy and Carsten clearly enjoyed every minute. Even those not in the caravan honked along. It was a truly touching cultural experience. 

The venue was an old piano factory, making for a really great open area to throw a party in. 

The entire event just exuded Kathy and Carsten down to the last detail. From the laid back feel, to the emotional environment, to the physical details of the  venue:

Heart shaped escort cards/party favors:

German guest book (I translated that one myself):

Center pieces with real sod!

Table assignments:

And of course the dance floor was hopping all night. We decided Germans like some angry music, but we won't fault them too much for it. Let's just say that rage against the machine made more than a couple appearances in the set list. I kinda dug it though! So did Kathy, who was one hell of a bride. 

She spent time at our table during dinner. 

She gave speeches (and props to those of us who came from the U.S.)

She cut the cake 

She danced until she was soaked 

And delusional 

The night was long but incredibly fun. I haven't had that kind of night for years. Germans know how to party - we didn't stop until we all walked home in our sweaty clothes at 5 am. Carsten wins the prize for most exhausted but most happy at the end of the night. This sums it up:

The Germans were so friendly and outgoing, they made us feel like one of the family! I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I think we were invited to some future weddings - some of which weren't planned yet, and some weddings for our new friends and TBD spouses. Needless to say, we will be there. How could we not? Look how good of friends we are! 

From left to right, henning, Tim, us, Lisa, I forget the girl in the black dress' name. 

Us and Christian. 

This was a wedding I'll never forget to honor a woman I'll always be friends with. Thanks to Kathy for having us as part of your special day. And when I say special, I mean it. 

Here's to you, my big bean and Carsten!

Schwelm

This is what I pictured a rural German town looking like. Schwelm is charming and cute and euro-sized. The buildings are mainly pre war architecture and very pretty. 

The main drag is a pedestrian only street, - a prerequisite for the quaint euro town - full of cafes and little shops. 

The center of the town has a nice little plaza and a big German style cathedral. 

This is probably my favorite street. 

This ones not bad either. 

We decided that Scwelm is somewhere we could plop down and spend a few years if we ever got tired of urban life. But we say that a lot. It was not overrun by tourists and seemed to only be occupied by locals and us. In fact on our way to Schwelm we asked some Germans which train to take and the blank stares we got back were empty and puzzling.  Very off the grid for Europe! 

I found Kathy's flat to be charming and lovely. I clearly made myself comfortable. 

As did Jordan. 

Their kitchen is very nice. I learned that in Germany most flats don't come with a kitchen! The tenant has to buy their own appliances and cabinets! They chose well, I'd say!

The only problem with Germany is everything was closed on Sunday. Oh and the other thing I hate is they only drink bubbly mineral water! The first complete phrase I learned on this trip was "stille wasser mit ice bitte!" And the final thing I learned is air conditioning is not standard anywhere. Tough lesson to learn on this trip! 

Willkommen in Deutschland

My first time in a new country always makes me a little nervous. Germany was no exception. It was an unnecessary feeling though; Germany is really easy and the people have been friendly so far. I was very excited to pass through the FRAport, one of the busiest airports in the world. These birds abound:

Deplaning on the tarmac certainly lowered my expectations a bit, but that notwithstanding I generally approve of the mega-port. Especially since our intercity express train (ICE) pulled right up to terminal 1 in a surprisingly seamless, albeit not so straightforward, connection.

Our train, and every other train we have seen pass, is late! So much for German efficiency. Cool train station though. 

Cool trains, too:

For your viewing pleasure: 

We had quite an unpleasant experience getting from the airport to Schwelm. The blazing heat made everything we did very uncomfortable. Apparently the German ICE trains weren't designed I handle the heat so half of them were not running, and the other half did not have air conditioning. 

The train was crowded to the brim, which didn't help the temperature or general comfort. The boy in the seat behind us was using a newspaper to fan himself - a common practice on the train. 

After arriving in Köln and missing our connection, we spent an hour and a half on the platform observing Germans and their trains. 

Once on our train to Schwelm we finally found weak air conditioning and some comfort. We were able to relax enough that I fell asleep and we missed our train stop in Schwelm! Carsten, our groom friend, graciously came to the next station to pick us up even though they were in the midst of wedding prep. We are in your debt, Carsten! 

Kathy was kind enough to arrange a hotel for us in Schwelm for the weekend. The place is quite charming, as is the town (more on Schwelm in another post). Apparently Germany is in a massive heat waves with record breaking temperatures, so our experience has not been typical so far. This unfortunately means our hotel does not come standard with air conditioning. In fact, none of the Schwelm hotels have it. This made for a sweaty evening! 

My time in Germany has only reaffirmed my general experience that in Europe it is nearly impossible to ever be in complete comfort. Par for the course I guess! Maybe our American standards are too high. Anyway, we had to adapt and come up with creative solutions for cooling off in bed. Ladies and gents, I introduce the minibar AC!:

The big day for Kathy unt Carsten is tomorrow and despite my whining about temperature, we could not  be more excited or happy to be here!

EU Wedding Xtravaganza 2015

The 6:08 to huntingdon starts out journey today. With a beer in hand and a change in Jamaica we are off for three weeks! Serendipitously, we had two weddings scheduled in Europe in the same month. Two of the weeks we will be working remotely but the other 1 is pure vacation through Italy. Stay tuned for some fun tales! 

We got some new medium-large (as opposed to super large) suitcases for this journey. They are still pretty big, and super heavy! 

We are currently waiting for our flight in the United lounge (thanks, amtrak select plus status!). Terminal 7 is in prime rush hour and the gates are nuts. It's nice to have some calmness even if it is Class B Lounge Space. 

There she is! I am of the opinion (and I know I'm not alone) that the 747 is the most beautiful airplane ever built, with the concord a close second (for nostalgia purposes only, really). This is our crash pad for the night. See you on the flip side!