Stars aligned and we were able to make it to two birthdays and three weddings in Europe (UK and Germany), as well as catching up with the Brickles in Madrid.
[simage=3405,200,n,left,] In the UK, we were able to have a great meal at the Crown Inn in Wrinehill for Andy’s mum’s 70th birthday. A really great pub with excellent food and the superb Crown Inn Legend Ale.
The first UK wedding was Andy’s cousin James, who was getting hitched with the lovely Claire. Wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits for the ceremony at Saint Thomas Church in Penkhull. The weather brightened up for the party at Alsager Golf Club. We particularly enjoyed the meal – inspired choice of local sausages and mash (with veggie option) followed by homemade Bramley apple crumble and custard. The “Rock Hour” at the wedding disco was also great fun – blow up guitars and headbanging (but no Billy Idol’s White Wedding!).
Moving on to Scotland, we had a great time at Sarah and Scott’s wedding at the lovely Pollokshields Burgh Hall. The ceremony was lovely, and despite Sarah entering in floods of tears they did get happily married. The cellidh after dinner was great and were pretty tired by the end of a night of reeling. Gill got to meet her new niece Madde\ison, and we had a fun day and evening in Edinburgh with Gill’s mum and dad.
[simage=3371,200,n,left,] Germany was great fun. We arrived in Schlüchtern the evening before Andrew and Tabea’s ceremony and joined the guests from all over the world that had descended on the small town. The first evening was a trial run for the party, with lots of pilsner, wine, and a few schnapps and Jägermeister shots enjoyed. Too much enjoyment by some. The ceremony and party at Schloss Ramholz was perfect – friends, sunshine, great food and wine in a wonderful setting. There was even an impromptu return of DJ Deano.
Following the wedding, we met up with Karen and Michael in Berlin and did the tourist sites and celebrated andy’s birthday. We enjoyed Berlin a lot – good food, interesting neighbourhoods, and fascinating recent history. The scale of redevelopment of the city is staggering. It was great to meet Karen and Michael again and reminisce about Indonesia.
[simage=3367,200,n,left,] Spain was the final holiday destination, visiting Anna, Nick, Robbie and Alex in Madrid. We enjoyed chilling out in the good weather and long lunches in Madrid. It’s nice to have such good wine available at reasonable prices. (Dear Government of British Columbia – if wine was cheaper, we would not drink more wine, we would drink better wine). Hanging out with the Brickles, we did more reminiscing about Indonesia. Alex’s obsession with cycling was a highlight – the Tour de France beckons?
At the end of the trip, we really needed a holiday from the holiday. But it was well worth it.
A few photos from the UK:
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Andrew and Tabea’s wedding and Berlin sightseeing:
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Touring Madrid and drinks with the Brickles:
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