Blog 22 - 18th July

Apologies for the delay in postings, however, I have been on holidays from both work and Korea so computer accessibility has been limited. I will space the following blogs into sequence over time as we have visited Germany, Austria and Hungary. By a wonderful coincidence we had booked to go to a conference in Budapest and so were able to also attend the wedding of my cousin Marilou and Joern on the way. The wedding was in Kaisersesch, a small town of 3,034 located in the Mosel Valley near Koblenz. Of the 17 grandchildren on my Mum's side, I am the eldest and Marilou is the youngest so it was even more wonderful that Damien and I were able to represent the Australian contingent. The photo shows us eating and drinking and talking at the hotel where all the international guests stayed. It was a bit like Fawlty Towers, however as it Kaisersesch is so small, there was plenty of time to chat, relax, eat wonderful German food and drink wonderful German beer! It did not get dark until after 10.00pm and it was balmy and relaxing outside in the garden.

The wedding was nearby in Cocham Castle, which was first built in 1130, was destroyed in 1689 and rebuilt in 1868. The view overlooking the Mosel River was spectacular.

Marilou bought her dress from Paris and the rings were from Lebanon. Every detail was exquisitely planned including a cushion of plants for the rings.

Micheline, Marilou's sister and my cousin, came from Dubai with her husband Seba and children Theo, Gaya and Alex. Joern's brother Tobias was the best man and the best translator from German to English and vice verse.

The children distributed bubbles to everyone so we had great fun blowing bubbles as Marilou and Joern left the chapel.

Here is three generations - my Auntie Johnette, the mother of the bride, with her daughter, Micheline and gran-daughter Gaya. Those of you who know my Mum and sisters will see a strong family resemblance.

The additional males in this photo who have not been mentioned thus far are Christian, Marilou's brother who came with his Mum from Lebanon and Tomas, Melissa's son. Melissa is Marilou's sister who is expecting twins and was unable to make the trip from Beirut.

Joern' parents, Agnes and Manfred, were such generous hosts. What a busy weekend they had as Manfred was celebrating retirement with a luncheon the day before after 39 years teaching at the local school. e brought back a bottle of the local wine which was a gift from them.

The day after the night before!! More talking and more relaxing. Can you see the forest behind us? Such a peaceful and lush surroundings for leisurely walks and some people even had a picnic.

What a multicultural event this wedding was! Languages spoken included French, Arabic, English, Urdu, Spanish and German of course! Nationalities represented were Mexico, Pakistan, Australia, Germany and Lebanon.

Below is a photo of the hotel guests before we all went our separate ways. Manfred (Joern's Dad) made the wigwam lanterns which shone candlelight onto the garden the previous evening at the wedding.Thanks to everyone for the privilege of attending such a memorable and happy celebration.