Wonders do happen

We were prepared. We had two umbrellas, two jackets, two sweatshirts and at least two emergency plans for pouring rain at the wedding.
What we weren’t prepared for was the sun, the boats and the food.
But first things first.

When I go back to Hamburg it’s always a trip down memory lane. I grew up there, studied there, was in love there and had a lot of friends. Coming back always is remembering and meeting old friends - on purpose and without.

So I knew coming back to the church where I sang 7 years in the choir would ultimately end up in meeting old pals. So we weren’t even in the church when I met the first singers. And it is always amazing what time can do to some people and to others - they walk untouched by time (even though you hoped they might change). So it was a little bit the coming home of the prodigal son. But since they all had to sing the talking had to be after the wedding.

It was a lovely church wedding. Opening up with a canon Isaiah 60,1 sung by everybody as the couple entered the church: Up! let your face be bright, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is shining on you. So from now on this is a melody I will always associate with Julika and Volker. Family members and the couple were participating in the ceremony. It was double performed by two priests; the gay one was definitely entertaining and joyful, very important, because evangelic ceremonies don’t have the aura of laughter and joy.

After the Praise everybody was shaking hands and kissing in front of the church, it had a little bit the impression of the Royal Couple greeting the guests as it took more than half an hour. Then we went in splendid sunshine down to the river Alster, more sea really, and entered a boat already arranged for with coffee and cake.

Here I met Uta and Helmut again from the choir. We were good friends 15 years ago, and it was immediately a situation like last week, Uta and me arranging for the tickets and talking away like always. Do you remember my daughter? Yes I did, a tiny baby a couple of weeks old. My memory had nothing to do with the 19 year old beauty, ready for take off to Dublin on a 10 months Au Pair job, who stood in front of me. Yes we had a lot of fun on the boat and later on at the buffet.

But we had a few challenges ahead. We had to change the boat first. Therefore the tickets. And then we waited. The Photographer took a picture (not one hour, just one pic) and we waited. And waited. Finally the ferry arrived, we went on board - and had to get off the next station due to a change in schedule. Unfortunately all the guests piled up on the pier (now 3 ferries were already missing) looked like Hamburg was about to be evacuated this very minute on this very pier in exactly that ferry line. Some took the opportunity to have a little ice cream or snack while waiting again. Then the ferry came, there was pushing and pushing and pushing, then the door was closed. Ups. Later on we learned, not everybody made it on the ferry and had to wait for the next one.

Nevertheless the happy couple and the happy guests, oblivious to any missing members of the party finally arrived at the church where the couple planned a little greeting with champagne and orange juice. And some sort of game. The idea was somehow good but nobody really understood it, everybody was just doing what they were told and after another half an hour we finally entered the dinner room.

Fish Buffet. Yes it was a paradise of fish, mainly herring, in red wine, in sherry, pure, fried, linguini with salmon. I was in heaven. And Torsten in hell. Everybody who knows him knows: he hates fish, every fish, however cooked or prepared. So his dinner mainly consisted of fried potatoes and a little bit of tomatoes and mozzarella. We shared a table with Uta and Helmut and their two kids and had a lot of fun, at least talking, some also eating.
Jens