Well, let me tell you, the Germans know how to throw a party! This was a 25th wedding celebration for one of Ingrid's cousins and the party was held in the old brewery in Ribbeck, which is now a community hall and very beautiful. There were about 70 guests and the food was plentiful and wonderful. As you can see from one of the pictures the party went well into the morning hours. We arrived at 5:30 pm and left at 3:15 am and then were back there for breakfast leftovers and cleaning at 10:30.
The top picture shows the gathering with a women's choir that started the entertainment. The next picture shows the old church which is now a cafe, meeting place and somewhat of a museum depicting what the area was like before the wall came down.
Next you will see the fun way they had of making picture memories. One couple you will recognize, and the other is of the anniversary couple, Ralf and Jeanette. I couldn't resist including a picture of Jeanette looking out the window with the red ivy growing over the bricks. The three ladies are all Hanna's sisters and the picture with Ingrid is with the aunt she had not seen since she was ten years old. This is Tante Talchen and it was an emotional reunion!
The last picture is the whole group of cousins and family that was there on Sunday morning.
One interesting side note is that this was all held in Ribbeck, which is about 6 km from Retzow, where Ingrid grew up. This town had the only other Adventist family in the area and Ingrid's family would worship with them in Ribbeck and in Retzow on alternating weeks. They walked to each other's homes each week.
Family is so precious and this has been a wonderful, albeit sleep deprived, trip thus far, but I'm not complaining one bit. I am privileged to be a part of it all. Things should settle down a bit now. We will be going into Berlin tomorrow and who knows what fun the rest of today holds?
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