MugParty – 2

Hans-Dietrich led the grilling. It only took a moment to notice he was a ‘Meister’ at this. Even so the other ‘lads’ wandered to the grill to talk, join in and generally help in anyway they could. The ladies let them get on with it and waited to be served. And why not?

The grilled food duly arrived with different salads and side dishes. There was beer, wine, water, fruit juice to drink according to taste and need. I decided on a glass of dry red wine to accompany the food on my plate. The right choice.

Lots of interesting conversation as we finished off our plates and settled back in our chairs with full stomachs. Larissa then did something I liked. She asked us all to stand and think of Peter. He died last summer and I wrote about it on this blog. We toasted his memory and expressed gratitude that he had been a part of the ‘Mug-Gang’ for many years.

By then it was dark. The dishes were cleared and a range of drinks put onto the table as we moved away to sit around a camp fire. What an atmosphere. Lots more talk, filling of glasses and then the singing started. For me it is always the highpoint of such meetings.

Larissa and Hans-Dietrich had photocopied some texts/songs and they led the singing. They have very good voices and clearly like singing. Most were folk songs from the 1800’s. or earlier. They describe rural life and/or contrast with the early experience of industrialisation. .

I wished it would never end, but it did!  Late in the evening we had to say our goodbyes and head off back to Berlin. Our drivers safely dropped us home. I was too animated by the whole day and could not go to bed. We sipped a glass of wine and talked about the day.

This always does the trick of calming you down and getting you ready to sleep. Sometime after 1:00 in the morning we ‘hit the sack’ = went to bed!  I woke Marcel at 9:30 for it always takes time to get him to move. This time it only took 30 minutes to get him out of bed!

At least he is good humoured in a morning. After finally getting him into motion, we enjoyed a ‘solid’ breakfast, lots of conversation, and talk about study plans for the next few weeks before he left for his flat. He has two examinations before the start of the new semester so time for preparation is very important.

I relaxed with a cup of coffee, re-lived the events of yesterday and slowly came into the day. I hope you had an interesting and memorable weekend. Here are a few photos to illustrate the day.