Germany Getaway: Wedding Day

To continue with our trip in Germany, we woke up on the 10th of May to our usual breakfast of perfectly boiled eggs, various cheeses, salami and other cold cuts, assorted homemade jams, and slices of bread (yes, from the one that Mom baked). Except for the eggs, we had the same thing every day. I’m not complaining, though. Everything was delicious. We made sure to eat more than usual this time because we wouldn’t have time for lunch as we would all be busy getting ready for the wedding, and the next meal would be dinner.

We arrived at St. Hippolytus Church (again, another church we visited during WYD05) early to make sure things were ready, giving us a chance to take pictures.

Finally, the wedding began, and although it was in German, we were able to understand some of it through Daddy Jurgen who would translate to us.

The only parts in English were when Irene and I said our petitions for the Prayers of the Faithful.

I have to share that there was one very unique member of the entourage that day. Summer also walked down the aisle, and was very behaved during the entire ceremony. Because she was their baby and a member of their family, M&S wanted her to be part of the wedding, and fortunately, the officiating priest did not have any problems in allowing this. Ang cool, di ba?

After the wedding, we all went outside to greet the newlyweds and take photos.

And after that, we all headed to Stanzwerk Bochum for the dinner and party. If my memory serves me right, it used to be a machine shop or industrial factory, and the owners just built the restaurant around the place, giving the diners and guests some idea of its history.

Although the occasion was formal, the ambience of the venue gave a relaxed feeling, making everyone enjoy themselves. And boy, did we enjoy! Aside from the cake-cutting and a couple of speeches, there was no program and no host or emcee. Most of the things just happened spontaneously.

Upon arriving, the guests were given welcome drinks, and we met and talked with Mom and Dad’s friends and relatives. They also introduced me and Irene to Dad’s mother, his sister and her family where we each told them “Ich bin Holger tochter” (I am Holger’s daughter). They didn’t get it at first, but when Dad explained to them how we became part of their family, they understood.

After a while, all eyes were on M&S as they lit the fireworks, cut the cake and fed each other with slices. It was a 3-layer chocolate and vanilla ice-cream cake and was very delicious!

After that, we all settled ourselves at our assigned places.

Then Sebastian said a few words (in German and English), and then we were invited to help ourselves with the extensive buffet spread. When the guests had eaten, Dad stood up and said his speech, with Stef translating in between so that we could understand. It was a really beautiful and heart-warming speech coming from the father of the bride, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when he finished. Then the Maid of Honor and Best Man surprised the couple with a music video which they had prepared involving M&S’s family and friends. It was so cute and thoughtful, Sebastian couldn’t help his tears from falling and giving his friends tight hugs.

Another surprise was a flash mob of high school cheerleaders that Sebastian’s mom had arranged. They danced to Bruno Mars’ Marry You and their dance moves and stunts and tosses and twirls and flips were really amazing! We were worried that their pyramids would be too high and the girls at the top would reach the ceiling, or a girl would be tossed to hard, but they all knew what they were doing. Galing talaga! And unique!

When the cheerleaders left, Dad and Michaela had their Father-Daughter dance of course, and Sebastian also danced with his mom. And then the dance floor began to fill up and everyone danced the night away to the tunes played by the deejay and the Dutch musician, while having some drinks from the bar in between.

And the party didn’t end until 3 o’clock in the morning the next day!

As I said before, that’s normal for German wedding parties, just like when we attended the Polterabend on our first day. Wow, right?! Whew!

A Great Wedding Gift Idea

Hubby and I were part of the service team of our CFC cluster’s Marriage Enrichment Retreat 1 that took place over the weekend, and definitely we were busy. Hubby was the head of the Marshalls and Logistics Committee while I was part of the Child Care Committee. Fortunately, the overnight activity took place in Auris Hotel at Tecom (unlike past MERs that took place in other emirates), so the journey going to and from there wasn’t long.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the souvenir that the participants received. It was such a nice token, the service team also ordered these souvenirs as well.

It’s a Marriage Memory Jar! Whenever something good or special happens, the couple will just need to write the details on a piece of paper, and put it inside. Or if they go out on a date, they can get a remembrance from that event (a paper napkin from the restaurant, a movie ticket, stationery from the hotel, etc. ) and put that in. It’s a nice way to remember all the special things that they shared and went through together.

One thing that makes it a memory jar especially for (church) married couples, is the sand. There are 3 different colors of sand inside: neutral (white-brown), blue, and orange. There’s an explanation for this.

In all marriages, there is the husband (blue) and wife (orange). But a couple alone can never make their marriage work. Someone should be part of it. Of course I’m not talking about having an affair. I’m talking about God…who is the only third person that can should be part of every relationship. Without Him as the foundation, couples won’t be able to face and overcome the problems that come their way…their marriage wouldn’t last.

Initially, the jars were distributed with only the neutral colored sand in the jar, and the blue and orange sands were given separately.

At the signal during the program, the couples poured in their colored sands into their jars together, at the same time, and were asked to mix them well. The challenge given to them was if the day comes when one or both of them want to part ways (and for sure, that day will happen), they need to separate the different grains of sand. If they could do that, then and only then can they break up.

Practically impossible to do, of course.

Which is why the jar was such a nice token for the MER1. And why I think it’s such a great wedding gift idea. Or even a wedding anniversary gift to couples.

And it’s not expensive too! All you need is a big glass jar, normal sand (from the beach), 2 different colored sands (the ones used for ours were from Ikea; any colors will do), different colored papers to write down memories in, and whatever things you want to use to decorate the jar.

Simple, easy, yet very meaningful.

Satur-Date with Mama

Early this month, I saw that another rom-com movie was going to be shown here in Dubai. I wanted to watch it, but I wanted to watch it with someone who would enjoy the film. Hubby would be willing to accompany me, but I knew he would get bored. Then I had a great idea. It’s been ages since we’ve had a day out just the two of us, and since she finds Coco Martin really gwapo (second to Fernando Poe, Jr.), I asked Mama if she wanted to watch Maybe This Time on one of the Saturdays that I would be off. Of course she said yes.

So after work on the movie’s first day of showing (a Thursday), Hubby and I went to Deira City Centre to purchase the tickets. I was afraid kasi that if I left it to buy them on Saturday, we would run out of seats. 

Saturday morning, our family first when to St. Mary’s Church to attend the 9am mass. Then, on their way back home, Mama and I went down at DCC. We still had some time to spare so we window-shopped for a while.

By 10:50am, we were at the cinema entrance. We had just realized that it was Mama’s first time to watch a movie in a Dubai cinema so I wanted to take as many pictures as possible. Syempre, memorable experience ito! But she was too shy and hesitant, only allowing me to take pictures just once…no “isa pa!” to give me a chance to take a better shot because she was getting conscious =)

Upon seating ourselves comfortably in the chairs, we found that there weren’t that many people at all. Was it because it was the first showing of the day? Or it wasn’t publicized as much? Or the reviews weren’t good? Or the Coco-Sarah tandem didn’t have that many fans yet? I have absolutely no idea. At least we managed to enjoy the movie.  Our seats were on the third row from the top, right in the center...one of the best places to sit for the perfect view of the screen.

However, the voice of Ruffa was just…umm…err…not normal (for lack of a better word). It sounded ipit like she was talking through her nose.

In fairness though, ang gwapo pala ni Coco. And even though his character was jologs and baduy, he still managed to looked decent and be funny at the same time.

As it went on, you could already tell how the movie would end. Parang Starting Over Again with the kind of ending most of the audience wanted. My favorite part was the teasing conversation between Steph, Tonio and Mama Mae: Minekaniko yung makina ni Monica, and later when Tonio asked Monica over the phone: “Kumusta ang makina mo?” Everyone in the cinema was laughing so hard!

We were hungry by the time the movie finished so we looked for something to eat. Can you take a guess where?


Because we just couldn't get enough of Coco! =)

 

After seeing this shot, Mama said "Parang ako lang ang kakain ng lahat nyan ah!" =)

And to top-off our lunch, we ordered dessert

A slice of Red Velvet cake
Ako naman daw ang pipicturan. Kanina pa daw sya eh =)

We didn’t go home right away after eating, though. Mama is a sucker for cheap finds and she’s wanted to visit the Day to Day store near Union Station since the first time she saw their commercial on TFC that all items were 10 dirhams last month. So that's where I took her…and that’s where she bought some wallets that she said she’ll be giving as pasalubong to her friends and sister in Bicol. According to her, “Kahit tig-10 dirhams lang yun, at least imported; galing Dubai. Hindi makikita sa Divisoria o Baclaran. At lalong wala sa Bicol.” Sige Ma, sabi mo eh =)

Happy with her purchase, we went back to Union Station where we rode the metro and got down in Ghussais where Hubby was waiting for us.

Thanks for the date, Ma! Sa uulitin!

Germany Getaway: Shopping, German Sausages, and Absacker

The 9th of May was the only day during our entire visit that the five of us were left alone. Dad and Mom had patients to attend to at the clinic, and Michaela had to finalize some things for the wedding. So, armed with directions that Michaela had left us that morning, we walked to the nearby station where we bought day tickets and boarded the tram.

 

We went down at Essen Hauptbahnhopf where we took a few pictures before looking for a Starbucks for the free wifi.

Blurred selfie of us

Buddies!

We bought some things to eat and drink, of course!

Super delicious Raspberry Cheesecake and Caramel Hot Chocolate

Actually, that’s the time I posted this from our visit downtown days ago.

Hubby and I managed to Skype with our daughters, as well. They were in Ibn Battuta Gate hotel that day, enjoying brunch with Mama, Ate Ning, and Gabe. We were all so happy to see each other!

After our free wifi time had run out and we had uploaded and updated our respective social media accounts, we did the next thing on our agenda: shopping.

There was this black jacket in Vera Moda that I really liked and was on sale (don’t ask me how much because I can’t remember anymore; basta it’s cheap when I converted to dirhams). Since the others were saying that it looked good on me AND I had only brought one jacket for our trip (the other one was Michaela’s which she lent to me on our first night because she kept saying the one I had wasn’t enough…and she was right!), I bought it.

And throughout the day, I made a couple more purchases as well: black shoes and a black handbag to match. Here they all are (taken later at home):

Terno-terno lang!

To tell you the truth, I really never intended to buy anything. But then, well, you know how it is when a woman goes into a shop that has a sale =)

Before we went back home, we had a delicious lunch…of German sausages!

They were soooo delicious and big! And affordable too! Which is why most of us had two each!

Yummy!
Yes, that's the jacket I bought. I wore it right away =)

 

That's where we bought and ate our sausages...the shop at the back, I mean

And while waiting for the tram, we took a group selfie

That night at home, the men had their usual beer for dinner. But aside from that, we all had another alcoholic drink. Dad said Germans often have a drink called Absacker, which is their version of a nightcap. The beers and Hugo we had before were probably just to prep us up =) So since we were all willing to try, Mom gave me, Irene, and Ate Tess a small chocolate cup each filled with liquor, and Hubby and Kuya Raul had some brandy.

Prost!

How did I find it? Augh! It was soooo bitter and the alcohol was so strong! It’s a good thing the cup was edible chocolate, so I immediately chewed it after drinking its contents, making it taste much better.

Unlike before, we went to bed early that night. The next day was a special day and we needed to get sufficient rest and our beauty sleep to prepare for it.