Michael and Rikes Wedding: June 10, 2006

We arrived in Germany just in time for the wedding of our two friends, Michael and Rike. We met Michael in 1999 in Japan when he was studying at the same university as Craig, Hitotsubashi. He also lived in the same apt. building as us, and later he and Rike stayed with us in Melbourne when they did some travelling in 2002.

We drove with Max and Angelika to the very small town of Steinkirchen, about 1 hour West of Hamburg in Northern Germany. We spent 2 nights up there and it was great to get to know their friends and family on that first night before the wedding. Everyone was very friendly and it was a great introduction to our trip in Deutschland.

The wedding started in the evening, so we got up early and did a bike ride along a smaller river which flowed into the Elbe river. Quaint villages with thatch roofed houses and old protestant churches and windmills dotted the green countryside. Everywhere felt like Hobit homes and it was like being in a storybook.

The wedding was blessed with perfect summer weather. The ceremony took place in an old church, followed by some relaxing outside and then a reception in an old thatch roofed hotel and the dancing began at about 11 and went until 5 a.m. Everyone seemed relaxed and high-spirited and to really enjoy the time all together.