Three Weddings and a Funeral

The last few weeks had their ups and downs - but mostly ups. First I had to manage to be in two places at the same time: my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and my friends Eva&Tobias' wedding.

This day was really exhausting, because we - Eva, Christoph and me - had promised both couples to sing/play at their services. I was able to convince my grandparents that they have their service in the morning, followed by lunch and coffee. Eva and Tobi had their service at half past one, followed by coffee and dinner...delicious!

The service in the morning for my grandparents was really special. As most of you know, my brother is a Catholic priest and therefore he celebrated the service. It was really emotional, because he started is sermon with: "Dear grandad, dear granny!" I had a big lump in my throat, I can tell you, which made it quite hard to sing. We performed "Amazing Grace", "Only You" (Starlight Express), "Ich fühl wie Du" (Tabaluga & Lili), "Arie" (Flute Solo) and "Lean On Me" (Bill Withers). I guess I am already too old to celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary one day :-(

I had barely enough time to eat the soup before I had to leave for the seccond wedding. Fortunately it took me only 15 minutes to get to the other church.
A wedding is always a very special occasion and if there are friends "saying yes" to each other, I become quite "tearful" - I am a crab (cancer) which might explain everything:
Strongest virtues of the Cancer zodiac sign: emotional sensitivity, the urge to nurture, tenacity
Deepest need of the Cancer zodiac sign: a harmonious family life
Weaknesses of the Cancer zodiac sign: over-sensitivity, negative moods
Seems to fit, doesn't it? Even though I don't believe in these things :-)

Our performance at the wedding was a surprise present for Eva and Tobias and I am sure they liked it. As I had only returned 2 weeks before the wedding, the rehearsals were difficult as Eva and I did not know what we could manage in such a short time. I convinced Christoph to join us only two days before the wedding. But as Christoph and I are a experienced duett, we were able to sort something out and Eva's flute solos was just great.

They celebrated in a tent at Eva's parents, which was fabulous, as it was sunny and warm that day - quite exceptional for this summer in Germany! It was a great day and everything went absolutely smooth. I wish both couples all the best for their future- so in 2057 we celebrate another 50th wedding anniversary???

Two weeks ago my great cousin Sandra got married near Heidelberg. Her mum was at my grandparents' anniversary and asked me to sing at Sandra's and Markus's wedding. Of course I said yes, even though I had to cope with some problems. As I had spent the weeks before the wedding at Mario's and Anita's in Stuttgart, I had to find a way to get to their place on Saturday morning. In the end I found a train that took only 2 hours and I only had to change once, which was quite comfy. Unfortunately my wedding choir (chorus individudel) had to sing at another wedding and therefore I had no equipment apart from my microphone. My dad was able to borrow the school's electronic amplifier. It was a bit tricky to get this thing to work the way I wanted, but I managed in the end. Eva and Christoph of course were not able to come - it is way to far! - and so I had to improvise quite a bit. Therefore I only performed "Lean On Me", which I really like best anyway. Sandra and Markus had also organised another singer and were therefore quite surprised when I started to sing - only Sandra's mum, the priest and the other singer knew!

I hope they liked it as well and I wish them all the best! And the location at a wine yard was absolutely fabulous and the food ... without words ... mmmhhhh!


After these very happy events, I also had to attend a funeral of a good friend of the family last week. We were quite shocked when the letter with the news arrived and as my father does not get leave from school, I went with my mum to Hannover by train. This was a very sad business, even though after a short very serious illness it was good that it did not take too long, as there was no hope of recovery. Anyway, I hate funeral, because I cannot stand to see beloved people crying - then I have to cry as well.

Anyway, apart from that I settled back in at uni - even though courses have not started yet. I prepare for my exams, I go to my choir every now and then to relax a bit and I spent a lot of time with my family. There is a sunny weekend ahead and I am looking forward to it as I spent the last 3 days working at the library magazine - which has no windows!!! I need SUNSHINE!