Day 12 * The Wedding Day

We had an early start after a restless night – cars, trucks, loud young men, & the wee train at 3.09 am
Packed the bags, did breakfast, then back to the Gasthof to change rooms.
We were going to walk up the hill but Paul was there to pick up our bags & us. We all gathered in the courtyard, got into our assigned cars and we were off to Bonstetten. Denise & I were in Paul's BMW 3 li – complete with GPS & entertainment.

The family procession of three cars arrived at Bonstetten just after 11 with two & a half hours to go. Down at the church we found Kathrin & Philippe having photos in and around the church. She looked stunning - all in cream with pearls sewn into the dress. We all went to have coffee in the local bakerie. Then the church bells began to ring and we all went across to the church. There was a pew set aside for the Coopers and us. The minister, Frau Rüegg, welcomed us all in German & French, then Kathrin & Philippe also and they mentioned us all from NZ.
There was a small choral group connected through Sarah – the event organiser – that sung a number of English Christian songs throughout. The first hymn was sung in German and French. Then it was my turn to do my reading which I did in English & German. The usual stuff was there plus a powerpoint presentation of Philippe and Kathrin's journey so far. My reading, Philippe’s poem and the theme of the presentation as well as Frau Rüegg’s address all took the theme of journeying through life. Because the civil ceremony had happened we didn’t have to wait for signing. After the ring giving I came up and offered a blessing on them both. Then after a poem by Philippe to Kathrin it was all over and a number of folk went out and formed an archway of roses not only for K & P but the rest of us too.
The church platz was set up with refreshments and lasted about an hour, which kept us all going while group photos were begun, and for the next phase, which was to get in the cars and go to Unterägerisee. In our party two of the cars went the wrong way and Philippe, Kathrin’s brother did some frantic ringing and waiting until they caught us up. What we didn’t realise was that when we got tot the hotel we all had to get on the local ferry (a very fine boat), and we were taken for a ride around the lake. As part of the celebration we were invited to take a post card and name a gift we wanted to give the couple, write it on the postcard which was preaddressed to them, tie a helium-filled balloon to it and at a particular point, we all let them go into the air. A magical moment. Then it was back to the hotel.

Hotel 4 Seminarhotel Ägerisee, Unterägeri
This was a very modern swept up affair where we each had a twin suite. The art work on the walls, curiously to me, was available for sale - just pay and walk away with it. A couple of photos of desert sand scenes looked promising, but in the end I couldn’t work out how to pack them – that and the price. We gathered outside for drinks and the rest of the group photos and the whole party together, with the fountain in the lake rising up behind us. Then it was into the banquet room.
A wonderful feast was there for us all, and after each course something would happen. Terry Cooper gave a piece of greenstone with smooth and rough sides to be held as symbol of the marriage and he asked me if I would bless it which I was able to do in Maori and English, At another pause we had a slide show of Kathrin’s life.
Her organiser, Sarah, was one of twins, and she and Inez and Kathrin had been inseparable at school til they all went on the AFS exchange programme. On more than one occasion Sarah asked me about her time with us, because they would write to her but she didn’t reply very much and they saw her change quite a lot in that year.
There was also another exchange student at the wedding, a lovely young woman, Ida von Recklinghausen, from Stuttgart, who had been at Fraser High the same time as Kathrin and they are still friends. Ida used to visit us a lot so it was great to meet her again, She is in her first year as an assistant doctor) house surgeon equivalent) at Stuttgart, after completing her studies in her home town of Berlin,
At the dinner, the Coopers and we were seated with some of Margrit’s side, her brother Walther and wife Elsbeth, and Heidi her best friend from working together and her husband Urs. This couple were also Kathrin’s god parents. We spent an enjoyable time getting to know each other, with Walther, Elsbeth and Urs having quitr a loy of English, Denise leading the charge with her German, and Mary having some also, Me? I just muddled along and had a great time.
The dish that made the best impression on me was the second course, which had two kinds of smoked fish, Forelle (trout) and Felchen, a trout-like fish but with a delicate white flesh, with horseradish sauce, and some salad. Urs is an angler who spends his spare time fishing for this second fish and was very pleased to be able to talk to me about the art and to inquire about fishing in New Zealand. We decided that New Zealand and Switzerland were very much the same, two small island nations, except that Switzerland has all its seas inside and New Zealand, all its sea outside.
At midnight Denise and I could last no longer and went off to bed, and apparently everything kept going until well after 1.30 am.