I was in Germany last weekend, attending a dinner party in Göttingen, organised as a surprise to my friend Basti by his wife Tina. I know, it sounds quite grand - flying to Germany just for a dinner on Saturday night. And it was grand - I almost felt like a jetsetter (a (no)wedding in Mexico, a dinner party in Germany, you know). Almost - as I doubt if a real jetsetter would fly RyanAir from an airport in the middle of nowhere (Glasgow Prestwick) to an airport in the middle of nowhere (Frankfurt Hahn).
When I got the invitation to attend in August, I couldn't say no. My friends Basti and Tina have 2 sweet kids. Unfortunately the daughter Helena, soon to be 4, was born with a very serious kidney problem, and exactly a year ago my friend Basti gave one of his kidneys to his daughter. Although still requiring medical supervision, little Helena is now a happy little girl with a future. And the party was Tina's way to say thank you to her husband. Basti honestly had no idea what was waiting for him when he got up on Saturday morning! Moreover, he was quite impressed that his daughter was able to keep the secret. You see, the party began at a children's indoor playground. When little Helena told her dad on Saturday morning that she really wants to go there in the afternoon, she had to work hard, as dad thought it is silly to go and play indoors when it was 21 Centigrades outside! After the playground they went for a meal in a nearby hotel, where Basti was led to a hotel suite where he found his suit and ironed shirt laid out on the bed!!! You should have seen his face when he saw some 60 friends from all over Germany - and me from Edinburgh and another friend from Lissabon - turn up at the hotel lobby!
It was a wonderful and very well organised party, with brilliant food, loads of wine, heartfelt and emotional speeches, and energetic dancing until the wee hours of the morning. The 2 hour drive back to Frankfurt, 1,5 hour busride to Frankfurt Hahn airport, the 1,5 hour flight to Glasgow Prestwick, 1 hour train ride to Glasgow Central and another 1 hour train ride to Edinburgh was all worth it!!!
Also - the slice of Hubertus cake I had in a Cron & Lanz cafe at the centre of picturesque Göttingen to calm my tummy (the pre-party excitement:) was yummy. I definitely miss having those continental style dessert cakes in Scotland! I guess I must start making them myself...
