Red Love in the Country....

To relay simply what happened this weekend is just not sufficient. Here is a moment where I find myself wishing I had the ability to write in a way that transported you into the experiences I just had. But alas, I am not so talented. So I will say this....
This weekend was nothing if not absolufantamormagical. After work on friday Ryan and I escaped by train to a small village about 45 minutes outside of Münster to attend the party of a friend's parents. Upon arriving at the train station we were greeted by two friends clad head to toe in red; Jessica with some saucy red ankle boots and Mitja in a horizontal striped number we later learned were a pair of Oma's (his grandmothers) old PJ's.The party was at Mitja's parents home and, while I understood we were going into the country, and that he was raised in a small village, I in no way expected what I saw. We pulled in down a drive and into a courtyard. On one side was a barn were the festivities were being held, at the head was the huge home, or country manor, rather, that was built in 1840, and on the third side was another much larger barn attached to a 700+ year old tower. Mitja, apparently, is farm royalty or so he was deemed Prince Busch for the remainder of the weekend.

As party's go this one ranked right up there with the best I have attended. Each of the 120 or so guests brought food to share, there was beer flowing all night (the kegs ran out around 3 am then they broke out the bottles), there were glorious costumes, terrible music choices (which makes those Germans somehow endearing), and we were partying in a BARN. I think I lasted until 3:30 but I know I heard people sneaking in around 6:30-7 a.m.

We ended up staying, and being warmly welcomed, for the remainder of the weekend. We spent the time exploring the buildings on the grounds, watching the animals, playing games of ping pong and ultimate frisbee, walking in the countryside, sleeping, and eating Oma's fantastic strawberry jam. The hospitality of Mitja's family stretched well beyond measure as they kindly hosted not just Ryan and I but the Canadians and a slew of other friends from Hamburg. They sat around with us and told stories and kindly invited us to return for a visit.
I appreciated the weekend for many reasons. Mostly, I have noticed my tendency to slide again into the daily grind, worrying only about the job and what must be done, often at the expense of what I really need. What a wonderful opportunity, then, to have no option but to stop and listen. To observe and be unconcerned with what will happen in the next hour. To fully enjoy each moment. And each moment in the weekend was well beyond full.

Want to see photos of the grounds and inside a few of the buildings? Just go here for more.