Weiberfest

That's German, of course.  What it means is, there's  a party with only women.  But this has nothing to do with someone getting married, so it isn't a "bachelorette party" because these women are not there to celebrate any marriage event.  It's a bunch of partying women - ages late 20s to mid 70s -  celebrating their friendship.  I can't seem to find an English equivalent.

That I ended up at this party is a long story.  Here are the bones:

1. Werner and I fell in love.
2.  He enrolled at UF.
3. There were all kinds of neat people he met, so I did, too.  Lots were from Germany.
4. They/we always stayed in touch, and I got to be an honorary member of the group.
5.  There are parties in Germany.
6.  One, given by one of the UF women, is just for women.

There is one woman who brings us all together - Ute.  She was one of the Gainesville girls back in the 80s, used to live in Berlin and now lives in Bremen.  Now I get to be invited to the Weiberfest.  Believe me, this is special.

I was invited last year and it was OK, I had fun, but there I was at a big party and knew only two people and I talked to so many and the names got jumbled, and the faces got mixed up, but it was OK.  Last year, Nicole came and stayed with us, just for the night.

This year, it was Nicole and husband Jeremy,  and Charlotte from Frankfurt, all fellow UF alumni What a happy houseful!

They arrived late Friday, so we had some bread and spreads and talked even later and caught up and finally settled in.

Next day, lotsa pancakes for breakfast. Of there are no pics.  I was cooking!

Jeremy, a history teacher, was especially interested in visiting the Bunker Valentin. We'd hoped to make it a bike outing but the weather was against that - cold winds, threatening skies and cooooool temperatures!

For some reason, this "museum" is closed on Saturdays, open on Sundays, so we could only walk the outside.  Regardless, it's impressive.

Vines climbing the vertical walls.

Reading about the slave laborers.

 The intended berth for the subs.  It always reminds me of  Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Sadly, Charlotte got a call from her mother's caregiver that things had taken a downturn at home, so she had to cut short her visit.  We were sorry to see her go but so glad she was here!

I had made some chili to fight off the chill - good idea as it turned out - then Nicole and I got ready for the party and the guys ready to go to a craft beer festival.

You can see our party got - wild!  Here's Fiona on the table, announcing to the world what a gracious and generous host we had in Ute.  She was right.  The food was stupendous and the company amazing.

Nicole and I hobbled home at 1:30, and the guys had generously waited up!

Needless to say, we slept in on Sunday, but then it was breakfast time.  Since there was another born southerner in the house, we had biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage, bacon, and of course jams and jellies.  A good two pots of coffee!  Jeremy and Nicole were careful to spare two biscuits and sausage patties to sustain them on the way home.

A quick trip to the Loggermarkt!  It was just a look around, but the sunny day had already brought out the crowds to listen to the music and eat the goodies.

Then they had to leave!  Too soon...

A short walk to the train station, last hugs, and off they go!

What a fun weekend (mostly).  We wish Charlotte could have stayed, but she made the right decision.  And we will see these folks again - maybe next time in Berlin!