New Year 2013

Happy New Year from Germany! Fabian and I hosted in his parents' "hobby room" - the finished basement. We ate Raclette (this wonderful contraption where you can melt cheese over various foods that you place in an individual little pan) and drank Feuerzangenbowle. Our theme for the evening was Black & White, Silver & Gold. I wore a silver dress that we found among Fabi's grandma's old stuff, which I took in on the sides. It fit me just right! We spent much of the evening eating, then moved on to playing Activity - kind of a mixture between Pictionary, Charades, and Taboo. Girls vs. boys. Each time one team got a point, the other drank their Feuerzangenbowle. Hehe.

 

Katja (front row, middle - our decoration master general and overall lifesaver of the evening) made 4-leaf clovers for us, on which we wrote our wishes for 2013. Then at midnight, we tied the clovers to medium-sized rockets, scaled the hill behind our house, and shot the wishes into oblivion! All around us, from every corner of the Bottwartal, people were shooting fireworks. SO MANY people participated that there was a constant line of explosions along the horizon. Our shoes got muddy because we were standing in a field, but the view was worth the muck!

After midnight we marched our way back to the house and played loud music and danced. The boys, of course, whipped out some Guiness and kept going. The girls, of course, slowed down and began cleaning - ha! By 4 a.m. everyone was either in their sleeping bags on our living room floor, or safe and sound in their beds at home.

This morning we woke up around 11, made coffee & breakfast, which consisted of brezels, white sausage, butter, and some fruit. Katja and Annika got to work washing dishes - bless those girls! And once the brezels came out of the oven, we all headed back downstairs. Minus Fabi. (We'll just say he needed to keep sleeping for a while. He rejoined the world of the living around 12:30.) A few of the guests who went home last night returned to brunch with us, and then together we cleaned the entire house. Vaccuum, dishes, taking out the trash, scraping mud out of the carpets, etc. Our guests were amazing! By the time everyone left at 3pm or so, we basically only had to throw a load of laundry in the washer. Done.

My [as hostess, completely unbiased] verdict: it was a fantastic New Year's party! Celebrating in Fabi's basement really reminded me of the IFC years, when we often got together down there. Fabi even wore his hat from back then - too funny!

I hope YOU had a wonderful celebration too, whoever is reading this. I wish you all the best for 2013, and as the Germans say "may all your wishes come true this year!" Hugs & love from the other side of the pond.