Seeing as our stay in Germany is quickly coming to an end, we opted to host an "Auf Wiedersehen Feier" (Going Away Party) for our friends here as a way to say goodbye. The night turned into a huge success! The weather ended up making a turn for the better (at the beginning of the party, it started to rain, which made things quite interesting as we tried to pile 30 plus people into our little apartment! :)), the food was delicious, there were many smiles and lots of laughs (and, of course, the occasional tears!), and being able to spend the evening with so many wonderful (new) friends was fantastic! :)
As I watched our friends that evening, chatting and spending time with each other, I was aware of how extremely fortunate we are... In a matter of just 3 years, we have come to know so many wonderful people over here! And, even though we will now have thousands of miles between us, I am certain that many of these friendships we've made over here will last for many years to come... And, for that, I will be forever grateful! :)
So, with that said, here's a little look into our "Auf Wiedersehen Feier", as well as a small "meet and greet" with many of the people who have made our stay in Germany so much more memorable! :)
Anna and I...
On the night of the party, Anna was actually leaving for a three week trip to Norway, and she won't be getting back to Germany until the day that we leave... So, she took a few extra minutes to pop into our party so that we could officially say our goodbyes... I'm gonna miss this girl!! :(
Denise, Joerge, Savanna, and Finja...
What an adorable family they are, and what wonderful friends they've become!! They are going to be dearly missed!
Anna taking the time to sign our book...
As a way of remembering everyone, I took a picture of them as the arrived at the party, and then they had to sign this book before they left... Now, I plan on making copies of their pictures and placing them on their signed pages... I figured it would be a great keepsake after we get home. :)
Davinia and Steff...
These ladies are key players in the Bodensee Players theatre group I've been a part of... :)
Brian "slaving" over the grill...
I think this is where he spent most of his time that evening! :)
Eva and Alex enjoying themselves...
Katrina and Larra...
Angelika, Andy, and Tilda were enjoying the evening... :)
Kim and Conner...
She left the rest of her "boys" at home (one of them being her husband! :)) that evening, so that she could come hang out with us! :)
Finja being cute as always! :)
One of the reasons Brian enjoyed manning the grill was because everyone came out to visit him! :)
My girlfriends planned a little surprise for me...
They know how much I've grown to enjoy cooking/baking since living over here, so they all got together and wrote down their favorite recipes and then made a cookbook out of them... And, on the front page, they wrote that they gave it to me so that every time I cook, I'll remember them and all of the fun times we've had over the past few years... How sweet is that?! :) As you can tell by the picture, I was clearly excited! :) And then the excitement quickly turned into tears as I realized how thoughtful the gift... I'm going to really miss them!
Norbert and Maike...
These two have been our saviors over the past few years... They've been there for us through thick and thin, and I can only hope that they know how much we appreciate them!
Sean had a little buddy that evening! :)
Isabell and Walter...
They were very helpful during those moments of homesickness over the past few years... They lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for 5 years, so it was always nice to be able to talk to them as they understood where we were from. :)
Eva and Dominik...
What would we have ever done without these two?! Words cannot describe what their friendship has meant to us during our time here!
Fran and Alex chatting away... :)
Eva and Martina...
Theresa and Erik...
Fellow Americans! :)
Looks like Erik and Sean are planning some type of road trip! :)
Michelle and Markus...
They literally a 5 minute walk from us... I'm going to miss being able to pop on over for a coffee and a chat every now and then.
Fran...
Our Spanish connection! :)
Angelika...
She was a super help with the food that day! :)
Guy talk! :)
Erik and Anna...
They played the butler and maid in the last theatre performance...
And, Anna, was our esteemed photographer that evening!! Without her help we would never have had so many great pictures to remember the evening!! Thank you, Anna! :)
Taking a break from our hostessing duties... Whew!
Throwing a party for a crowd that size proved to be quite a task! :)
Chillin' on the bier bench...
That's our brand new bier bench that we're bringing home with us... Isn't it pretty?! :)
Trying to get all the ladies together for a picture proved to be quite a daunting task! :) Needless to say, we soon gave up and made do with whoever was in the room at that particular time! :)
Lori and I...
The theatre crowd...
Even when they're supposed to be relaxing, they're still talking "business"... I'm pretty sure they were discussing ideas for the upcoming fall production! :)
Tiffy!!
This has got to be one of the best dogs I've ever met!! :)
Savanna was rockin' out that evening! :)
Brian's little buddy... :)
Savanna's nickname for Brian is "tomato", so now whenever they are together, all you hear is "tomato this... tomato that..." Too cute! :)
Sam and Steff...
Like mother, like daughter. :)
Benjamin and Katrina...
Ahh... The memories we have with these two over the years! :)
Towards the end of the evening, Brian and Lori realized just how "All-American" they looked with their American flag t-shirts! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment