The Wedding

The evening before the wedding was pleasantly spent, first with drinks in an outdoor bar, then the wedding rehearsal ("Do I stand on the left or the right?" the father asked the bride hesitantly), and a hearty rehearsal dinner with the groom's family.

The groom's mother was a professor in Maths and Statistics doing seminal research in multi-dimensional vector diagrams used by Microsoft. I wouldn't have known a thing about this except that Akshay had just taught me about the very same when I was in Toronto earlier this year. So I was able to enter into a reasonably informed discussion on the subject. Somehow I came out of the conversation seeming reasonably intelligent. What a fluke, really.

The wedding day began early, with a flurry of panic and dresses and makeup and hairpins and perfumes. The bride was the calmest from everyone: "I think I might be getting a bit nervous now," she finally admitted, only at the very end. The stone chapel was beautifully situated in an intimate rose garden, adjacent to a large stone courtyard with a fountain in the middle. The air was still fresh with the scent of dew and early sunshine. The couple, of course, looked radiant.

The church ceremony was followed by a leisurely and elegant lunch in a nearby sprawling winery. The restaurant overlooked acres of hillside vineyards, lit by the the bright sunshine and blue skies, with the Rhein sparkling in the distance. From every angle, the views were simply breathtaking.

Late in the afternoon, the celebrations moved onto a sunset cruise along the Rhein, which flows serenely between the hillside castles and vineyards of the German Rheinland. As we sailed past a little island in the middle of the river, the Best Man recounted the myth of the haunting mermaids who used to sing enticingly on the island, luring sailors off their charted course, and the legend of how they had been overcome by Ulysses. JC's Grandma was particularly delighted by the tale and began retelling an additionally dramatised version to several other guests. I was awed by her sharp mind and vitality.

The evening culminated in a cocktail bar back in the town centre, where the guests got to spend the last bit of quality time with each other and with the married couple. Food and drink flowed in plentiful throughout the day, giving us several occasions to shout "Prost!" to toast P&P.

Early the next morning, JC, his brother and I made a mad dash for the train station, almost missing the train on account of the absolute German punctuality. We each sat silent in the train bleary eyed and hiccuping with sleep, as the whirlwind activities of the previous day finally had time to sink in.

Frankfurt airport was a bittersweet moment, looking forward to London but having to leave JC. We shared a long, tight hug. JC is about to embark on a new life in the Hague, and we shared the anticipation of his new adventure.