Realizing possibilities for the upcoming year!
Nearly one year ago our friends Stefan and Angela went to the 9th annual Regensburger Theater Ball. Stefan, as he is prone to do, took his camera with him and snapped numerous pictures and movies of the night. He and Angela prophetically report: "It's January 2006 and we are at the Theater Ball, where you and Erin will join us next year!"
This last weekend, we fulfilled that prophecy. The Theater Ball was amazing. There really isn't anything better than seeing everyone dressed to the nines, smiling, and dancing. The program started at about 7PM when we entered the theater on Bismark Platz and were immediately greeted by young servers touting glasses of prosecco (italian sparkling wine) or yummy hors d'oeuvres. At 7:30 we shuffled into the main theater to watch various orchestral, opera, or ballet pieces. Far from the unknowns, Erin and I were both happy to hear a lot of pieces that we know (Erin's fav being La Traviata).
Then is was time to get some more food. The buffet was certainly intriguing boasting the simultaneous joys and follies of fusion dishes. Examples:
• Curry sauce fountain with skewers of chicken, steak, tomatoes, or ship -- really good.
• Bavarian Wok or Bavarian sushi (which consists of California rolls that are made with sausages, not fish) -- um, not so good.
But by then the wine was flowing, so anything could simply be chased away.
More dancing followed throughout the night. Thank god that Erin and I have very patient teachers in Stefan and Angela, because our dancing skills....well, they basically suck. Angela took me around the room a number of times, each time masterfully disguising that she was actually the one leading. Erin also made a number of rounds with Stefan...and I mean many, many, many rounds on the dance floor. "Ya, I think that we made it around that hall at least 4 times in one song," was Stefan's response when Erin coined her very first Germanism: "Tanzfahren" (dance/ballroom driving).
It was about 5:30 AM when we all hopped into a cab and went home to sleep for a bit.
In my own estimation, you know that you've really had an amazing night when new memories about it come to you over the following days and weeks. Like our wedding, this one counts right up there!!
Fasching
"Carnival"
The day prior to the ball, Erin and I also joined Stefan and Angela along with Sigfried and Gabi (Sigfried blessed Erin's ring after our engagement) at the St. Emmeram's church. Dressed like some crossover between Mickey Mouse and the villain from Gangs of New York, we went to this small gathering for warm up dancing and a couple beer. Highlights of the evening include visions of Stefan riding his bike through the snow while in full monk costume, being recognized for my long travels to Regensburg with a metal from the cheer group, and the cheer group themselves.
Lusticania, as they are called, is a club of high-school-aged kids that desire to be part of this dance club. The king and queen (of course) have a sweet gig -- aside from being eye-candy, they make one round on the dance floor and then act as supporters for their colleagues. Note here, their colleagues need a lot of support, but so much the emotional kind as the physical kind. Doing stunts that harken back to the cheerleader teams of our youth, they attempted (usually with some about of success) to dance, lift, and jump their way into our laps and our hearts. It's hard not to laugh: sausage fed girls don't usually make for the lightest to be tossing around; the warm-up beers that the guys seemed to have had certainly don't increase their ability to balance themselves let alone the flying sausages they were tossing. Often times the look of expected fear on the girls faces said it all -- "Oh, shit, I've seen this before!"
All told though, I get the feeling that the troop enjoys doing this, half taking themselves seriously and half knowing that they are completely ridiculous. Really, no different than their audience.
Nearly one year ago our friends Stefan and Angela went to the 9th annual Regensburger Theater Ball. Stefan, as he is prone to do, took his camera with him and snapped numerous pictures and movies of the night. He and Angela prophetically report: "It's January 2006 and we are at the Theater Ball, where you and Erin will join us next year!"
This last weekend, we fulfilled that prophecy. The Theater Ball was amazing. There really isn't anything better than seeing everyone dressed to the nines, smiling, and dancing. The program started at about 7PM when we entered the theater on Bismark Platz and were immediately greeted by young servers touting glasses of prosecco (italian sparkling wine) or yummy hors d'oeuvres. At 7:30 we shuffled into the main theater to watch various orchestral, opera, or ballet pieces. Far from the unknowns, Erin and I were both happy to hear a lot of pieces that we know (Erin's fav being La Traviata).
Then is was time to get some more food. The buffet was certainly intriguing boasting the simultaneous joys and follies of fusion dishes. Examples:
• Curry sauce fountain with skewers of chicken, steak, tomatoes, or ship -- really good.
• Bavarian Wok or Bavarian sushi (which consists of California rolls that are made with sausages, not fish) -- um, not so good.
But by then the wine was flowing, so anything could simply be chased away.
More dancing followed throughout the night. Thank god that Erin and I have very patient teachers in Stefan and Angela, because our dancing skills....well, they basically suck. Angela took me around the room a number of times, each time masterfully disguising that she was actually the one leading. Erin also made a number of rounds with Stefan...and I mean many, many, many rounds on the dance floor. "Ya, I think that we made it around that hall at least 4 times in one song," was Stefan's response when Erin coined her very first Germanism: "Tanzfahren" (dance/ballroom driving).
It was about 5:30 AM when we all hopped into a cab and went home to sleep for a bit.
In my own estimation, you know that you've really had an amazing night when new memories about it come to you over the following days and weeks. Like our wedding, this one counts right up there!!
Fasching
"Carnival"
The day prior to the ball, Erin and I also joined Stefan and Angela along with Sigfried and Gabi (Sigfried blessed Erin's ring after our engagement) at the St. Emmeram's church. Dressed like some crossover between Mickey Mouse and the villain from Gangs of New York, we went to this small gathering for warm up dancing and a couple beer. Highlights of the evening include visions of Stefan riding his bike through the snow while in full monk costume, being recognized for my long travels to Regensburg with a metal from the cheer group, and the cheer group themselves.
Lusticania, as they are called, is a club of high-school-aged kids that desire to be part of this dance club. The king and queen (of course) have a sweet gig -- aside from being eye-candy, they make one round on the dance floor and then act as supporters for their colleagues. Note here, their colleagues need a lot of support, but so much the emotional kind as the physical kind. Doing stunts that harken back to the cheerleader teams of our youth, they attempted (usually with some about of success) to dance, lift, and jump their way into our laps and our hearts. It's hard not to laugh: sausage fed girls don't usually make for the lightest to be tossing around; the warm-up beers that the guys seemed to have had certainly don't increase their ability to balance themselves let alone the flying sausages they were tossing. Often times the look of expected fear on the girls faces said it all -- "Oh, shit, I've seen this before!"
All told though, I get the feeling that the troop enjoys doing this, half taking themselves seriously and half knowing that they are completely ridiculous. Really, no different than their audience.
posted by Dave Suss at 8:34 PM
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