Oktoberfest - Wunderbar!

 

A special weekend of unexpected joy and friendship!

One short week ago

a road weary "Musikverein Elchingen" very talented music group, from the Neresheim,

Baden Wurttemberg region of Germany, came to our small town of Milverton, Ontario.

They had just finished a tour to our Nation's Capital - Ottawa,

Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto.

They unloaded their luggage and musical instruments

and performed a beautiful mini concert prior to being properly welcomed

and fed BBQ hamburgers, salads, butter tarts and beer!

All the arrangements were done by an uber efficient 

Perth East Twinning Committee.

Congratulations to you all!

I had signed up for billeting and was delighted

to taxi 4 beautiful young women to my home in Stratford.

They were tired and cold and welcomed the hot tub,

lingering as long as possible.

Katharina, Isabell, Roswitha and Silke

It was evident right from the beginning that this was going

to be a very fun filled weekend

in spite of the weather and my very poor German vocabulary...

Thankfully they all spoke English very well.

On Saturday the group was given a quick tour of our area and

later that evening they performed for a "sold out" Oktoberfest

crowd at the Perth East Recreation Centre.

Many people remarked how wonderful it was to have such

a large crowd gather once again since all the Covid restrictions in past years.

Celebrating, dancing, eating the most delicious German Food,

and enjoying this professional musical group was truly awesome.

They played on and on for many hours ... amazing!

On Thanksgiving Sunday the group was able to have some "down time"

to relax with their host families.

This was another opportunity to get to know each other,

eat together, nap and refresh.

Oktoberfest is not new to our region with the nearby famous

Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest and it's many Fest Halls and

celebrations for well over 50 years!

"Our" special guests marched in the large parade!

They rose in the wee hours of the dark and cold Monday morning,

we said a tearful "Auf Wiedersehen" to our new friends

and hoped to see them all again someday!

Here is a short clip gleaned from the early morning parade TV broadcast.

They should be so proud - a totally professional and delightful group!

Following the parade, their bus took them to see

Niagara Falls before heading back to Toronto for

a flight back to Germany the next day!

Memories forever ...

In the meantime, 

a family dinner was enjoyed at the farm on Thanksgiving Monday afternoon

with left-over pie, and roasted chicken with all the fixings.

Thanks Becky and Patrick!

This was one of the most memorable Thanksgiving weekends I've ever had!

My heart is warm and full - not to mention my tummy.

Unforgettable new friends!

Thankful for you all - God Bless You and Keep You!

You are loved!

Till next time ... remembering a very special Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend shared

                                                   with new found friends from Germany!

Prost!