What a place for a wedding. Durnstein/ Weissenkirchen/ Joching lie on a northern bend in the Danube (or Donnau) about 10km west of Krems. It is Austria’s major wine growing and production region. I woke up the first day and there was a tractor outside my window hauling a mountain of grapes. The whole wine making process seems a lot more visible here than say Napa or Sonoma. You wander the streets and garage doors are wide open with the processing tanks actively operating.

But I am getting ahead of myself a bit. I pulled into Durnstein at 7:30 and set off to Alter Klosterkeller to meet up for the Friday night reception, about an hour and a half late. I found Flo at the front door, he had just been emailing me wondering where the hell I was... but I was here! I met Tina as well, the maid of honor, and we all headed inside for some wine and food: a traditional plate for the table with all kinds of meat, cheeses and vegetables. And of course there was a bunch of local wine. It was great to catch up with a lot of friends who I haven’t seen in a long time. There was Verena and Flo of course. Verena looking beautiful in her drindl, then there was Petra, whom I met years ago on a ski trip to see Flo in Innsbruck. And then Galen, a good friend from San Francisco who moved to New York a few years back. It was also great to meet more of Flo and Verena’s friends... absolutely fantastic people. The restaurant closed at midnight, so we all loaded into a van and headed west to our respective hotels... mine still to be determined. After hopelessly wandering around for about thirty minutes (which is terrible, because Weissenkirchen is not a very big place) I found my hotel and got set up in my room, but not before joining the proprietors and some other guests for one more glass of wine (that I didn’t need)...

With a heavy head I woke around 10:00 the next morning, had breakfast, and wandered around the village. Vineyards terrace up the hilly river valley in all directions, winding their way into backyards and terraces. I found a walkway up to a panoramic overlook, and just laid down on a bench soaking up the sun, smelling the grapes. Really peaceful.

I headed back to the hotel at 12:00 and got ready. The woman who ran the place ironed my suit for me, I believe when she just found it too painful to watch me try... (I bought her flowers before leaving as a thank you... for my incompetence). Martin and Petra picked me up and we drove over to Durnstein for the wedding. The Stift Durnstein (or main church) was beautiful. We all gathered in the courtyard and at 2:00 headed into the church in pairs, creating a alley for Verena and her father as they came in before we took our seats. It was a pretty long catholic ceremony, and as I was in the front row, I couldn’t really follow the pack as far as sitting, standing a kneeling, and at times it was a little embarrassing. But it was a great ceremony performed by Verena’s uncle (ot that’s what I’m told, it was all German to me).

Then off to the reception in Joching. What a blast... To say that Flo likes to have a good time is an understatement. To help understand Florian’s personality, I want to share a little story with you, to help set the scene. In 2009 I believe, I went to Inssbruck to do a week of skiing with Florian before spending a week with my good friends John, Jim, Audra and Terry driving around the Alps. I had arrived into Munich a few nights earlier, and we had been doing our part to feed Austria’s nighttime economy. We met up with some of his friends and went bar hopping to a few places I had been on another visit. I think at 4am we wound up at TestaRosa, it is all unclear to me, but I knew I just couldn’t last. I was dying... I was dead. I broke the news to Flo, but he wasn’t having it. I stayed for one more, 5am. “That’s it, Flo, I am going home.” Again protests. But this time I was going to be the enforcer. He saw I was serious, put me in a car, and sent me back to the place. I was so happy, looking forward to curling up in bed and getting some sleep. The cab driver sped off, and we drove for about ten minutes when he stopped, but as far as I could remember this was not Flo’s place??? As I tried to make sense of it all, Flo and his friends rushed out the back door of the bar, grabbed me out of the taxi and back into the bar. Unbeknownst to me, he had just told the taxi driver to drive around a while then drive up to the back of the bar, he would take care of the rest. Another night in Innsbruck, another sunrise witnessed (through hazy eyes).

The receptions was a blast, the band was decked out in Hawaiian shirts and fez’s, playing tuba’s and washboards. How perfect for the union of these two people. A festive time had by all... It was great to meet so many wonderful people. Now here is a tip to enjoying an Austrian wedding, pace yourself. There is going to be wine: white, rose and red, there is going to be beer, there will be schnapps, and they will all come at all different times of the evening. I may have gone out a little too fast, but I managed to hold on for a long while. But sometime in the evening, I can’t exactly remember when, Galen said he and Tracey were heading back and asked if I wanted a ride, I happily accepted, and promptly Irish goodbyed everyone! It was probably in everyone’s best interest. Looking back, I probably should have stuck the party out, because I am not sure I could have felt any worse the next day... and it wasn’t just the partying, there was a cold brewing, and I could feel it developing in my chest.