Honeymoon Recap: Germany - Polterabend

Polter-what?

Polterabend.  I don't really know what it stands for, but it's basically a big party in honor of the bride and groom.  Not us, the ones we went to visit in Germany, Uwe (pronounced Uva) and Claudia.  Apparently there are no formal invites that go out for this party, it's just a word of mouth kind of thing.  Even people that aren't invited to the wedding are welcome to come and wish the bride and groom well.  There was too much footage to make a long video, so I just did a clip montage (okay, flipshare did a clip montage, whatever).

Let me give you a quick rundown before you watch the video...

When we arrived, guests were walking up to a stone propped against a tree outside of the pub with baskets of dishes throwing and breaking them.  Apparently breaking the dishes means well wishes for the bride and groom.  The more dishes, the more luck you are wishing them.  This was going on while people were arriving and cocktails were being had, so I would assume it was cocktail hour.  The groom said a little something and then we all went inside to grab a seat and get in line for food.

Dinner was goulash (think beef stew in a thinner broth) and bread.  It was so amazing we all went back for seconds.  After dinner the bride and groom gave a speech in German so I can't really tell you what they said, but Uwe did mention that JB and I were there and we had just been married two weeks before and he called us up to the front of the room to basically stand there with another couple who I am guessing had also recently wed.  After that they shared a dance together and then others joined in for the next song.  German, okay European music in general, is pretty interesting to say the least.  Luckily the DJ had some US top hits to get down to as well (see video #2 below).

There are a few traditions that take place at the Polterabend.  The breaking of the dishes is one, and a part of another.  Apparently the best man takes all the dishes that were broken (someone also showed up with a porcelain toilet and shattered it as well) and spreads them all out in a big mess outside and only the bride and groom are allowed to clean it up.  They have to clean until the best man says it's good.  During this time, they burn the groom's pants to symbolize that he is no longer wearing the pants in the relationship and they nail the bride's shoes to a tree so she can't run away.  Very entertaining.

The party was on the 9th and Uwe's birthday is on the 10th, so at midnight, they lit off fireworks.  Legit, illegal in the US without a permit, fireworks.  Right.In.The.Street.  I was a little stressed out about this to say the least, but it was pretty cool.  After the fireworks, the best man gave his approval of the clean up and we headed back inside for dessert.  Little did Uwe know that they had gotten him a birthday cake and the bride wheeled it out lit with sparkling candles.  Apparently birthdays are a pretty big deal in Germany and everyone at the party (which was a LOT of people) lined up to hug Uwe and wish him a happy birthday while the DJ played every birthday song in his arsenal over and over until we were all finished.

At midnight more food was brought out and we were all eating and drinking and dancing and having a merry time.  JB, our friend and I were sitting at a table talking and one of the servers came up with a tray of beer asking if we wanted any.  When we said "No, thank you." and he turned to go, he lost control of the tray and all of the beer came down on the right side of me.  It was awesome.  The best part was that Uwe's Uncle Heinz told me I won the wet t-shirt contest.  Duh.  WINNING!!!

We went home around 1:30 or so, but I think the party was going pretty late.  Now that you have the rundown, check out the video below.



And because I know you want to see my sweet moves on the dance floor (and hear my awesome singing), here is the rest of the party rock vid:



I know, I keep telling JB I need a record deal.