The Schrag Blog: Pre-Wedding Fun. . .

Kevin and I left the Bavarian region and drove north and west towards the Black Forest. We didn't enter the area, but drove along the foothills north towards Deidesheim. In case I haven't mentioned her enough, Mollie is a very dear friend of mine from my time in Brazil. She worked with Kevin and was my running partner/therapist/coach/friend/etc. Shortly before she left to return to the U.S., Christian arrived for his ex-pat assignment in Horizontina. They hit it off and have been together ever since! Christian returned to Germany last August and in December, Mollie moved there, too! For the first time in their relationship, they were living on the same continent! When they set a date for their wedding, Kevin and I tossed around the idea of going. We celebrated 10 years of marriage in January and wanted to do something fun. When Kevin realized we had enough sky miles to pay for the tickets, we booked the trip and planned our travel around the wedding weekend. After visiting the castles, we drove to Deidesheim for a BBQ with all the wedding guests. We arrived late so we missed the tour of the winery, but we made it in time for the meal and the fun afterward!

Alina is another friend I know from my time in Brazil. She and her husband were just finishing up their assignment there so we only shared four months of our time. However, shortly after we returned to the U.S., we realized we were going to the same church. Now I get to see her more often and it's been fun getting to know her. Prior to her leaving, she and Mollie were running buddies. Now in the U.S., Alina and I have been running together occasionally. I love these connections and friendships!

Mollie and Christian. . .

We really enjoyed getting to know Christian during the last half of our time in Brazil. He's such a fun, happy, positive guy all the time! I've always said he's the male version of Mollie! They are so great together!

Because we arrived late, we missed the announcement. Mollie and Christian are expecting their first baby at the end of the year! We had fun celebrating with them that evening and as always, it was just wonderful getting to spend time with my old friend! Rarely do Kevin and I stay up late, but that evening was an exception. After most of the guests left, about twenty of us sat around and got to know each other. I've never been a huge fan of white wine, but the waitresses were serving a local German wine that tasted like candy. At 3am, Mollie and Alina and I set a time to for a run in the morning, and then we called it a night! Kevin and I had so much fun hanging out with the Germans, Brazilians and other Americans. It was just a unique experience and I remember sitting there enjoying the languages and cultures colliding, all because two people fell in love.

Giving the mama-to-be some love!

Apparently, I wasn't paying great attention when we set the time to run. I showed up at 8 and nobody else was around. I went back to bed, only to get a text at 8:45 that they were waiting for me. By the time I got down to the meeting place, the girls were gone. I went for a run anyway and ran into two other wedding guests, a German and an American. We ran together for a while and then met up with Alina and Mollie. Deidesheim was a cute little village. These statues were close to the hotel where we stayed. Mollie and Keith ran up and posed for me and then we finished our run.

This isn't the church where they were married, but it was very close to our hotel. I loved the architecture and style of the churches and buildings in Germany. Really, I could live there.

At first I thought these trees were plastic. I don't remember the story behind them, but they are real and they are very interesting. I loved them.

After our run, Kevin and I went out for a walk and found breakfast and coffee at a small bakery. We relaxed in the morning and then I spent some time with Mollie while she was getting ready. We had some laughs as her maid of honor and I helped her get into her wedding dress! Before I knew it, it was time to get ready myself!