A Wedding in the Shire

Becoming Mrs. Stubborn German was a quiet affair.. there was no fanfare of trumpets, no outrageous extravaganza, and no 12-person bridal party.. but it was just what we wanted. Simple. No fuss. Just two hearts committing to paper what we already know.. that we are two halves made complete by loving each other..

I was born to love this man. And he was born to love me.. really, we have been destined for this journey from birth..

We got up early on Tuesday morning (28 August) and loaded the car to leave for Dänemark. We had to be there by noon to give our final paperwork to the Bürgerservice and meet with Ms. Andreas at the Nyborg Rathaus. So we left at 8am, and drove the 2 hours to get there.. It was the first time either of us had really been to Dänemark, but the drive was easy and Insel Fyn (Funen Island) is pretty hard to miss because of the huge bridge you have to cross to reach it.

We arrived at the Bürger office at quarter of 11am, and learned that Ms. Andreas was busy performing another wedding. So we gave our documents to the nice lady that was there (who spoke English thankfully!), and walked around the town of Nyborg for about an hour to kill time until Ms. Andreas was available.. We took pictures, of course, and scouted out a place to have a meal later in the afternoon.

After the meeting, we went to Juelsberg Herregaard to check into our room.

Juelsberg lies just outside the town of Nyborg, on the east coast of Insel Fyn. It is an estate with a large mansion, owned by the family of the Baron Juel since 1775. It is surrounded by 38 acres of parkland, with its own private golf course, a lake, and a Pavilion/Tea House which was built in 1843. The park is open to visitors, but the house is reserved for the Juel family and their guests.. they have opened a bed and breakfast in the west wing of the mansion. Michael and I both highly recommend it for a romantic weekend, and you can see it here http://www.juelsbergslot.dk/ , although the site is only in Danish.

We spoke with our hostess, who showed us to our room and private living area, as well as the old manor kitchen, where breakfast would be served the following morning.. Then she left us to our own devices to explore the grounds.. The park surrounding the mansion is lovely and understated, with large expanses of green lawns rather than a bunch of formal gardens. We explored for a little over an hour, and decided to return to Nyborg search of dinner.

We decided to go ahead and have our 'wedding dinner' on Tuesday, so we could leave Dänemark immediately after the ceremony and pictures. Michael had to be at work on Thursday, and he wanted to get back to Deutschland early. He did take a month off to spend time with me when I arrived in June, and we will eventually plan another getaway later, but we haven't decided where.. and we already have a date in Dresden in November!

So we had dinner at Central Cafeen, which was a very nice cafe, although the service was a little slow (to me).. but what do I know about the Danish? I ordered the Vol-au-Vent, which is a puff pastry stuffed with cheese, lobster and white asparagus, garnished with caviar. It came with a salad and fresh rolls. Michael had calf's liver with roasted mushrooms and onions, and a bowl of French onion soup, and afterward we had fresh smoked Danish cheese with chives and carraway, which was served with toast points.. it was all very good food, although I don't care for liver, so I didn't try it, but I did taste the mushrooms and they were delicious.. Were we eating French food in Dänemark? How funny.. and I am such a blondie for just noticing that fact while typing this.. lol. But the cheese was definitely Danish.

Then we were off to drive around the island for the rest of the afternoon.. and Michael, knowing my love for books and my fascination with history, took me to see Castle Glorup (Glorup Slot in Danish, Schloss Glorup in German), which is where Hans Christian Andersen wrote most of his tales.

Glorup was the inspiration for much of his work, and he visited the estate often when taking a break from his other travels. It is a lovely estate on eastern Funen, and was built by the Walkendorf family about 1400. During its long history, the castle was owned by several Danish families, and came under the ownership of Count Adam Moltke-Hvidtfeldt in 1796. His family was one of the original four families that owned Amalienborg in Copenhagen, until the Royal Family purchased the properties in 1794 and made it their winter home. Moltke's Palace is now known as Christian VII's Palace.

It was the Moltke family that H.C. Andersen visited at Glorup. The park surrounding the estate was designed between 1862-1875, and since 1700, the site has been known more for its park than for the castle itself. All of it is still still privately owned, but the park is open to visitors.

I'm afraid that Michael and I did trespass a little on the castle grounds, but neither of us read Danish.. so we happily strolled around in ignornace.. there wasn't another soul in the place on a Tuesday afternoon and thankfully, no one came out to arrest us..

We also glimpsed Volksted Castle on the way back to Juelsberg, but its apparently privately owned and not open to visitors.. still, I got a pretty good picture.. after all, Insel Fyn is not known as the 'land of a hundred castles' for nothing!

Back at Juelsberg, we were both tired after a day of sight-seeing, so we relaxed and turned in early.. there are no phones or radios or TVs in the rooms there, except in the salon, and the estate itself is very quiet at night.. I'm not going to lie, we really were tired and the salon went unused during our stay.. we both went to bed so we could get up early.. as Michael says it takes eternities for a woman to get ready to go anywhere..hehe.. but I told him that brides get special dispensation, and can take as long as they want.. he didn't really have a reply.. he just pressed his German lips together and gave me a look of resignation. And I grinned back.

On Wednesday we woke to a lovely, crisp morning with a slight mist on the grounds surrounding the mansion.. we got up at 7am, got showers, and I primped until 9am (of course, my husband was dressed and ready in 15 minutes!), when we went down to breakfast in the old manor kitchen. It was lovely and quiet (there was only one other couple staying there besides us), and everything was laid out for us on a big square table in the middle of the room..

Fresh rolls with a selection of honey, tangerine marmalade and strawberry jam, a selection of cheeses, fresh melons and plums, a wonderful Danish sausage, banana smoothies, coffee & tea, several natural cereals with fruits and poached eggs.. Europeans really know how lay on breakfast! There were even candles lit around the room and on our table.. very romantic and intimate. Needless to say, I don't really miss American breakfast food. Grits? Nein.

After breakfast, I took my last cup of tea upstairs and finished getting ready for the ceremony, while Michael packed up the car. He looked so handsome in his suit and tie, that I seriously considered dragging him back to our room.. but that would have ruined my lipstick.

We left for the Nyborg Rathaus at 10:30am.. the photographer we hired was already there, and so was Ms. Andreas and our witnesses. We were married in the Mayor's office, in both German and English. Then we signed the paperwork, received congratulations from Ms. Andreas and our witnesses, got our marriage certificate and it was done!

The Rathaus gave me a delightful little crystal vase , stamped with the Seal of Nyborg, as a wedding present, and the photographer took additional pictures afterwards, which we should get in a week or two..

It is a German tradition that the bride wears her gown all day on the day of the wedding.. and I did observe this tradition, because we drove back to Deutschland after the pictures were taken, without stopping to change clothes. I didn't mind it really, since I won't ever wear a wedding dress again, but I did manage to slip out of the crinoline in the car.. otherwise, my husband would have had a roasted bride by the time we got home.. seriously, wearing one of those things can cause heat stroke!

We got back in good time, and there were surprises waiting at home.. Background: when Michael first moved into our apartment I was, of course, still in America. He gave a key to our BFs across the hall in case of emergency or package deliveries, and then promptly forgot that they still had it..

When we arrived back, our front door was decorated with a giant heart and tin cans! There were rose petals on the doorstep.. and throughout our apartment (the key, remember?). They had blown up a thousand and one balloons too, and filled our bedroom with them.. which makes me wonder if they had drinking glasses pressed against the wall that night.. if they did, they got an earful, because we took pins and popped every one of those balloons.. it sounded like cherry bombs going off.. lol.

As soon as they realized we were home, they came over with a couple of bottles of champagne to toast us, and hear all about our trip. Then it was to the backyard, to have more pictures taken, while everyone in our building came out on their balconies to snap their own pictures and wish us well. I'm sure there were a few lewd suggestions made to Michael, judging by the blush he developed, but he wouldn't tell me what they were.. damnit, I have to learn German.

It was late by the time we got back inside, so the BFs ordered out and we all had dinner together.. pizza and champagne.. before they went back home to leave us newlyweds alone... and run to press their ears to the wall I'm sure..

It was a lovely day and a happy occassion to play dress-up, but really our hearts were married in that moment, a long time ago, when we knew our souls were twin mirrors.. that we could not be separated by time or distance or language or culture.. that for us, happiness meant holding hands and travelling through life together...

It wasn't a choice. It wasn't a decision. It was simply.. truth.

This amazing love defines us and yet cannot of itself, be defined. It lives and breathes and grows.. has a life of it's own.. but cannot exist without us to nurture and sustain it. It must be defended at all costs, yet it demands complete surrender. And in the end, love becomes who we are. We live through it and are surrounded by it at the same time. It is also what we do.. with every heartbeat.. with every breath.. with every word, spoken and unspoken.. and with every touch..

When I feel your heart beating beneath my cheek.. when I hear your gentle breathing in the dark.. when I listen to you with my head and my heart.. when I feel the slightest brush of your hand.. It is Love. It's you. It's me.. and there's no distinction between the three..

Van Goethe said "Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.. " And for Michael and me, our destiny lies soully in the hands of each other, as it did before, so it will again.. and yes.. it is beyond all our wishes.. this love.. this life.

So.. Shall we see where the road takes us, my darling? Give me your hand and let's walk together..