11. Wedding of Stefan and Ira
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| Heidelberg Castle |
We
were up early to be in Heidelberg before the rush hour Friday traffic. Today is the
day Stefan Knopf weds Ira Pistorius. It is a historical event; I would have
never believed it because he told me many times he would never remarry. But
here it is, and I am here to witness so I can write ‘It’s true’.
I
need to interject here: the meaning of
Knopf (German) is = Button (English). The
question is: Once Stefan marries he is no longer a single button, but now there
will be 2 buttons, so does Stefan needs to change his name to Knöpfe (The
plural for button in German)?
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| Ira and Stefan With "Just Married Ribbon on the Sidecar and Handle Bars |
Ah,
all those details to think about. The couple solved the issue by keeping their
original names, she is Ira Pistorius, and he remains Stefan Knopf.
Ah,
the couple…yes…smiles all around… they came via a side car motorcycle. Ira
looked lovely. Stefan, I have never seen him really dressed up, looked dapper.
Everyone wore big smiles. A small close family group piled into the small
chamber of the official who then legalized the union; Papers were signed, hugs
and kisses exchanged and voila… we have a new couple in the world. The
“Knöpfe”!
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| Stefan and His 4 Children Plus Ira and Her 2 Daughters |
Ah,
yes, I explained that already, they kept their names…
But
they got married, I was there. It is true! And
many people were there to witness the affair, the celebration of joining two
lives.
Outside
the town hall where the wedding took place was a large contingent of
motorcycles. And then there were the ladies in black dresses, white gloves and white
boas each holding long,
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| Ah Honour Guard for the Happy Couple |
yellow tipped oars. They formed an arched lane to pass
through when the newly-wed couple came out of the Standesamt and then later
again when everybody drove off with their motorcycles. Those ladies were from a
Club Ira belongs to. They smacked the paddles together in a loud clapping sound
when the couple came back from their vows.
One
family member of Stefan’s, Oliver, wanted to change his clothing, pick up some
meds he forgot and we drove him to his place near where Stefan lives. He
guided us out of town because we did not ride in; we used the rental car we had.
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| Hot Dogs, Chicken and Sausage |
It
was easy to get out of town, even during rush hour with a local guide in the
vehicle. Thank you, Oliver.
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| Salads and Bread |
When
we got back to Stefan’s place, the celebration was in full swing already. Lots
of congrats, lots of people in his rather large yard but this was not the
official party yet. This was just a ‘snack’ or lunch so nobody would go hungry.
We had a hot dog, some salad and water and then went back to our place and parked the car
again, we were within walking distance of Stefan’s place, no need for the car.
It
was a genuine good feeling to see that Stefan and Ira tied the knot.
It
was a wedding celebration I will not so easily forget.
We
were just leaving when Ira told us to be back later, for some pizza.
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| Practicing For Tomorrow's Wedding Cake |
Food,
food, food…. Well, we were close enough, so we did go ‘home’ and then came back
later in the afternoon to just schmooze a bit more with all the other folks that
just hung out at the Knopf compound.
A
huge pile of pizza’s arrived when we were back later and everybody dove into
the pile, had a slice, and had another slice.
Then Ira’ came out with a cake she made, fabulous. Yummy! The food kept
on coming.
To
the point where… when Chris arrived a bit later, coming back from his gym time
there was no pizza left. He had to eat cake; (Which he did not like).
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| Ira's Cake - Soooo Good |
Ah,
the youth, they have their own ways but … they will have to learn to adapt
(hopefully).
Tomorrow
is the real party at the Knopf’s place.
I felt for the new couple, they had lots of company; the party was still
going on when we left a bit later.
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| Stefan Is Wearing a Pin With 2 Red Buttons Joined |
