Sprechen Sie Englisch? Ich spreche kein Deutsch...

Friday night I got home from spending 2 days in a gorgeous sleepy village called Clausthal, nestled in the Harz mountains in Germany.
 

 

I had great fun renting a car and driving on the autobahn, even getting lost on occasions. I was in Germany for a work meeting which all went really well, and will be one of the last of its type I do on account of my recent promotion. Happy but sad.

 

The wonderful staff of the Goldene Krone Hotel definitely deserve a mention for their wonderful hosting of myself plus 35+ colleagues. Not to mention handling a hectic dinner for all of us that went on til midnight. Danke schön.

 



http://www.goldenekrone-harz.de/



 

When I'm travelling with work I always try to uphold a family tradition of bringing home a treat from the airport. When my dad used to work away when I was a kid he would always bring my sister, mum, and me a big slab of milka or a toblerone each - you can imagine how the 3x metallic sticks looked on the xray of his luggage.

 

Speaking of dodgy hand luggage contents, I had to bring back with me a solid glass award plaque for one of my members.  I dreaded bringing it through the security checks, it has all the characteristics of a dangerous weapon - weighs at least 3kg, solid glass, pointy edges etc. I sent the box through the xray scanner on its own, like a laptop, as I knew they'd be keen to examine it. When it arrived on the other side, of course the nice German security lady was asking me what it was. I unpacked it slowly, to not cause any alarm, and unwrapped the glass weapon from its spongy casing. The nice German security lady proceeded to squeal with delight at the beautiful plaque, and show it to all her colleagues, before sending me and the plaque on our way with a smile and a wave. 

 

 

I've done a mock up of a wedding centre piece that I'm happy with, after the vintage hot air balloons proved too problematic.  I bought these adorable metal tins from Ikea (supposedly they're plant pots, but I think they make lovely candle holders the way the light dances through the laser-cut lace design). I then wrapped paper rose garlands around each of them, in alternating off-white and soft pink. Simple, cheap and effective.  I'm going to fill the tin with glass or white pebbles and a candle, and scatter the tables with tea light candles in assorted jam jars.

 

 

Only 2 months and 3 weeks to go.