It was exactly five years to the weekend that I first met Markus "Der Superbauer" Rohling and it felt like destiny that I returned to the place where my life changed profoundly. I spent this past Easter weekend in Ochtrup, a village less than an hour from Münster to fulfil a promise that was long overdue. There were too many momentous occasions and intoxicated-influenced occurrences in this single trip to write about within this single entry but one worth highlighting was the "Osterfeuer" on Easter Sunday evening. One of Markus's friends, Timo had invited everyone round to his family farm to light a bonfire, a traditional ritual at Easter time in Germany. We could see from afar other bonfires from neighbouring farms and we were lucky enough to get the fire raging before the heavens began to pour upon the pastures. A shabby wooden passenger wagon was the place of refuge for the party to watch the Osterfeuer in (semi-)shelter before we drowned ourselves in Weinbrand (cognac and coke) in the party room with a jukebox on hand to keep the soundtrack lively and varied. I had pretty much been drinking the whole weekend from a monstrous 3-litre glass that by the time it got to Easter Monday I was glad to be having an alcohol-free evening.
The Easter break alleviated some of the uncertainty which clouded the past couple of weeks with regards to my position at work. However, this was transcended tenfold by the humble and humorous shenanigans I had experienced once again in this farmland in which a part of my heart is embedded (and the eggshell that I broke free from in 2005 - no pun intended).
Pictures to follow...
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