In Trips in Malta on August 3, 2010 by Michael Tagged: family, food, malta, travel, wedding
Almost three months ago Ann and I made a trip to Malta. We went to catch up with her family and friends and to attend her cousins wedding. It was going to be my first wedding in Malta.
The events started at the village church in Żurrieq where most of Ann’s family lives.
The church is a typical Maltese church sitting in the center of the village and as the front door faces West it is always lit by the most golden light when the sun is starting to set. The ceremony started at 18.30 so as we walked up the roadwe got to see the church in all it’s grandeur.
We went inside and the ceremony started. It was in Maltese so I’m not really sure all that went on. My liturgical knowledge is not really up to scratch but there were some different talks by the priest. Some of the aunts of the bride and groom went to the podium and read some bible verses. And in between there was music being played. Initially I thought it was just recorded music as I could not see the musicians but it turned out there were a singer and a keyboard player behind one of the columns. The songs were more modern that what we are used to hear played by organs in Danish churches.
Running around during the service was a cameraman with a huge light, a photographer and two light assistants with long booms. The photographer looked like a secret service agent in his black suit and an ear peice directing the cameraman and two assistants around. With the church ceremony lasting about an hour and a half I had plenty of time to look at all these guys running around trying to get the perfect shots.
Afterwards we went outside to greet the newlywed as they exited the church and we threw confetti at them while they made their way to the veteran car that would take them to the venue. Here’s the sweet couple.
And then we headed to the venue of the reception. In church most of the family had been present but at the reception more friends and family showed up so we were in the neighbourhood of 300 people there I think.
The reception was held at Ir-Razzett L-Abjad which is an old farm house beautifully converted into a venue hall with a big outdoor garden. It was a huge place with people flocking around either the indoor or outdoor bar.
I had already met a most of Ann’s uncles and aunts on this side of the family on previous trips but here I got to meet all the cousins as well as we came across them at the party.
Unlike Danish parties they don’t go around shaking hands or giving hugs. Instead you find a place to stand or sit while the waiters make the rounds with hors d’oeuvres and other foods. I didn’t take picture of the food and forgot all the different options but there was a lot (maybe it was something like this). A band was playing some background music but there wasn’t really anybody dancing and the food kept coming.
I was quite hungry when the food started to arrive and didn’t realize that it would keep coming all through the night so I indulged a lot in the first couple of items and was struggling as we were halfway through the list. Anyways there was a lot(!) of food and as always in Malta it was really tasty.
The evening ended with the cutting of the cake (more food!) and coffee. An open bar and good food in a steady stream is the perfect combination to keep a Maltese happy so I think everyone had a good night.
Check flickr for the rest of my pictures from the evening.
For me the wedding season continues later this summer with two weddings in Germany. I’m looking forward to seeing friends and joining more happy celebrations.
In Blogging,Trips in Denmark on May 24, 2010 by Michael Tagged: århus, blogger, deer, Denmark, family, forest, summer
A couple of weekends ago Ann and I went on a short trip to Denmark to make a round to friends and family. Apart from the old folk we went on baby patrol and visited a cousin of mine who just had a little Astrid and a couple of high school friends who had Frederik. We also went up to visit my sister who is expecting a family expansion in June.
With my sister, Mogens and Magnus we went for a drive in the beautiful forests south of Århus. We got to see the lovely early summer of Denmark when the beech trees are the brightest green and the birds are chirping and building nests.
We went to The Deer Park and came across a heard of deers that were more than happy to taste our apples. I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else where deer is so tame that they will eat from your hands. But here they were and we had a flock of deers interested in us.
On the way back to London our flight was slightly delayed and as I was trying to find a chair in the departure hall I stumbled into a blogger. I have been reading Tina – omme i London since I decided to move to London so it was great finally meeting her. She brings her camera everywhere and following her blog was a great way for me to experience London before moving here. She does a great job of showing the lovely colorful side of the city. I love meeting bloggers that I’m reading and it was great putting a face and a voice to Tina :)
In Trips in Malta on December 27, 2009 by Michael Tagged: ann, christmas, church, family, malta, mass, procession
On the eve of the 22nd Ann and I made our way to Gatwick airport. We had a flight to Malta the next morning at 7.15 AM and didn’t want to count on public transport getting us out there in the morning as London was having severe traffic issues due to snow and ice. Lucky for us the the flight was almost and time and we made it to Malta without any problems.
While England and the rest of northern Europe was struggling/celebrating snow and ice we ended up in Malta’s warmest Christmas in more than 20 years with temperatures up to 24 degrees – nice!
On December 24th, while Ann was busy, I walked around the village she is from taking pictures of the Christmas decorated houses.
The last photo is a hand-painted picture on the back entrance to a bar that really have an aura of Christmas. As I walked by Christmas music was blasting out in the streets. Check out the front and side photos.
In the evening of the 24th we went to the village’s Christmas Procession where kids dressed as angels and shepherds walk the baby Jesus through the streets as they sing carols.
In the evening we went out with Ann’s siblings and partners to a nice restaurant on Vittoriosa Waterfront.
After that it was on to the university church where we went for midnight mass. The church was packed with people sitting outside watching the service on a big screen. We got a seat inside and watched the Maltese service which started with this kid retelling the Christmas story. Very cute.
Well I’m used to celebrating Christmas on the eve of the 24th but here it’s different so we had to let the gifts stay under the crib for another night before we could release the excitement.
The next morning we got stockings, opened gifts, played games, Wii and watched films.
An extra bonus is that Ann’s mum has orange trees in her garden so we could all start the day with a glass of fresh juice – delicious.
Merry Christmas!
