Our hotel in Germany was five stars and the staff very friendly but there was not a minute to relax as we were rushed out to a beer kellar and promised local entertainment. He was the first speaker at the conference the next day so I advised him to go carefully with the Steins of beer.
These would have been fine on their own but we also enjoyed sausage and fermenting cabbage in the form of sauerkraut to the accompanying sounds of the cheerful oom pah pah music. He spent all night complaining about his self inflicted state and I am afraid to say I was less than sympathetic.
The trouble was that although it was spring the snow was falling hard and the wind was howling all around. The ladies in their finery were treated to a trip into the mountains where we were shown a beautiful view. Well it would have been beautiful if the fog was not so dense, as we stood on the balcony and stared at a white out, shivering.
The afternoon we met up with the chaps and went on a coach trip to a wine tasting event at a vineyard. They may have been making Eiswein (Iced Wine) for all I knew because we were all absolutely frozen. A lot of people stayed inside and I think copious quantities of wine were consumed that afternoon.
We were late back on the coach for the time of our evening’s entertainment at Heidelberg Castle so everyone was advised to rush. Some poor young chap rushed so hard and combined with all the wine he had consumed slipped heavily in the shower and was taken to hospital with suspected concussion.
We were now all in our eveningwear as we piled back into the coach. Our frazzled party of fifty, chilly, overdressed people climbed out of our warm vehicle and waited at the bottom of the castle steps waiting to be drummed in by the regal, brass band. Well we waited and waited and nothing happened and then suddenly I spied horses in the distance.