Welcome home party

I had a wonderful "Back-From-Down-Under Party" on Saturday.

Nearly 40 friends came to celebrate my return home. And we were really lucky with the weather: On Friday and Sunday we had quite a bit of rain here, but on Saturday afternoon it all cleared up and we could sit outdoors in my sister's garden all night.

The decoration was German-Australian, as you can see in the pictures. Everybody brought some food: we had what is known in English as a potluck party. We also lit a bonfire, let it burn for a couple of hours and then barbecued the marinated meat and sausages on a tripod grill right above the embers -- the good German traditional style of BBQ, not the fried-on-steel-plates-over-gas-flames way the Aussies prefer. All the food was really yummy. Thanks everybody for your fantastic contributions!

After dark, we had party lights, candles and sat around the fire, singing songs until 3 a.m. And the big surprise of the night was a magnificent fireworks!