Weekend Escape to Kronach: Wedding Bells & Bavarian Charm

Celebrating love is always a good idea for a quick trip, don’t you think?

Two people that I’ve known and I love dearly, decided to unite their lives under matrimony in Kronach (Germany) a few weeks ago and like any good person in their lives I was there to witness them linking their fates. They have been together for a long amount of time, five years I think, and it was so sweet how they both said I do and put their signatures down on paper, looking all sorts of happy and excited. I wish them all the best and I feel so honored to have been there for them.

Back to the trip at hand, let’s start with me saying that I have never been to Germany before. Surely, I had been to Munich airport before, but it was for a corresponding flight to Belgium, if I am not mistaken. This time, it was for more than the flight. It was for me to take a bus from Munich to Nuremberg and from there to Kronach by car. Admittedly, the trip wasn’t all that relaxing, not because of the flight, but mainly because to reach Kronach we had to change transportation and with luggage it proved to be quite the challenge. Plus, we had no idea that Lufthansa had turned their flight from Munich to Nuremberg into a bus trip, so we had two hours in a bus driving us to Nuremberg in the middle of the night. Again, not the most relaxing trip, but it was worth it for the purpose of our trip.

A Short Journey to Kronach’s Timeless Charm

Truthfully, I am a geography challenged person. I don’t know much about countries or cities when it comes to history or location, my source of information is mostly Google and more specifically, Wikipedia. So, for me Kronach sounded foreign to say the least, but with a quick search at Google I was able to capture mentally some of its essence before actually traveling there. Because, yes, I am that kind of person who wants to get a taste before making the trip.

Kronach is a charming German village with a very prominent Bavarian charm. It’s small, with few shops here and there, a main road and it’s all stones and large pavements, ideal for you to stroll around. The castle at the top of the hill is very charming, overlooking the city and its vast forest surrounding it. It truly reminds you of movie scenes. The colors of the trees, the colorful houses with the pointed roofs. It’s like Kronach doesn’t want to lose its traditional Bavarian aesthetic to tourism or modern architecture. Surely, there were a few modern houses here and there, but they weren’t in town, so the aesthetic was not challenged there.

Language was a bit of a barrier, but we got through it, because body language surpasses all. Plus, it’s really nice when people, locals mostly and people older than us, make an effort to truly communicate even if they catch few pieces and words. It’s the thought and effort that counts for me. You can point at pictures, use an app for translation, but you must always make an effort.

Something that Germany is famous for, is beer. Lots and lots of beer. I don’t think I have ever drunk so much beer in my life, not even through my college years. But, I must say, I did enjoy it because – naturally – the beer was nothing like the variety we have in Greece. In Germany, the beer selection was vast, of course, and the taste richer and smoother if that’s even possible. I made it my mission to drink as many Kaiserhof as possible, which wasn’t all that difficult. It was, as I as told, their standard beer in a way and you know me, first thing I want to try is the place’s standard. The simplest the better. It’s like a rule of my life at this point.

The roads at Kronach are wide, people drive carefully and you can always find yourself at either the castle or the little square located just a few meters away from the castle, serving as the town’s center. It has a few shops there, although we visited during the weekend and people there work for specific hours, like nine to five or five to ten, few shops are open in the between. Which makes sense, considering they don’t have many tourists to accommodate and more locals that already know the town’s workings.
My partner and I like to roam around any place we visit. We like to see everything by foot, we feel like we live it up that way and we get to see a lot more than driving around. Kronach was very small, so we were able to see pretty much everything within the span of two hours. We killed some time in a couple of shops drinking beer until dinnertime, but that’s about it.

The aesthetics though were very pleasing.

A German Fairytale Wedding Experience

The specs of German tradition during the wedding reception was surprising. Not because I wasn’t expecting some, since the bride is German and the groom is Greek, but I had no clue what their customs entailed. While the ceremony was simple, at the mayor’s office, with the young German mayor making a monologue with some smart and funny remarks, it was the after party that had all the fun.

The bride and groom had to cut a thick piece of wood with a chainsaw, pulling on both sides together as a team. A very bonding experience for a couple if you ask me and rather dangerous. I mean the bride had a few cuts on her fingers, but she was so hyped she didn’t even care.

After that, they also had to cut through a large piece of fabric draped over the door of the reception place, in heart shaped, with tiny scissors. The level of enthusiasm and competition during that was over the top, we all cheered them on, laughing as they tried to cut the fabric, teasing each other. It was a moment so full of love and fun, that we all wished them to always have that during the rest of their lives together.

For Greek customs, the main one that we did as our own part of the family, was the preparation of the groom. During that time we have to shave the groom, each family member to put on a piece of clothing on him, hugs and kisses as we wish him for a happy life. There is food and alcohol, lots of laughter and teasing. It’s a moment when you see your family together, happy and smiling.

Thanks to the guest list being medium sized, only inviting some family and mostly friends, we were able to have so much fun. It was a big example of how you don’t need a lot of people to enjoy your wedding, you only need the people who love you and are genuinely happy to see you get married.

From the village to the wedding ceremony, it was a rather nice introduction to Germany, although I’d have to see more places to form an honest opinion. The cold winter weather was a bit challenging, coming from Greece where summer feels to last a lot longer than the average three months. However, it was more about the purpose of the trip than the journey itself, so it was all worth it.