An Austrian wedding

Next month my brother Hamish and sister-in-law Karin celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it’s been three decades. How the time has flown by. To get to the wedding, I booked myself a three-week round-the-world ticket. This was the first RTW ticket I ever bought. I recall sitting in the travel agent’s office, astounded by the concept as he suggested it as a great way to maximise the experience.

I ultimately booked an itinerary that had me fly to South Africa, where I spent a week exploring Joburg, Pretoria and Victoria Falls, before going on safari in Zimbabwe. I then flew to Frankfurt on 15 October and caught a train to Austria for the wedding, held the following day. Two days later I took Mum and Dad on a four-day tour through Prague and Berlin, before returning to Frankfurt by train. My parents stayed on in Berlin for a couple more days.

From Germany it was onward to Los Angeles for a 48-hour stopover, before making my way to Hawaii. Here I was joined by a good friend, Richard Knight, who was something of a party animal. It would be fair to say we spent the next three nights bar-hopping and partying with newfound friends collected along the way. If I’m honest, I saw very little of this popular island state beyond the beach and hotel. I finally completed my round-the-world circuit with an overnight flight home to Sydney.

A few days before flying out of Sydney, my hairdresser had convinced me to go for a bottled blonde look. As a result, I turned up in Germany with a tightly cropped flat-top haircut that was bleached pure blonde. I was going for the cool Billy Idol look. However, a week in the relentless African sun did a number on my stylish hairdo.  I ultimately rocked up with hair that had morphed into a subtle orange hue.  Let's just say it was the talk of the town when I arrived.   

As an aside, I never bleached my hair again until a hairdresser convinced me years later that they could bleach it without it discolouring.  I took him at his word and gave it another go in 2000. This was the hairstyle I rocked up with on my first visit to Hong Kong (and Macau), where I also happened to meet up with Text 100's Global CEO, who was in town at the time. I later heard that my uber-boss was a little flummoxed by his Australian Managing Director's appearance. However, true to my hairdresser's word, my hair colour remained resolutely blonde until it grew out.

Hamish’s wedding was a cross-cultural affair, blending both traditional Church of England and European Catholic traditions. The guest list also included friends and family from around the world. My Uncle Rex flew in from New Zealand, along with my cousin Tim and his partner Robyn, plus my parents, my brother Matt and his partner Shelley. Karin’s relatives from the UK also flew in to join the festivities.

The wedding celebrations began the night before the ceremony with a large gathering at the Londoner pub in central Kitzbuhel. The evening became a kind of proxy bucks and hens’ night for the soon-to-be-wed couple. This venue also held special significance. It was here, on Christmas Eve in 1990, that Hamish and Karin first met.

Let’s just say it was a rather raucous evening. Furthermore, I would never confirm or deny that my Uncle Rex made an impromptu visit to worship the porcelain god shortly after returning to our accommodation.  Needless to say, a few of us were a little rusty at breakfast the following morning.

Many of the guests, including the New Zealand family members and me, were accommodated in the neighbour’s house next door to Karin’s parents’ home. The neighbours were on vacation and had kindly made their home available to Hermann and Helen’s international guests. The venue was inevitably dubbed “New Zealand House”.

The wedding ceremony took place at the local Rathaus. That’s not a vermin-infested venue. Rather, the name is German for Town Hall. The happy couple looked splendid. Matt was Hamish’s best man, while Karin’s brother and I acted as witnesses on the marriage certificate. When asking me to witness the certificate, Hamish aptly described the request as, “I’d like you to witness our marriage, assuming you’re comfortable signing documents written in German that you cannot read. It’s something I do all the time”.

The reception afterwards was held at a restaurant in Reith bei Kitzbühel, a ten-minute drive from the Rathaus, before guests returned to Hermann and Helen’s iconic traditionally gabled mountainside home. Guests mingled on the lawn of their expansive backyard. Plenty of photos were taken as the gathering was somewhat of a family reunion on both sides. At one stage, a group of locals turned up and delivered a wonderful Bavarian Oompah band experience, complete with lederhosen costumes and traditional instruments.

It was a magical day. The weather played its part; although it was Autumn in the Austrian Alps, conditions were mainly cool and overcast. The crowd was filled with joy for the happy couple. Everyone was left with many wonderful memories. It’s hard to believe this all happened three decades ago. Congratulations, Hamish and Karin.

The day after the wedding, Hamish took the family on a tour of the town. Kitzbuhel is definitely one of those "chocolate box" picture-perfect locations, nestled in the Austrian Alps. It's a popular winter playground for the wealthier citizens of Bavaria and Austria. As a result, it's well maintained and full of boutique stores and venues. The Autumn colours were also in full bloom, making for a wonderfully scenic wander.

As is my habit, I went to great lengths to secure the ultimate Instagram-worthy image. Apparently, this included lying on a grave in the local cemetery. As you can see, my mother simply had to capture the moment.

One final confession. I never packed a suit for the wedding. I thought about it at the time but decided this was a mountain wedding and my brother was never big on formalities. I naively assumed the dress code was smart casual. Although, if truth be told, I also wondered whether I could safely transport a suit across the globe, especially while on safari at a bush camp in Southern Africa. In hindsight, I wish I'd packed it anyway - just in case.