Goethe Champagne Party

Ok, it was technically a Christmas party, but Fritz and I had been calling it "The Champagne Party" for months since that is how it was originally described us.  

Professor Plumpe, Fritz's advisor at Goethe Universität, throws an annual Christmas party at his swanky downtown Frankfurt apartment.  All guests come bearing a bottle of champagne so the merriment and bubbly delights can last the whole night long.  

Here is our host, Professor Plumpe, making sure the champagne flutes stay full.  

Fritz and I had originally planned to leave for Berlin the day before.  We didn't want a repeat of the housing challenges we had when we first came to Frankfurt, so we planned to spend the last week in Germany before heading back to the US securing a place to live in Berlin.  But with talk of a Champagne Party and minimal arm twisting, we altered our plan to spend one more night with our Frankfurt friends. 

Professor Plumpe's apartment was pretty fantastic.  His study was lined with books (and I'm pretty sure he has actually read every one of these).

He is quite an art collector with stunning pieces adorning his walls.  I was treated to a private tour by Professor Plumpe himself where he explained each piece and it's significance.  When decorating his apartment, Professor Plumpe applied the Theory of Colours, a concept explained by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  It's an interesting idea that establishes a kind of "color psychology" where colors can be associated with the components of human cognition.  For this reason, Professor Plumpe's dining room is painted orange, which is associated with the "noble".  His sitting room is a cool blue and his living room is a "useful" green.  

I am no champagne expert, but we drank Veuve Clicquot most of the night, which was quite good.  There was one blinged-out bottle that made an appearance, because after all, what's a champagne party without a little glitz?

It was difficult to see the party end, not knowing when we would next clink glasses and share a toast with our friends.  We feel so lucky to have started our Germany adventure in Frankfurt and to have met the historians of Goethe Universität.  We will look forward to the next time our paths cross.