Summer came on waves of pleasure adding a welcome pause in the day’s occupation this past weekend at Darmstadt, Germany reordering cargo priorities to simple things like good food and music and small children under foot.
      A Saturday afternoon in an air cargo garden brought out restorative kindness and fellowship too as Christian Fink, Heide Enfield and Gabi Posniak of Lufthansa Cargo Charter hosted friends and business partners in an understated and totally personal experience.
      The party, this year dubbed 1001 Arabian Nights, has become an annual rite of the season at The Vivarium Tiergarten, a small park and zoo in Darmstadt, Germany with a remarkable collection of animals including exotic birds and other wild life (many have been born and raised at this remarkable facility) housed in a cool shady glen with old trees and natural landscaping that bring wildlife close enough to touch.
      Vivarium in the 21st century is a place from another time and sensibility, somehow preserved and much beloved after 40 years for its sensual quietude.
      Usually there is a sense of center about these type of affairs, but Lufthansa Charter delivered the unexpected by deconstructing the expected and creating a miniature Arabian setting complete with costumed hosts serving exotic foods and drinks while the music played.
      Any sense of the every day business expectation or tension just melted away in a fantasy world atop 200 tons of sand brought in especially for the party.
      People moved easily through small tents as coffees, teas and savory sweets were served.
      Lufthansa Charter captured a moment in the lives of all who attended.
Sometimes the best thank you comes from the heart.
      “Did you like it?” Heide Enfield asks as we are balancing a glass of wine with an over served platter of culinary specialties including pakoras and delicately spiced lamb and okra and savory marinated sautéed chicken and shrimp, tahini and nan with raisin couscous and more.
      As nightfall approached, the party moved into high gear with belly dancers, Arabic fusion music and the sound of crickets riding up and down on the electric sounds and voices murmuring in the park.
      Later the dancing continued way past midnight under a deep purple sky full of stars.
      A day of days in a park unfolded at a place where even the hardest heart could feel it was good to be alive.
      Inside one tent on display, a variety of spices recreating the sense and aroma of an Arabian Souk were for sale with all proceeds going to a small boy named Zhang Hong Jin fighting for his life at birth in Shenzhen, China.
      “The idea for a gathering that would include our children came to us seven years ago as a Christmas gift,” Dr. Gabi Posniak, marketing and P/R Lufthansa Charter said.
      “We see each other every day and also attend affairs together but rarely are we able to bring along the kids.
      “Summertime is the perfect match for bringing families together so we quickly adopted this time of year for our party.”
      “We celebrate the opening of our Middle East office in Dubai with 1001 Arabian Nights,” said Christian Fink greeting the record-breaking crowd.
      “Here is the opportunity in an informal and highly personal way for our staff of 30 plus from around the world to show our genuine appreciation to our friends, colleagues and customers.”
      In heartland Germany on Saturday July 7, 2007 or 777, a mystery inside a mystery unfolded as people from places near and far away spent a few hours discovering the culture of the Middle East and, in turn each other as an extended family.
      Later some saffron and other spices at work in kitchens around the world and 200 tons of sand, cleaned and recycled for Vivarium will carry the experience forward.
      Nice.

Just One More Darmstadt

     Recalling the joyous and uplifting Sommerfest ‘07 afternoon and evening in a beautiful park in Darmstadt, Germany this past Saturday as Christian Fink and Lufthansa Charter entertained customers, employees and friends, we received a picture of someone who expressed regrets that he was not quite ready to party, but is looking forward to attending next year.
     Franz Joseph Miller the guy who liked Lufthansa time:matters so much, that he bought the company( pictured here with his son Kian) said his wife Anja gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Koby Alexander (right) on Friday July 6.
     Mother and son are doing quite well and father and son pictured here are over the moon as might be expected.
     So are we.
     But we like parties that keep getting bigger.
Geoffrey