We mainly cook our meals at home because of our diet preferences, but when I saw The Red Lion in the old town near our flat, I thought I had to experience dining there. A birthday is a good excuse, too, no?
Built in 1727, this is the oldest restaurant here, standing neatly in its corner after two World Wars and still serving guests amid a pandemic. They had plenty of mushroom and potato dishes, with continent-size portions.
The ambience is like a pub but classier, the wall decorated with photos and paintings of the old town and The Red Lion through the years. It smelled of stories, history, and heritage in the best possible sort. I can only imagine what these walls and bar have seen, and feel privileged to get a seat here, too. I really enjoyed having lunch there!
After, Markus and I walked to a pop-up market in another old town for dessert, and we found fresh Krebbel, a jam-filled doughnut that is coated in sugar. In some places, this treat is also known as Berliner or Pfannkuchen or if you are in The Philippines, you know this doughnut as Bavarian.
We did not have too many doughnuts because we have been eating cake from the day before. Markus’ mother baked a nice cheesecake for me, plus very dreamy Portuguese egg tarts. At home, we also made pumpkin cheesecake brownies.
The past days were filled with cake from breakfast to dinner, but oh well, we only have our birthdays once a year, right?
And for the biggest surprise, Markus and his family gifted me a Kitchen Aid. It was the best thing ever! I have wanted one since I was a child, from the first time I watched cooking shows on TV. Also, it is something I really need for breadbaking as kneading breaks my wrists.
I also called with my family and friends from home, and my sisters baked me a cake, too. My family and I celebrated my birthday when it was midnight in The Philippines and it was not so bad even when I am overseas. It was a happy birthday.
Thank you for the greetings, everyone!
Markus + Micah 
Belated birthday wishes, Micah! What a wonderful way to celebrate this special occasion – in 2 time zones as well! Fabulous!
Thank you for sharing snapshots of your birthday excitement – love the scenes of where you live now! And those doughnuts!!!!
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Thank you. It was a nice birthday, a new way to celebrate!
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Happy belated birthday. Birthday with loved ones are the best ♥️♥️♥️
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Many thanks! It was a very good birthday. It felt like having two birthdays actually.
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Happy birthday! And congrats on your new kitchen aid, I can’t wait to see what you create with it!! 🤩 And these photos make me want to hop on a flight right now and go try all the food!
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Thank you! It has been fun so far. And yes, missing traveling for food, too. But I get small experiences, like visiting nearby towns, and it scratches the itch a little bit. Is traveling domestic reasonably okay there by now?
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Traveling domestic is okay here now, there’s no need to quarantine when you travel to different states. But each state has their own mandates about masks, etc. so that’s always interesting to see.
We went to Florida a couple months ago and it was like stepping into a different country, it was so different from our home in Oregon! lol
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Totally get it. When I first arrived in Germany, it was hard to believe how normal thjngs are here. I did not know whether I should be impressed or terrified by it. Haha.
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Haha! I totally know what you mean!!
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🎶🎤 Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Micah! Happy birthday to you! Best wishes for a birthday and year full of love, laughter, and good food 🙂
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Thank you, Amy. Happy to be celebrating this one knowing you.
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You are so sweet! I’m happy to know you are a part of my life too 😊
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Happy belated birthday!
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Many thanks, Diana. It was literally a happy birthday, lots of fun and much relaxed!
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Happy Birthday Micah! Looks like you both had a lovely celebration with delicious food.💕
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Thanks! We did have lovely celebrations, two days in fact. It was really nice. The first day we spent with Markus’ family, the second just us together having a relaxing time, and in between I called with my family and we also celebrated my birthday together. They even made a cake for me at home!
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How wonderful! 😊
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Happy Birthday! It sounds like you had a wonderful day! And what a nice surprise gift! I really like my Kitchen Aid; although, it was a bit overwhelming to me at first. I have several posts about it – under the Kitchen Aid tab. I look forward to reading what you do with it. (hint hint).
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Aha, I will check your Kitchen Aid posts for sure. And thank you for the greeting. I will post about the Kitchen Aid adventures next.
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Sounds like such a nice birthday! Good Food and family is pretty much all we ever need right? And the town you are in I’m loving! So quaint! 😍😍😍
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Yes! It was a good day. I thought Markus did a very good job – felt like I had two birthdays actually. And yes, this is literally fairytale land as the Brothers Grimm came from this town. Isn’t that cool?
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Happy Birthday! All that food looks so delicious!
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Thank you very much. It was a day filled with everything that brought me joy. Markus did a really good job!
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Happy (belated) birthday and good wishes for your next trip around the sun, Micah! Cakes, donuts, family and friends, and a gift you’ve wanted for years – sounds perfect!
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It was! Many thanks for the well-wishes. If I could use my time to help more turtles be born, it would have been worth it.
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Sounds like a wonderful birthday. All that food looks glorious! Happy belated birthday Micah!
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Many thanks, Michelle. Yes, it was nice even if I am away from my family. I honestly thought I would be sad on my birthday.
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What a marvelous birthday! I’m glad so many people paid attention to you, because you are a favorite of mine. Birthday greetings, phone calls, gifts, and sweets galore! Fantastic!
I would love to have a mixer with a dough hook.
At our local supermarket, the Bavarian doughnut is filled with a sweet cream filling. David and I love them. Unfortunately, they quit making them when COVID started. They made a quick appearance and disappeared again.
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Many thanks! It was a lovely birthday, I suppose because everyone made it work. A complete team effort from all of us. It was a lot of fun. And yes, I have already tested the Kitchen Aid today and made brotchen. Oh no, sorry to hear about the disappearance of the Bavarian from your market. And it has not returned even if things are returning to normal? You also call it Bavarian there?
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Yes, it’s called a Bavarian doughnut at our supermarket. I haven’t bought doughnuts elsewhere, so I don’t know how universal the name is.
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Interesting! When I first told Markus about Bavarian, he had no idea what I was talking about. I guess Germans don’t know how they are exactly interpreted outside. Also, I was told what the world assumes is German is just Bavarian or that from the south of Germany.
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We’ve had connections to Bavaria for a long time. An exchange student at college kept in touch through the years. He grew up in Landshut, and we went there once, though he was in the States at the time. Before COVID, he used to visit us once a year. He is still one of my most faithful email correspondents.
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Wow, I hope you get the chance to be together again. Friends like this are the best!
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He lives in Hamburg now. It may have been two years since we’ve seen him. Nobody traveled last year except our daughters Lise and Kate.
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Is travel better now? In The Ph, it is very complicated.
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I’m not sure about traveling from Germany to the US.
John and I do not plan to go out of the country. We, of course, are free to drive anywhere we want.
Daughter Lise can fly here because she is a citizen. She can return to Denmark, since she has permanent resident status. She is the only one who has come to us from Europe since COVID began.
Could you move around in the Ph easily? Was it difficult for you to get to Germany? I’m really unaware of restrictions these days.
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I see. Really glad your daughter can visit you anytime! Movement in The Ph is restricted and foreigners are not allowed entry in the country since last year. In Germany, movement is normal and travel restrictions are not severe. They capitalize on vaccination and testing here, very good job actually.
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I’m glad you are free to move about. Would it be hard for Markus to get back in The Ph?
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As long as we fly in together, it should not be a problem. The quarantine rules for international travelers keep changing in The Ph. It is actually very complicated to fly in around this time.
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Sometimes it seems COVID restrictions will never lessen.
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True. It is incredibly frustrating, especially in developing countries. Germany does well in this regard by capitalizing on testing and vaccinations.
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Happy Birthday to you and wish you a great time on vacation or at home. And love your photos and your post.
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Thank you! Successful birthday in all. I really appreciate the time and effort of everyone who celebrated with me, and all of you who greet me here. Much appreciated!
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Happy Birthday!!
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Thank you, dear Bubbles! We should have a cat-themed party at some point with all the cats. My bestie also told me that he had a client who celebrated the birthday of her cat lavishly.
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I don’t celebrate my cats bdays, nor mine. At the rate I’m going, the cats would require a party every single day!!
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Haha. It is the same situation at my mother’s home. So far, it is impossible to get a vet to come over and neuter the cats. It has been long overdue.
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I’ve never had a vet home visit. I know there are groups that do them but it’s horrifically expensive. Even the “mobile clinic” changed to using a stripmall storefront with their big van/bus permanently parked in front.
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My mother has too many cats. It is simpler to get a vet at home than try to bring all the cats in the city.
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I wish I could do that here!
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Happy Birthday! So glad you received this lovely Kitchen Aide and were able to celebrate at such a neat restaurant.
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Many thanks, Kathy. It was a nice birthday. Usually, I have my birthdays with my family. This year, we are not together but I did not feel alone, especially because Markus really made an effort and his family was there for me, too.
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Happy Birthday dear Micah! The Red Lion looks like somewhere we would enjoy. You seem to be settling down there very well. 💐 Flowers from me, no cake 😉🙋♂️
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Haha! Thank you for the flowers. It was fun to see who comes at Red Lion, all ages really and assorted groups. When we had lunch there, there were two ladies, another older couple, a family, a man, and a group of adults. And yes, I am becoming more present, and acquiring more clothes. I feel I have to carry the clothes I have layered on top of me.
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It seems you had a wonderful day, and what a marvellous gift!
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Yes, I had a good birthday. Normally, I get anxious around my birthday, but it was not as bad this time and I really enjoyed the small celebrations I had: having tea at Markus’ grandmother and going out to eat the next day. I guess I had two birthdays this year, which is fine since last year was the pandemic one.
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Happy Belated Birthday, Micah!! Sounds like you had a really cute birthday. Any birthday celebrated with cheesecake is a perfect birthday. 😬
Love the historic feel of The Red Lion, the food looks good too.
Wishing you an amazing year ahead. ❤️
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Many thanks, Moksha. It was a good and tasty birthday. I particularly loved the crusted cheese at The Red Lion – I want to try it at home. Will update on this.
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