Birthday overseas, lots of food, and a big surprise

Posted byMicahPosted inFood, Life, ReviewsTags:, , , , , ,
By the river Main on my birthday

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.

Pre-birthday at the glorious home of Markus’ grandmother

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!

59 thoughts on “Birthday overseas, lots of food, and a big surprise”

  1. Pingback: I baked Brötchen everyday for a week and here’s what happened – Markus + Micah

  2. 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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  4. 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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    1. 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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      1. 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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    1. 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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  8. 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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    1. 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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  13. 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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    1. 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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        1. 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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          1. 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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                  1. 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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                    1. 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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                    3. 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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    1. 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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          1. 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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    1. 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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  17. 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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    1. 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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    1. 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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  19. 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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