A night out for schnitzel

Sam wearing his new birthday duds from Grandma Becker.Tonight was my birthday present from Dave - he lined up a sitter (Heidi - an oh-so-helpful secretary in the math group at the University) for Sam, Katie, and Grace, and he took me out to the restaurant at Schlosshof, which is a pleasant mile or so walk from our apartment. It was a fabulous night. We stopped at the market on the way, where Dave treated me to a bouquet of flowers.On the walk to the restaurant. We walked by a crew of weekend warriors playing soccer. On the way home from the restaurant, those same soccer players were relaxing on the benches having some beer. We saw a few skinned knees in the bunch - it was like the European version of a Miller Lite commercial. At the Schlosshof, there is a large garden outside with long tables for dining, but we opted to sit inside and enjoy the neat atmosphere. The building is a beautiful mix of stone and wood.The wood beam ceiling.Studying our menu choices. Isaac is overwhelmed by the options.Our spread. Oh my goodness, was it good!I had veal schnitzel with a mushroom sauce, served with potatoes that had been cooked with bacon...and a colorful, delicious salad garnished with blueberries and lingonberries.Dave had a pizza.Isaac approved.By the end, there was nothing left but the garnishes. Outside the Schlosshof.Here you can see the detail of how the clay roof shingles are laid.Watching the Stadtbahn go by on our walk home. The walk needed to be about 10 miles longer to work off that delicious dinner though. My birthday flowers in action. Modelling the necklace Heidi gave me (as well as some decorative Isaac slobber.) Heidi also had the kids draw birthday cards for me while we were gone. We were so grateful to her for making our evening out possible.

Also received some wonderful birthday cards in the mail from Mom and Uncle Bob. Their thoughtfulness is multiplied by the distance their greetings had to travel. This has been quite a special German birthday - and the big day hasn't arrived yet. I am a youthful 37 for one more day.

Vishti, the answer to your question is yes, as long as we can choose the years. We're thinking maybe when Grace is around 13-15 years old. :)