My birthday is July 6th. Lately it feels like we're always moving on my birthday so we never really do much to celebrate. Trek managed to make my birthday extra special this year. It was an amazing day full of fun surprises.
I woke up to 3 of my favorite treats:
Kinder Eggs
Niederegger Marzipan
& Freddie Ferkels
My birthday breakfast was my favorite brotchen rolls with butterkase & shinkenwurst with little gherkins on the side, & a giant chocolate croissant from the local bakery. Trek also found some multivitaminsaft at the local market too. I was in heaven. YUM.
I love my sweet family. 38 years & counting.
For my birthday surprise, Trek took me to my favorite city in Germany, Trier. My little Taya was born here almost 12 years ago. I used to visit Trier every 2 weeks for doctor appointments & just for sighseeing enjoyment. It's a beautiful city & when we were stationed at Spangdahlem, it was my favorite place to be. It's only about an hour from where we are now, so it was a nice trip down memory lane for me.
Of course we had to take the kids to the Porta Nigra while we were there. It's the old Roman gate to the city. It was built in 170 AD. Yes, THAT old. It's incredible.
We actually bought a family pass that took all of us INTO the Porta Nigra & allowed us to view all of it's many layers, including stairs to the top to lookout over the city.
So much history! So much beauty! We loved every second of it.
I married a 3 year old who likes to pose for pictures. I love this man child of mine.
After exploring the Porta Nigra, we took the kids to the city center where the farmer's market was in full swing. I loved coming here every Saturday to buy flowers, fruit, & vegetables. Trier is such a beautiful city.
We ended our tour of Trier at the Cathedral. This beautiful church is the oldest church in Germany built somewhere around the early 4th century by Constantine himself. It's beautiful in every way, has many different architectural sides built into it over the years, has an organ that makes me giddy, & beautiful stone carvings throughout. It's one of my favorite churches in Europe. If you've never been, GO. It's worth a trip.
After playing in Trier for a bit, we headed up to Speicher, Germany. . . the town we lived in 10 years ago. Trek took me to City Grill, my favorite restaurant. This little doner kebap shop was within walking distance of our house in Speicher & let me tell you, when I was pregnant with Bladen 10 years ago, I would walk there EVERY SINGLE DAY to get a doner kebap with cheese & extra hot peppers. The sweet men that ran the restaurant knew me SO well. They'd have my doner ready at the same time every day & literally just waited for me to show up. They were my saving grace during that time in my life.
Their food is still the best in the country. I walked in & cried when I saw the SAME THREE GUYS running the restaurant. And the best part? They recognized me!!! It's been YEARS, & they recognized me. They were so excited to see all the kids who are now teenagers & then meet my youngest 2 boys that they've never met.
Just one shop down from City Grill was my favorite gelato shop as well. Of course we had to go say hi to that shop owner (who also recognized me) & get some spaghetti eis to celebrate my birthday.
It seriously was the best birthday I've ever had. I had my family, my favorite food, & my favorite city in the world. HEAVEN on earth.
ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE:
Here's some more information on Trier, the Porta Nigra, & the Dom Cathedral near the City Center for those wanting to travel . . .
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