August 6-9 , 2009

Written August 11

Friends and Families,

Another weekend, another celebration - or two. Everyone likes to go away on a romantic getaway on wedding anniversary weekends and so did we. The hitch was that a local friend had also invited us to celebrate his 30th birthday. The solution was a weekend "away", in Erlangen, the town where I work. Not far and, because we see it all the time, not very exotic. Here's our getaway weekend story.

	Friday evening, Marianne picked me up at work and we drove downtown to the "Hotelchen am Teaterplatz" (Little Hotel on Theater Square".) It is a very nice little place, just a few rooms and is our home-of-choice in not-so-far-away Erlangen.
That evening we went out for celebration #1, anniversary. We had originally considered a very nice dinner at daPippo's, an eccentric Italian's restaurant where the pre-fixe meal is wonderful but where the atmosphere is a bit more formal than we were in the mood for. Instead, we went into the warm summer evening streets and stopped by a nondescript bar for a glass of wine while we thought about dinner somewhere else. That decision was never made and we sat, and drank, and munched on forgettable snacks. But the weather, the evening, and the company were unforgettable.
	The next morning, after the leisurely breakfast buffet that is a feature of almost all German hotels, big or small, we shopped in downtown Erlangen. Being so close to home, we could even do our normal veggies buying.
	Mike's birthday party was in a local brewery -- where else in the heart of Bavaria? There was toasting every few minutes and one couple even brought along a pair of little twins so Marianne could play like a grandmother.

Sunday morning started with a slow breakfast and then a stop by the botanical gardens for pictures. (Another story). In the end, we had to say that a weekend away in nearby Erlangen was as nice as any Bavarian village weekend. The celebrations went well, the hotel was pleasant, the shopping was simple, but all we needed. Best of all, the drive was short.

We may do this again!

John and Marianne

ps: In the parking lot we spotted this four-door Porsche "limousine". We didn't even know there WAS such a car offered. Pretty nice, but discouraging to imagine the price!