Germany Recap from last week Part I

Thursday morning was the first morning that I could sleep in a litte bit. I had set my alarm for 9 a.m. because my sister was going to come by around 10, but I slept through my alarm and was woken up when  my sister came over.

I got dressed, had a quick breakfast (roll with Gouda cheese, yum!) and then we drove to Düsseldorf to the ESPRIT Outlet. I love the ESPRIT Outlet, if it wasn’t for the crowds that are there EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s ridiculous really, because you can go any day of the week, it’s always packed!
Thank God we didn’t take Greta with us (which we had contemplated), because that would have been a desaster.
We worked ourselves through every row and made it to the register with some great finds: I bought a knit sweater, a long-sleeve shirt and (!) a duvet jacket.

In the afternoon we went to see my great-aunt for some coffee and plum cake. It’s always nice to hang out with the old folks… I really enjoy the time with them.
We had dinner with my parents (bread, cheese and meats :)) and then I spent the night at my sister’s place. Nina had Friday morning off and it was the perfect opportunity to stay over.

We got up around 9 a.m. on Friday morning, I had some breakfast with her and Greta and we went over to my parents’ place afterward, because we were going to help my Mom prepare the party on Saturday.
We had Bratwurst, red cabbage and potatoes for lunch (yum!)

and I helped Basti and my Dad to transport tables and chairs for the party. We prepared food, set up the tables and got a lot done in advance.

Greta stayed over at my parents’ place Friday night. We got up around 8 a.m. on Saturday morning and Greta took a bath. She was so adorable and had such a good time in the bathtub :)
My Mom and I went downtown to do some last-minute shopping  later in the morning and in the afternoon Nina came over and helped prepare last-minute things for the party.

All I can say is that we had a blast! The weather had been really nice the whole week and we were able to sit outside for quite a while. My Mom had prepared a “Krustenbraten” (pork roast with crackling), Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. There were “Laugenbrezeln” (pretzels) and cheese and desserts.

We were about 25 people and the party went from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning :) J’s first reaction when I told him about it the next day, was that it was impossible to imagine in the US that a 60th birthday party would go that late. Heh. Well, we Germans do know how to celebrate!

Here are some pictures to prove it:

You can find the whole set here.