We were up at a regular time today to get packed up and off on our next adventure. Our destination is Mönchengladbach, home of our dear friend, Alan Tyson Carter. Today is Alan’s 80th birthday and while the week will be filled with dinners and parties to celebrate his event, we felt it important to be here to celebrate the day in person.

We very much miss our dear friends who were to join us. Unfortunately health challenges have prevented them from coming, but we will be carrying them in spirit with us through this week.

We managed to check into our AirBnB around 4 pm and quickly began unpacking and sorting our clothes for a laundry. Yes the mundane still needs attention, even on holiday! Our apartment is a roof top one in a lovely part of town. The challenge was that we were on the 4th floor, while the elevator only goes to the 3rd! The good news is that the staircase is wide and modern and much easier to get our bags up that when in Amsterdam!

We were soon off to Gero Brasserie, a delightful restaurant in the old town of Monchengladbach. Dan and I decided to walk given that we had spent quite some time in the car today. The walk was about 2 km and took us through a very commercial shopping district on the way. We then pulled off on a side road and found these interesting characters sculpted in bronze.

Just an another few minutes and we were joining our friends at the restaurant. What a reunion! It had been 3 years since we last saw Alan, and his friends Brec and Sandy. We were so ensconced in great food and wonderful conversation that I neglected to take any pictures! Suffice it to say the time flew by, and after singing Happy Birthday to Alan, we bid farewell and headed back to our apartment for the night.

Tomorrow we have a dinner to go to with another close friend of Alan’s. But before that, we are thinking of visiting Aachen for the day. I promise more pictures tomorrow! The seat of Charlemagne…so much history! Until then!