Birthday Week Roundup

I'm officially 39 now. How did that happen? I still feel 29. Anyway, my birthday week was pretty fun, here are some of the things we did. 

Flea market in Immenstadt.

We started off the week by hitting up a flea market in Immenstadt. It was pretty cold and rainy but completely worth it. While there we found these two beautiful paintings and Ruben bought them for me for my birthday. 

Exploring Burg Laubenbergerstein ruins.

On our way home from the flea market in Immenstadt we spotted some castle ruins atop a hill. Meet castle Laubenbergerstein, first mentioned in history in 1241. It was abandoned in 1559 and left to decay. The castle, now in ruins, has been digitally reconstructed. And, the image on the right is what historians believe it once looked like.

I love exploring the castles and ruins of Europe. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archeologist. Even today, I still get a kick from exploring the past. 

Lazy day at our local swimming hole. 

The day of my birthday I woke up to a beautiful bouquet of roses. And, we took off to our local swimming hole to relax for the day. I love it there. It always feels like we're somewhere in the mountains. I think it being surrounded by pine trees sells the effect. 

My favorite dinner at Maria Hilfer! 

We finished off celebrating with dinner from our favorite restaurant, Maria Hilfer. It's a microbrew owned by monks, serves traditional Bavarian food, and it's the best restaurant in Bavaria by far. I always order the Oxbrust (tafelspitz) mit Kartoffelsalat. 

Maria Hilfer is in a small town near Seeg. Nestled close to the Alps and the Austrian border. It's stunning there. So much of the German countryside is breathtaking and I feel so lucky to get to live here.