Happy birthday to me

So this week is my birthday, which I normally wouldn't care about but in this case it's kind of a big one--and not necessarily in a good way. Anyway, I will be spending my birthday the way I'm sure everyone would dream of spending their own birthday...in a meeting all day in lovely Frankfurt (with a bunch of economists, just to make it even more fun), followed by a train ride that doesn't get me home until after 9:00pm. Good times! (Truth be told, it's not that we would be able to celebrate even if I was home...Baby's 7:00pm bedtime isn't exactly conducive to a night out on the town.)

So we decided to celebrate early by having a nice lunch today instead. We chose a place called Farnsburg that I had heard of about a half-hour outside of town in the hills, and it was excellent. I had a nice carpaccio of bison followed by monkfish and a dessert of Toblerone mousse and coffee, while Gretchen had a cream of pumpkin soup that was so good she was almost licking the bowl, followed by venison medallions and dessert of apple cake and cappuccino. Everything but the apple cake was great (including some excellent wine selected for us by the chef), there was no smoking until 2:00pm so it was a nice atmosphere, the drive there was gorgeous, no one gave us the stink-eye for bringing Baby, and best of all Baby didn't give them any reason to give us the stink-eye because she was on her very best behavior (and as an added bonus, didn't cry once in the car either way). Highly recommended for fellow Basel folks who want a nicer meal than the usual bratwurst and schnitzel out in the country. All in all, I can't imagine a better way to spend my (almost) birthday!