BDAY 2004 ... Best Birthday Ever

Speaking of birthday parties … there will NEVER be a day goes by where I think about my birthday, that I don’t recall my Birthday 2004 celebration. From the moment I woke up to the wee hours the next morning the day just kept getting better and better. I woke up to Ingrid throwing a mini celebration complete with presents and breakfast in bed. When I got to my language school, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” (in numerous languages) as well as wrote it on the board in about 10 different ways. Afterwards we celebrated it in my favorite café Garcon where we ate Popcorn cake ‘just like mommy use to make’.
Ingrid and I sorted out my birthday plans. I decided to go to some random restaurant with Marcelo, Kerstin and Anna. Unfortunately Ingrid had to babysit but could hang out before and after dinner. To make it up to me, she wanted to give me a surprise before she began babysitting. We went up to this really cool building called Panorama. For some reason I always thought it was a Chinese restaurant, but low and behold it was a building that gave amazing view of Potsdamer Platz and Berlin. After watching the sunset there, it was time to go. Ingrid was going to drop me off at the restaurant when we had a slight fender bender.
Ingrid bursted into tears and confessed that she did NOT have to babysit and we were NOT going to the restaurant of my choice, rather she has prepared this great huge surprise birthday party and ALL my friends are waiting for me. Unfortunately she had to wait behind and take care of matters while I rushed ahead to restaurant ‘Yo Soy’ where they serve something I’ve always wanted to try … paella. There I found over 20 of my friends there … from old friends to roommates to classmates; Ingrid invited them all. Shortly thereafter Ingrid arrived along with my birthday cake. I don’t think I have ever been so surprised and so caught off guard as that day. It was a day I will never forget. As if a guy could be any luckier, I was off to Munich the next day with Ingrid to meet up with my old college roommate Brian to kick off Oktoberfest ! For more pix of the BDAY 2004 click on the picture above or check them out in the "My Photos"