On Sunday, after spending a lazy morning at the house, we went over to the nearby Rest Area/Truck Stop for lunch with our son William.

The Hilpodrom Restaurant (←link here) is part of a rest area and truck stop next to the autobahn at the Sindersdorf exit.  Most of this area was just open fields when we lived here in the ’80’s and again in the late ’90’s to early 2000’s.  Now there’s a large number of businesses and even a Burger King.  I also noticed a new (to us) RV dealership which we’ll have to find time to check out and report on.

Our oldest daughter Jennifer even worked here for a short while back in 2003 (pics below).

(Starting from the top right and then counter-clockwise in the pic below): William had the Gulasch mit Nudeln (Goulash with noodles), Stilla the Burgunder Braten mit Kloß (Burgundy Roast with dumplings), and I had the Champignon Schnitzel mit Pommes (Mushroom Schnitzel with fries).  Pretty darn good food for a truck stop 🙂

In the afternoon, we had an invitation to stop by and visit with our good neighbors and old friends, Werner & Claudia.   We walked over to their beautiful house around 3PM with William & Jasmin.  Stilla’s sister Anneliese was already there.

Werner & Claudia were the first Germans to visit us in Colorado back in 1991.  Here’s an old pic (below) that I pulled from the archives of them on top of Pikes Peak.

Claudia went all out with a couple of tasty cakes.  Yummm once again 🙂

A Bratapfelkuchen (roasted apple cake).

And one of my favorites; a Himmlische Torte (Heavenly Cake).  Stilla used to make this often.

After the awesome cakes and coffee, Werner & Claudia brought out their collection of homemade liquers and schnapps…everyone sampled these except for myself, I have to be careful what I drink since my bout of acute pancreatitis last year.  I heard they were good.

I did sample a good local bier though:

And just when we thought the evening couldn’t get any better – Claudia brought out platters of Pizza Brötchen!  These were great.  Stilla would often made these at home when she could get the correct German bread rolls.   Double Yummm 🙂

The family Christmas tree.

What a great evening with great friends!  We talked and enjoyed each other’s company until late in the evening… Thanks for the hospitality Werner & Claudia!  We made plans for me to join Werner in the morning to help work on a project he took on.  Check back tomorrow to learn more…