Our friend Elga turned 50 on July 24, 2000 just a few weeks before Judie's birthday. We made a trip to a small German town near where she was born to attend a surprise birthday party arranged by her husband Bob and her sisters Petra and Andrea. The town is a typical little German village but the place chosen for the party is quite unusual. This town is about 10 km from the site of an ex-American Air Force base. The GI's from the base liked to visit local taverns so the owner created a 'thieves den' in an upstairs room to rent to the GI's for their parties. The idea is based on the legend of a thief, a man called Schinderhannes, who was known locally as a sort of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and living in a cave in the hills. Apparently the idea of the party room was very successful and it is still used for the purpose.

I went into the room a bit before the other guests started arriving and took a couple of pictures. The table is set up in a U shape; note the hokey 'cave' look to the ceiling. It the daylight it looks awful but at night with a glass or two of wine, it was really fun.

Behind the guest of honor was this huge mural supposedly painted on the cave wall. There are fake firebrands to illuminate the scene.

Typical of the decoration was this spider web with some old weapon and a gun! There were also a few stuffed wild animals and birds around.

You can see more decorations here or go on the the party or go to the speeches or the games.

Or you can return to our home page.