Max' 30th birthday surprise party

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAX!!!

Now, also my "little" brother Max turned 30 :-) How time flies! Already August 4th he went over to the 30s, but it was only beginning of September that we could properly celebrate this special event.
Since my brother himself wasn't to eager to organize something appropriate for this occasion, I decided together with our parents to organize a surprise party for him. After having checked possible dates with his girlfriend Anna, we decided on Saturday September 5th to be the day to party.

Shortly after also the venue was set: my godfather's café & restaurant "Margarethenkreuz" in the "Siebengebirge" (an upland hill range at the east banks of the Middle Rhine river a bit south of Bonn/Germany) - a popular tourist destination for hiking, because of its beautiful natural surrounding. This was perfect for the programme we had in mind for that day: starting in the early afternoon with coffee & cake, then go for a little hike followed by dinner and (dancing) party in the evening.

I had prepared the invitation and tried to get as many people as possible to join the festivities. Our goal was to gather not only family and friends of Max, but also people that had played important roles in Max' life, even if already a while ago. I'd say with relatives and friends (including their partners and kids), we had some 80 people invited. Of course, it's totally normal that not everyone can make it (especially since the event was planned only 3 months in advance). Nevertheless, we managed to gather approx. 45 people :-) 45 people to celebrate Max turning 30 and making this party an unforgettable event for him!

On the party day, my mum and I had already arrived at the venue in the early morning to decorate it with a lot of photographs of Max' childhood (like the cute ones in the invitation above) and youth, showing my brother in various stages of life, moods, shapes, situations... over his last 30 years.

At 2.30 pm then, Anna (his girlfriend) led Max into the restaurant where the guests already awaited him: "SURPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!!" :-)

After coffee and cake we (nearly) all went on a walk through the surrounding area. Unfortunately the weather wasn't really good; it had even started raining a bit. Therefore we opted just for a very short walk (roughly an hour) up to the "Lohrberg" hill and the "Drei-Seen-Blick" viewpoint.

After the little walk, joyful get-together upon return. Some more friends and relatives had arrived.

Buffet in the early evening.

Thanks to Uncle Martin for the musical contribution - always a MUST :-)

Max and Anna on the dance floor.

Me with my godfather "Pauli", owner, manager, chef and bartender at the "Margarethenkreuz". Danke, Pauli, dass wir so schön bei Dir feiern durften!

What a pity we didn't have more and better quality pictures of this event and all the people that were celebrating with us. But I guess those who were present keep it in good memory - especially Max!

Last but not least: thank you mum and dad with Engelbert, Andrea and Anna for your input and help with the organization of the event, as well as to Piet for the light installations.
And big thank you to all who came for making it a great party (and having kept the secret so well)! It was a real surprise. I'd say Max had a great day and he will not forget his 30th birthday.