Kevtoberfest #21
After months of planning and brewing by Kevin, his 60th birthday party finally arrived and in the spirit of Kevtoberfest the day had a distinctly German theme.
We made pretzels. Most pretzel bakers take years to perfect their skills, but after some meticulous research and a few hours’ practice, Kevin had mastered the techniques needed to produce these tasty treats. We rolled and shaped the dough in typical Bavarian style. Then our pretzels were boiled, sprinkled with salt and baked until the crusts were crisp and golden. They were delicious!
We ate German food. Kevin loves to cook and he created a feast: tender pork knuckles, bratwurst, green salad, potato salad and potato peanut puffs, followed by apple strudel for dessert. The birthday cake was a Black Forest gâteau, rich and sweet; dark chocolate sponge layers filled with whipped cream and cherries.
We drank German beer and cider. Kevin’s home brews included Kevtoberfest heavy and light, served on customised paddles made by his friend Frank. Traditional Bavarian Märzenbier, Paulaner Weißbier and European apple cider were also on tap.
We listened to German music. Frank brought his bespoke alpenhorn and treated us to a one of a kind performance.
Happy Birthday Kevin!
What fun! Kev looks like a thoroughly happy bloke and what a great way to celebrate his special day. And what a wonderful journey you had around this special day too. I’ve really enjoyed this series!
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It was a great day. Kevin likes nothing more than cooking and brewing and then sharing it with everyone and his birthday was a wonderful reason to celebrate that. I’m pleased you’re enjoying this series, Pauline. There are a few more posts to come.
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What a wonderful celebration. I am fascinated by the serving paddles. Cheers to Kevin’s meticulous planning and his 60th.
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The paddles were great – Frank was very clever.
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Oh and more than the beer, I wish I had been able to taste one of the pretzels!
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Those pretzels were fantastic – definitely as good as any we’ve had in Germany. And they were so easy to make.
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Really like the serving paddles, but really want a pretzel now. Hope you ate extras for all your readers, too. Looks like a great party!
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Frank did a great job on those paddles. I certainly managed to eat my fair share, Ducks!
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Ah fantastic! Happy birthday Kevmeister!! Looks like you all had a brilliant time and what a great theme. The pretzels look awesome and all the food sounds delicious! Loving your outfits Carol!
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It was the best party and the food was amazing. I love my Bavarian tavern girl dress and I need to find another event to wear it to. 🙂
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Hee hee! Maybe you should just go to the shops in it?! It does suit you!
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Do you think anyone would notice?? 🙂
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Ooh, I could just eat a nice pretzel or 2! It’s breakfast time here. Better hold the beer for later 🙂 🙂
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So you don’t have beer on your porridge Jo? The pretzels would be the perfect breakfast food. 🙂
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Terrific experience – lovely photos
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It was a fun day and night, David.
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Go Kevin! A man who caters his own birthday party, how awesome is that? Love the outfits too (and i’m sure they’d be totally fine to wear to the shops 😉).
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I can’t guarantee I’ll be wearing my dress to the shops any time soon. 🙂 But it was perfect for this event.
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Sounds like it was a great night, and loved the look of those pretzels.
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The pretzels were amazing. I could have eaten them all day.
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What a celebration! And I’m so impressed that you guys mastered the art of pretzels in such a short amount of time! 😀
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Kevin made the dough in his thermomix so the rest was quite easy. They didn’t look as pretty as the ones in Germany, but they sure tasted just as good.
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Wunderbar! That looks like quite some celebration. Oh boy, those pretzels look goooood.
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It was a whole weekend of fun and games. The pretzels were excellent.
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I’m thinking Kevin is a good guy to know and an even better guy to party with. This sounds like an absolutely fun and delicious time. 🙂
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He’s a great friend and we always have a wonderful time with him and his lovely wife. If only we lived closer.
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Oh wow Carol, looks like a great old time…and those pretzels look good. 🙂
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We had so much fun and the pretzels were amazing. I could have eaten them all day.
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At last! I was beginning to think you’d invented the party as an excuse for a road trip! And celebrated in true Bavarian style too. I might have missed this, but is there a connection with Kev and Bavaria? Or simply the beer? Looking forward now to your route home again.
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You’re not alone, Jude. Even Kevin was beginning to wonder if I would ever get to the party! The beer and Oktoberfest are the main connections, but in 2011 we all met up in Munich for a week together and had the most marvellous time together. You might enjoy these posts. https://theeternaltraveller.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/to-market-to-market/ and https://theeternaltraveller.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/the-dos-and-donts-of-visiting-munich/ This last one still gets regular visits and pops up all the time as one of my post popular ever. 🙂
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After all the careful research and planning, it looks like you had one heck of a good party. Maybe I’ll hire you for my 90th, is that a deal? it has to revolve around red wine, please.
Happy Birthday, Kevin01 (not Kevin07).
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We sure did! It was great fun. A red wine themed 90th sounds like a good idea. I’ll see what I can do. “)
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Yay!
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Those pretzels look delicious!
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Oh, they were amazing. As good as any we had in Germany!
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I’ve never made any but should try now. 🙂
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Such happy birthday photos, Carol. Looks like Kevin had a great time. The cake and pretzels made my mouth water, just looking at the photos. Well done to everybody who participated. 🙂
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We are all encouraging Kevin to make Kevtoberfest a regular event. I could eat those pretzels every day!
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What a fabulously fun way to celebrate a 60th. Kev looks like the proverbial party boy and as for these pretzels, very impressive! 🙂
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Best 60th celebration ever!
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Finally we are at the party! It sounds like it was great fun and certainly a birthday party to remember. 🙂 Were there any headaches the following day? I am impressed by the costumes too. 🙂
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I didn’t hear anyone complaining of a headache or a hangover. It was great fun to dress up.
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Forget the beer – it’s those pretzels than I want!
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They were pretty tasty!
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its fantastic! seems you enjoyed a lot and specially images i like. Hope i can join your party so it would be more rocking. just joking.
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Glad you enjoyed this post.
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Where did they get the Germanc costumes from? And do they have German roots, or do they just like German beer? Seems you had a lot of fun.
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Kevin and Mary-Lou bought their outfits online. I got mine and Glen’s beer braces from the party shop at home and Glen used what he had. 🙂 I’m the only one with German ancestry. Kevin and Glen just like the beer! It was a fun weekend.
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Wow. Thats called a party! The german food looks tasty. I have never tried it. Feeling hungry now :p
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All the food was great, especially our handmade pretzels. You should try one!
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For sure soon! 🙂
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That looks like so much fun! Wow, music and everything! The pretzels look fab! 🙂
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It was fun and the pretzels were delicious.
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I’m not even crazy about pretzels, and I thought they looked fabulous!
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They were delicious.
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