Day 03 Happy Birthday Paul

Today is Paul’s 69th birthday.

So, Paul, what did you do for your birthday?
“Well… we had dinner.”
Where?
“A little place called Caru’ cu Bere — a spot recommended by Daniel, a fellow traveler we met on our flight from London to Bucharest.”

Caru’ cu Bere (which means “The Beer Wagon”) is one of Bucharest’s most famous restaurants, dating back to 1879. The Gothic Revival interior feels like stepping into an old movie set — vaulted ceilings, stained glass, carved wood, and waiters who move with quiet precision.

We ordered the house special: pork knuckle, served with cabbage, horseradish, and cornmeal. A wise move letting the waiter debone it! The meal was hearty, though we found the flavors more comforting than exciting — satisfying, but missing those musical sensory notes that make a dish sing.

But dessert… that was another story. Donna went for the chocolate cake, and I chose the warm, donut-like pastry. Wow. The orchestra came alive — a full symphony of sweetness dancing across our taste buds.

If you’d told me anytime in my 69 years that I’d be celebrating a birthday dinner with my lovely wife in the heart of Bucharest, Romania, I’d have thought you were crazy. Yet there we were — like characters from a Clive Cussler novel: me, the unsuspecting CIA agent, and Donna, the undercover operative… sharing laughter and dessert in a centuries-old restaurant somewhere in Eastern Europe.

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