The town grew up as a college town with the first university building built in 1875. It nestles below rock formations called the Flatirons, part of the Rocky Mountain range. The town took its name from Boulder Creek (a tributary of the South Platte River) which tumbles over boulders as it weaves its way through the town.
We did computer work while Geoff filled his 800 mhz nmr magnet with liquid nitrogen. Then we were off to find a watch repair shop. Glen had lost the spring bar for his watch band while playing football with Elijah and Miles. Watch Galaxy was just closing as we arrived so we ended up in a funky mall several blocks away. The guy at the Rocky Mountain Time Zone did a quick job although he told Glen he should have been playing baseball as it was baseball season.
By this time, we were ready for lunch and Geoff suggested the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. This exotic building was constructed by hand in Boulder's sister city, Dushanbe, Tajikistan then rebuilt in Boulder. It is in a beautiful location beside Boulder Creek with an interior that reminds one of Persian palaces. It was too cold to sit on the patio so we asked for seats inside. The only table available meant we'd sit cross-legged on cushions. I laughed as Glen said, "That's not going to happen."
We walked to Pearl Street, the main shopping street of downtown Boulder. It is believed to be named after one of the founding fathers' wife during the 1850's when the mountains were mined for gold. During the 1960's, the downtown deteriorated but some forward-thinking politicians proposed closing the street to traffic and establishing a mall (1977) after restoring some of the historic buildings. We found ourselves drawn to the Bohemian Biergarten (opened in April 2013), perhaps because a delivery truck was unloading beer kegs.
Set up as a traditional beer garden, we sat ourselves at end of a long table made of 150 year old reclaimed wood originally from New York. Owned by a Czech ex-pat, the beer is European--German, Czech, Austrian, and Belgium although Geoff enjoyed a Colorado beer brewed in the European style. Glen and I had an Austrian beer as we perused the menu. There was everything from goulash to speck (a type of ham). Geoff and I had a pastrami reuben with the best rye bread I've ever tasted while Glen had a speck and cheese.
We headed back to Denver and after a delicious étouffée created by Melissa, we attended Elijah's choir concert. It was great entertainment and a wonderful ending to the day.
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