Did Somebody Say McDonald's??????

On our way to Freiburg last Saturday, we took the back roads out of Basel, through the little, Swiss town of Riehen (above) and then headed up the highway, passed through the German border, and came to Lorrach, Germany. As we came into town, we saw this:

Since we were planning on getting lunch on the road and since we were craving something like twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepickleoniononasesameseedbun, we thought we'd hit Mickey D's. McDonald's holds a special place in our hearts---we've spent tons of money there feeding our brood, two of our kids worked at the one in Ottawa, Illinois, and I, during the first summer of our marriage, was none other than a McDonald's french fry inspector at a potato plant (that is worthy of a whole post on its own). Anyway, it was just fun to see something that kind of reminded us of home. We had no problem finding it, and....there was no mistaking where the drive-thru was located!

We were made to feel welcome right off the bat. I mean....it was in three languages! I guess lots of people felt welcome because the parking lot was packed.

The surrounding scenery was prettier than a lot of McDonald's I've seen:

We entered the building---it was very clean, very modern, much in the same configuration as most (looking back behind the registers into the kitchen); but, oh my, that's where the similarities stopped. Is it just because I have lived in drive-thru lines for the last two years, or is it that our McDonald's in Houston are sub-par? Am I just not "up to snuff" on the latest McDonald's has to offer? What was all this???

A second area in which to place an order with an entire second menu board, and this:

That's right, here's a close-up just in case you haven't seen one before either:

That's right---bagels, and brownies and cheesecakes, and muffins, and cookies, and...

cupcakes, and more delicious looking treats (and this is coming from a girl who has laid off this stuff for over 2 1/2 years). It was incredible! Then I turned and saw this:

What happened to the booths with the hard laminate benches? And there were cute little enticements at the tables, reminding people of the goodies available:

And then these:

I'm talking gorgeous fresh flower arrangements at the tables! Where was I????? I've seen less at nice restaurants in Houston. Oh, just in case the kids get a little bored, some high-tech fun for them:

And adorning the walls, not posters of Ronald and the golden arches, but some really high-class modern art in very tasteful frames.

And just in case you're wondering....yes, I did go back out to the car to get my camera, and yes, DJ wanted to crawl under the table while I was taking pictures inside a McDonald's, but hey, I had to document this experience. So....I'm thinking these McCafes are probably in the states, but I swear all it means at the one on Spring-Cypress is that the now serve lattes and expresso.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering---no burgers for us, we went with chicken wraps!

And just to verify that this is not a fluke. Peak through the window at the McDonald's at Martin Gate in Freiburg. You'll see upholstered furniture and fresh flowers there as well.

Guess they really meant it when, they said, "You deserve a break today," or "We love to see you smile." It was kind of nice for a change!