This year, I am thankful that I didn't have to cook a turkey. Although Josh did make me buy a turkey breast that I was supposed to make him over the weekend so he could have 'leftovers'. (How the hell are they leftovers if I have to cook a damn breast just to GET the leftovers?!)
Since we're in Germany, the sense of community surrounding the holidays is much stronger than it is in the States, I think. Since all of us are away from our extended families, we all have to band together in order to have a traditional Thanksgiving. Josh and I went over to our friends' house for turkey genocide day, and all I had to bring was a pie, mashed potatoes, rolls, and tea bags. This was literally the easiest Thanksgiving I've ever been through, since being an 'adult'. (Yes, I put that word in quotation marks. I still don't feel like a grown-up)
This is why I hate having to deal with turkey:
This is why I love the non-turkey part of Thanksgiving:
FYI - vegetarians love Thanksgiving/Christmas. It laugh when people ask, "So, what can you eat? Do you have a hard time finding things?" You know what I ate on Thanksgiving?? Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, corn, mac & cheese, and while it wasn't on this table, most of the time I get stuffing, too (as long as it's made with vegetable broth). And once I was done with that, it was dessert time. And unless you're a hipster-baker that puts bacon in all of your food (really? do those brownies REALLY need bacon in them?? go be a hipster somewhere else) all of the dessert is vegetarian.
One year, I was a vegan over thanksgiving. That was not as fun....remind me to tell the tofurkey story at some point.
So back to this weekend...Everybody gorged themselves, then played the dancing game on the Kinect. Well, not this girl. I didn't even play that game at my cousin's house, and I'm sure as hell not going to play it in front of non-relatives. Call me a party-pooper - I care not.
At least Josh was a good sport:
So Thanksgiving was good. We were fat and happy. Friday was spent recuperating from eating 20 pounds of carbs & butter, just in time to go out to eat with one of Josh's coworkers that night. Kaiserslautern is the big town near the base, and they have a reallllly good brewery/restaurant. Plus, right outside was the K-town Christmas market. And, I'll have you know, I just got a salad. That was my detox from the day before....although the salad had about a pound of feta and olives....but that's healthy fat, right?
Saturday, it was time for the Rothenburg ob der Tauber Christmas market. Quick note - Christmas markets are HUUUUUGE in Europe, especially Germany. Those crazy Christians know how to live it up during this time of year. Tons of craft, food, and alcohol stands. That's a good combo for me.
At this point, I should mention that this weekend was Josh's bff Chris' last weekend in Germany. That's right, Little Foot was being shipped back to the states on Monday. (as for the nickname, let's just say that Chris should be wearing toddler socks).
So, the trip to Rothenburg was kind of a last hurrah for us all - we were in a 3 car caravan to Rothenburg - about 2 hours from Ramstein. Rothenburg is the oldest medieval city in Germany - it was really neat, because the old section was still surrounded by the original medieval walls. We definitely want to go back, maybe during non-Christmas time.
See? Lovely.
One thing that's the same at all Christmas markets - glühwein. It's a hot, spiced wine drink.
Yum.
One fun fact about all of the fairs and festivals around here - whenever you get a drink, they give you a real glass or mug to go with it. Let's say the glühwein is €3. Well, the first time you buy it, it will be €4.50. If you have more, then they go back to €3. If you want to keep your glass (most of the festivals have their own glasses with their own logos etched on them) then not a problem. But, if you don't want the glass, you just turn it in and get your €1.50 deposit back. Genius, eh??
We walked around alllll day. It was pretty crowded, but wasn't horrible. However, it was soooo cold. I actually had to buy gloves while I was there. But, if it gets too cold, you just pop into one of the stores and warm up for a bit.
I loved seeing all the Christmasey sites. Even though I'm a heathen, I really do love Christmas - who doesn't love decorations and presents?!
It was a really good time, but trying to wrangle a group of 9 people through the crowded and tiny streets of a medieval city is almost impossible. We were constantly losing each other.
I think we ended up leaving around 5pm or so. At this point, Josh, Lacie and I hadn't had anything to eat (except a few spiced nuts). And I should mention, Lacie is 38 weeks pregnant - how she managed to go all day without eating is beyond me. We had to wait until after we got back home to be able to go out to eat - our dog, and Lacie & Yahreen dogs HAD to be let out. But luckily, we found a super fantastic, reasonably priced restaurant not but 5 minutes from our house (Lacie and Yahreen also live right down the road from us). Oh, the food was so good - especially after not eating all day. I had a pizza, and ate the whole thing. I'm not even going to apologize for that.
Then Chris came over for a little while - a last little play date for him and Josh. Josh is really gonna miss the guy (and I might miss him a little bit as well). But, such is the military lifestyle.
Sunday, I spent the day being sick. I had been sick with a cold/cough the whole week before. Thought I was better. Apparently walking around Rothenburg in freezing weather reactivated my cough.
But that's ok, because it was totally worth it. :)
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