Two Holidays in One!

Last night we celebrated Thanksgiving and Marty's birthday with some American and German friends here in Munich. We had a great time! The party was at our friends' apartment. Here are a few pictures.

Carol and I cooked the turkey together. Here she is learning how to carve it (sorry, vegetarians!).


Thanksgiving! With a little resourcefulness, it's the same even in a foreign land.


I made Marty a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, and pressed toasted pecans onto the sides.


Action shot!


With my older man.


Being away from home at Thanksgiving makes it very clear what an American holiday it really is. Cranberries aren't really available here (preiselberries are almost the same), and neither is canned pumpkin puree (although you can get a whole pumpkin and make your own puree, and make a pie from that, what fun!). Sweet potatoes, if you want them, are a special purchase at the Viktualienmarkt. We ordered our turkey a week in advance so we'd be sure to have one, since they're not widely available. Even the cornmeal for my cornbread dressing was a challenge to find. But I prevailed. I am resourceful, and really, what's the difference between fine-ground polenta and cornmeal? There isn't one.

And of course, Thanksgiving itself is just a normal Thursday here. Marty and I do have a reservation to go out to dinner this Thursday at a restaurant that's serving Thanksgiving dinner, where we'll go after he gets off work. Although I did notice last year that the Christmas shopping really kicked up on that Friday after Thanksgiving. And this year I think the Christmas markets might be opening that day as well. (Though I'm not sure about that.) Maybe Thanksgiving itself isn't required for there to be a Black Friday.