Thanksgiving / Erntedankfest

We had a grand Thanksgiving celebration here, transforming the student lounge of one of the student dorms into a festival hall. It was a daunting task, but the students all pitched in, baking a multitude of desserts and cooking side dishes (the turkey and vegetables were brought), while we transported much of our kitchen (silverware, plates, glasses, washing up supplies, serving bowls) as well as beverages galore and vegetarian stuffing and gravy across the city. I thought many times of Anne and Mike who have hosted umpteen million Thanksgivings for my family with much gratitude for all the effort that they put in each year - Thanksgiving is a lot of work!

When all was said and done, 28 people had a Thanksgiving dinner, with ages from 3 to the 80s, with American students, Austrian and Italian roommates, families, professors, and youth all mixed together. We had both sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, both made from scratch, the sweet potatoes discovered at Thursday's outdoor farmer's market (you cannot buy sweet potatoes in stores here) and the pumpkin carefully cooked up (you cannot buy canned pumpkin here). There was more turkey than I've ever seen before, not carved into thin slices American style, but cut into big chunks with enormous turkey wings for those who like to eat with their hands. It was a most excellent extravaganza. We all had a good time, and we ate way too much good food. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is supposed to be? Yes, it wasn't with family, but it was about as good as it could have been.