It's turkey time

Thanksgiving is here again.
Need a refresher on how to celebrate a classic American holiday in the heart of northern Germany? Check out this post from last year: How to celebrate Thanksgiving in Hannover.

There a few changes from last year. Brian can't take a personal day, since he already took a personal week when went to the U.S. in October. And the four Lithuanian folk dancers will not be in town to play in the football game, also known as Puten Bowl III. There is a big addition, though: NFL football. Brian has signed us up for a free trial on nfl.com so that we can stream the Bears vs. Lions game on Thanksgiving day (night for us). It'll be perfect. Like men all over America, Brian, Dizzy, baby Ivo and Sankey the Englishman can sit on our sofa and watch football while the women do... everything else. 

It's our fourth Hannover Thanksgiving, and I feel like a pro. I know where to buy cranberries and cornmeal, and what's a good price on sweet potatoes. I know how to roast my own pumpkins. And I know where to get the turkey. It comes from this happy lady at Hedda's Bauernladen.

Photo credit goes to Kaska

I am not sure if this is Hedda or not, but she was pretty excited about selling me this turkey. She asked me in two different languages if I would like to have the heart, liver and guts. Maybe she didn't believe me when I told her "nein", so she asked again in English to be sure. I was wary of getting a Giganturkey like I had last year, but this one is just big. I was able to carry it home in my backpack without any back injuries.

After dinner for eleven on Thursday, Brian will host the Puten Bowl flag football on Saturday (Pute is turkey in German) and we have a party Saturday night for just about everyone we know.

Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration. This year in Hannover, Brian and I celebrate the beer harvest. Sure, we have pumpkins and corn and all that. But carrying five cases of beer up the five flights to our apartment has really been hard work. This weekend we enjoy the fruits of our labors. But then we will do what the pilgrims never had to - carry all the empties back to the store and collect our deposits.

It's the night before Thanksgiving. All over the U.S., people are traveling. It's the biggest travel day of the year and, like I did for many years, Americans are trekking hundreds of miles to be with their families. I can't get to mine this year, but Brian and I have made this our special, weekend-long holiday in Hannover.  We live far from home and so do most of our expat friends, so Thanksgiving makes us like one big family. Just like at a real family party, there are those people you really enjoy seeing and look forward to talking to. There are those people who are always mildly offensive, and yet you are stuck with them. There are men on the couch and ladies in the kitchen and a few little kids running around. Something gets spilled, maybe a glass is broken, everyone eats too much and this year there will be football playing in the living room. It sounds like a perfect turkey day to me. For that, I am thankful.