Jeff and Andrew and Jimmy fried 2 turkeys to go along with a spiral cut ham and the most amazing side dishes. There was a squash/tortilla casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn and more. We did one turkey with Cajun spices and butter, the other with olive oil and traditional poultry seasonings. Here are the guys frying turkey behind Jimmy's house:
Carving time. Jeff demonstrating the proper method of carving the breast (removing the whole breast, then slicing it cross-wise) Oh yeah!
With Thanksgiving past and football watched, we palmed the kids off to various friends and headed out for a romantic weekend in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. It is a 2.5 hour drive away and an awesome walled medieval city. First stop, the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum. Cool. We enjoyed reading the various infractions and punishments. Did you know it was a crime for poor people to drink coffee? Or for a man to let his wife slap him? For the last offense, he would lead her around town on a donkey while the townsfolk egged and beat them both, while verbally attacking them. Apparently the penalty for being to sexy for your clothes is the stockade:
The reason some of you may have heard of this town is that it is the epicenter of Christmas! Kathe Wolfhart, the famous German Christmas decoration store has 4 shops in the town, turning out millions of ornaments and decorations, such as nut crackers, pyramids, smokers, etc. Cha-Ching!!
The must-do item in town is the "Night Watchman Tour." The German tour guide speaks great English and is very witty and has a good grasp of comedy and schtick. The story he told of the history of the town was great and the ambiance of touring the town at night was perfect.
Here's a look into one of the famous schneeballen (snow ball) shops. These are fried dough covered in dozens of different flavors, like chocolate, apple, cinamon sugar, etc.
Like all European cities, it comes equipped with several impressive churches. The folding alters (seen behind Jeff) were huge and ornate here.
Just down the street from our hotel, the Goldener Hirsch, was the main square. We were there for the opening day of the Christmas market, complete with bands and carolers. We walked everywhere we went, which was a great excuse to keep pounding the Gluhwein (hot mulled red wine).
Here's a glimpse of some Christmas market stands in front of city hall.
Unbeknownst to us when we first arranged to stay at our hotel, this famous corner site of Rothenburg lay right outside our door. We got up in the morning to find tour groups outside blocking our exit looking at this scene. Here's an artist rendition which we purchased from a shop nearby. It was drawn in 1925. Compare it to Jena's picture.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber was a jewel not far from the house with a storied past and interesting mix of tourists and locals. We would have loved to share it with the kids, but they would not have been occupied with "stuff" to do all the time. It is a place for couples and romance...and plenty of Gluhwein! Thanksgiving with our friends felt like family and we had a great time. Jeff only regretted that he had no left overs because we had to travel. We fried more Turkeys for Christmas to make up for it.
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