Thanksgiving

It’s hard to write about the great American holiday without using the trite melodrama you’d probably expect from somebody who has just missed his first family Thanksgiving. Luckily for us both, I have absolutely no qualms about throwing solemnity out the window and filling that space with unmitigated silliness and some high-resolution photographs of the beautiful city of Freiburg.

Why do I do all this? Because I love you.

Rising from the city of Freiburg is the Schlossberg, loosely translated as “Castle Mountain.” Since the 11^th Century, fortifications have been placed there to protect and control the Dreisam River valley. During the eight hundred years after the first fortress was built, the hill proved to be of such strategic importance that its castles were besieged or destroyed at least seven times. Today it is a popular destination for tourists and citizens alike, with hiking trails, a lookout tower, and two high-class restaurants.

This is where I celebrated Thanksgiving.

IES rented out the whole hilltop restaurant for us and served the American students a free (!) four-course (!!!) Thanksgiving feast. The only thing the event lacked was pumpkin pie, although the catering staff tried their best to make up for this with a general spirit of excess.   

seriously, what am I supposed to do with all this?

We had a great time, and the musical talent displayed between courses was considerable. The music selection and audience’s responses were extremely formal and I wondered what these quiet, appreciative people would do if they heard something with a little more energy.   

SUDDENLY,

That’s me, Andrew Morris, and Alex McRae. We’ve been playing at a local pub’s open mic night every week for the past three weeks, and none of those nights were quite as good as this one. People sang along and spontaneously danced to our material, which I didn’t expect – I knew we’d get a good response, but I didn’t expect to see one of my professors dancing with abandon. I could critique my improvisation, and that is, frankly, justifiable; but regardless of my perception of my own performance, the students and professors and administrators – the people we were playing for – were happy, so happy that they started getting ridiculous, which isn’t something the Germans are known for. So as far as that goes – mission accomplished.

And then it started snowing. Snow is common in the foothills and other places of high elevation, but so much of it so close to the downtown area is unheard of, especially this early in the season. It added a certain magic to the evening - gahhh I get serious for one moment and this is what happens. YES, it was magical. Just magical. The panoramic view of the city was somehow enhanced by seeing less of it thanks to the fog created by the snow.

Andrew, Alex, and I were among the last to leave and probably would have been stranded if it hadn’t been for the German students’ reminders of “we need to leave we need to go NOW please go now the tram only goes until 12:30 we need to go now.”

When we got to the tram stop, we had thirty minutes to spare. By request of the ladies, we passed the time playing some tunes and jamming over the theme song of our local grocery store. For a concert at 12:30 in the morning, we attracted a quite a crowd.

I woke up on Friday at 12:30 in the afternoon and left my apartment at 3 pm. I was in no condition to endure mental or physical stress, but in my infinite wisdom I decided to climb the Schlossberg hill in another one of my lone wolf moron adventures. My ears’ reaction to the cold (read: PAIN) made the climb difficult, but the effort paid off: I got to see a snow-covered Freiburg at sunset from a lookout tower on top of the highest hill in the area.

When I left the Schlossberg, I was almost frozen and really didn’t want to go home and make dinner. The obvious alternative was the Christmas Market in the city’s center, where I had pumpkin soup in a bread bowl and a glass of glühwein, a warm, spiced wine that you can easily make at home by mixing cinnamon, cloves, and fruity dish soap. Exhausted, I went home and wrote this.

That was my Thanksgiving. I've included some photos; click to view full-size versions.