A Thanksgiving with Frankfurters

Did I hear you say Happy Thanksgiving? Well, let me wish you the same. I had completely forgotten that today was Thanksgiving.

I had just started into breakfast at a little hotel in Frankfurt, Germany. The statuesque blond I'd noticed earlier was talking to me. Minutes earlier, I had considered joining her but she was busy with paperwork.

The easiest transfer ever: Exit the Frankfurt railway station, head straight ahead onto Kaiserstrasse Street and there's Quality Inn on the left.

But now, she had come over to my table and was wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving with that unmistakable German accent. How did she know I was American? I try to blend in with the locals, keep my voice low, so how did she know?

Her suit tailored from royal blue tweed caught my eye when I first entered the room. Her blond hair was swept into a classic up-do. Such style hinted at an interesting person. She continued.

Being from Germany, she said, I thought nothing could be better than Christmas. But there really is. America's Thanksgiving is such a simple holiday, just to be thankful. It's not commercialized at all.

Oh, I understood what she was saying about Christmas in Germany. In fact, I was in Frankfurt for an extra day to catch opening night of Christmas Market, having wrapped up four days at the Euro-American Family Retreat in Rothenburg. several hours south by train.

In fact, wandering through Frankfurt's Christmas market the evening before, here's what I saw. . .

Cookies:Baked with intricate designs.

Cookies: With decorative icing piped on. Oh, and candy too.

Cakey confections of some sort. One of each please. Or not. . . Oh, they're busy strategizing. It's opening night, after all.

The pretzel man. Let's call him Prince of Pretzels, pleased with his chocolate-covered treat. I'll take one of those too.

Back at breakfast, Miss Statuesque shared that she's originally from Germany, teaches law at in California and was in Frankfurt for a conference. We talked at length, no worries that eggs and sausages were getting cold.

Finally I asked, How did you know I'm from the US? Seems she had overheard me wishing the dining room attendant a Happy Thanksgiving and giving her the historical scoop about the day.

Our breakfast room conversation that Thanksgiving morning was a delightful gift. Imagine the chances of being in Germany that morning, crossing paths with someone who also cherishes such a special holiday, so uniquely American, a day set apart to give thanks.

* * *

Say, care to join me for a look around Frankfurt?

Frankfurt: Center of baking for western Europe. There's the Euro sign: and yes, we can imagine it flipped horizontally.

Frankfurt Central Station and Yours Truly. Don't you know that site has seen some history.

Thanksgiving Day in Frankfurt: Hard to beat a quick hop-a-bus tour. . .

Friendly Aussies on the bus tour, mother and son. Once upon a time, perhaps a lifetime ago, I lived and worked in Sydney area. They filled me in on all things Australian since. . . since 1978.

Frankfurt on the Main is the city's official name, Oh I get it, just like my Rostov-on-Don, is on the Don River. Here's the view from the bus.

Frankfurt Trade Fair: The worlds largest book fair held here. Stay on the bus, Stay.on.the.bus.

Frankfurt Cathedral dominates the skyline. Amazing that it survived the war.

Wonderful gift, that day in Frankfurt after the conference. Oh, but here's some back story. Worst case baggage woes that turned out splendidly.

* * *

When I arrived in Frankfurt, my luggage was nowhere to be found. I'd flown Lufthansa from Rostov-on-Don directly to Frankfurt but the luggage had gone directly to Moscow. Oh yippee. I started to panic, needing to catch a train, then another, then another south to Rothenburg, wondering how Lufthansa baggage folks would ever find me there. But I left the airport to head south.

On the plus side, now I had only my carry-on bag to wrangle, a good thing indeed since this trip was November 2009, before my hip replacement surgery, back when each step was painful. Later that evening, during the opening session of the conference, I was quite pleased to be called to the hotel front desk because, tada, Lufthansa luggage folks had just delivered my luggage. What a relief to have my pjs, my toothbrush, my clothes for the next day. Perfect ending.

After the conference, found that I was already a bit spoiled, already accustomed to this personal baggage delivery. I was less than enthused about dragging my bag back on and off trains north to Frankfurt. The biggest challenge getting luggage up the steps at train stations, as per the Eastern European set-up. But another happy surprise awaited.

The gift of German engineering: A escalator for the luggage.

Thanksgiving in Germany: Off-hand, I don't remember lunch there in Frankfurt but I'm pretty sure it wasn't frankfurters. Dinner would have been airplane food. But I arrived back in Rostov-on-Don with all luggage and a long list of thankfulnesses for an extra day in Frankfurt.

Spiritual Feast in Rothenburg, Germany

Last week was the Euro-American Family Retreat in Rothenburg, Germany. This is the 46th year of the Christian retreat, originally hosted by military families based in Germany.

Rothenburg is a medieval town. (Click photos to enlarge.) The original city walls are still standing, thanks to a U.S. general who decided they should not be bombed during World War II. Then, as the city was being rebuilt after the war, residents went with the medieval style, including roof tiles and signage. It's a charming, quiet town. So we did some tours, some shopping during free time.



A highlight of the week was recording 45-minutes worth of songs and prayers for Christian friends who are deployed out of Kaiserslautern, Germany. Our brother Greg Larson came up with the idea. He ministers there and had a list of folks who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We prayed for them by name and sang our hearts out.

Brother Frank from Oklahoma City led the singing and prayers. It was rousing, to say the least. Greg planned to send the music files to the soldiers by Thanksgiving morning. What a clever idea!

Here's a taste of our singing. This little video is a patched-together production because it was recorded with my regular digital camera, which does 30-second video. So. . . it's a little choppy, but still you get the idea.

So yes, we sang a lot and what a treat that was. Most of us who serve overseas rarely sing in English and, you know, there's something about singing in ones native tongue. Leading songs above is a dear brother who serves as an army chaplain in Germany.



This is Sunday worship. Our lessons were from John 17, which one speaker described as the second Lord's prayer. As you may know, this prayer is Jesus' prayer during the Last Supper with His disciples, where he pleads for glory, for unity, for protection from the evil one. Such a poignant passage.


Group Shot: 105 were present from 15 countries. Everything was in English. Simultaneous translations were available in French and Romanian.



Mike Armour - the one gesturing and talking, above - and wife Fran were with us from Dallas. Mike was one of the featured speakers. He's president of Eastern European Mission, a vital printing ministry which serves us well.



The children loved their classes. Three sisters from Dallas dedicated themselves to teaching the children's classes morning and evening. Parents were thrilled and so were the kiddos.



Lucky me ~ got assigned to room with Linda, lead teacher for the children's classes. Oh we had so much fun together and survived four nights in a very small hotel room. What a delightful person is that Linda!


Back out on the streets of Rothenburg. . .

Our tour, starting with the city map.



Keeping warm, couple from Belgium.



Waiting for 3:00 sharp, when something dramatic was to happen with the windows of the town hall.


Three little kittens who lost their mittens, waiting for 3:00 drama.


End of tour, heading back toward city hall.



Aeroflot flight Frankfurt to Moscow. Back to Russia on Thanksgiving afternoon. This would be . . . over Germany. Or maybe Poland. Hard to say!



Parking lot at Moscow's Sheremetevo-2 airport. Then connecting flight to Rostov-on-Don. International trips are never inexpensive. But a magnificent investment ~ learning and growing, meeting new friends, exchanging ideas. Such Christian conferences are invaluable. So thankful for those who organize the Euro-American Family Retreat!

How about you dear Blog Reader? Ever been to Rothenburg, Germany? Or to the Euro-American Family Retreat? Please do share. . .!