A Very Thankful Week!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone! This year, it was just Regan and I in our little pre-furnished apartment. It was really weird to be away from family. My family drives to Vermont for Thanksgiving every year and it was really hard for me to be away from them. It ended up being a pretty good Thanksgiving anyway, though! There was a lot of food to make, so Regan and I made the pumpkin pie the night before.

It was fun to make it together! We don't cook together very often because I usually monopolize the kitchen haha.

Thanksgiving morning, Regan went to play football with some guys from church and I stayed home to cook! I was kind of nervous about doing the turkey since I'd never really done anything like it before, but it turned out to be pretty easy! The hardest part was putting the seasoning under the skin. It was gross. We also had green bean casserole (my personal favorite), mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry salad, and some rolls that Regan picked up from the bakery down the street! Quite the feast!

Check out that spread! Not bad, right?

We even got all dressed up to eat, just like we do at home!

Regan carved the turkey with a bread knife, because that's all we had haha. He did a really good job, though!

Here I am enjoying the feast!

Regan being a caveman! Meat off the bone!

The day after Thanksgiving, we did not go shopping at 4 AM. Black Friday doesn't exist in Germany. Some of Regan's co-worker-types were going to Cologne to visit the Christmas markets, so we decided to go, too! Pretty much every major village and city in Germany has a Christmas market, and I'd heard that Cologne's (they have 4) are some of the best! Plus, Cologne is supposed to be a cool place to hang out.

We visited all 4 of the Christmas markets. The first one was in front of the chocolate museum, and it was tiny tiny. I did pick up a pair of fur ear muffs there, though. My ears were so cold I couldn't take it! Plus they were cute. Then we bought a 5 Euro ticket for a train that went to all 3 of the other markets. Much better than walking! The 2nd market seemed to be in the middle of a major shopping area.

I don't know what this building is, but it had a giant ice cream cone on it! How cool is that? haha

These bread men are popping up all over the place! I'm assuming they're a Christmas related thing. They're yummy, that's for sure. When we got off the train at the 2nd market, there was a bakery selling them for only 1 Euro!

Regan and I at the 2nd Christmas markets in Cologne!

When the train stopped for the 3rd Christmas market, I got out and was shocked to see the Dom just ahead on the road! I was completly blown away by the size of it and the way it just popped up out of nowhere! I couldn't stop staring at it!

We all decided to go tour the Dom! The inside was just as amazing as the outside. I definitely felt something in there - kind of like the reaction I have to a really beautiful song. It was amazing.

When the sun started to set, it hit the Dom and just lit it up! So beautiful!

The Christmas market was right next to the Dom! I actually got some Christmas gifts at this market!

The 4th Christmas market was also my favorite! It was dark by this point so the whole place was lit up with Christmas lights! We also got some hot chocolate there that was absolutely amazing! From what I've been told, pretty much every Christmas market has their own 'mug' or something that you can buy a drink in and either return for money or keep as a souvenir. We ended up with 2 mugs from our day in Cologne!

this is the Christmas market train we rode! It was so cold out, I was very very grateful for the ride!

The next day, Saturday the 28th, we went to the temple! This was our first time doing a German session and wearing the headphones. It was... different, that's for sure. Outside of the temple there was this cute little nativity set up!

Today we're moving into our new house (FINALLY!!) and I don't think we'll have internet for a few days. I'm just so excited to get my stuff back, I don't even care. Our next big adventure: CHRISTMAS!!! YAY!!!!!