First Turkey, First Chestnuts, First Snow, First Advent

Thanksgiving in Austria

I did it! I successfully prepared my very first Thanksgiving Dinner, stuffed turkey and all! Celebrating Thanksgiving with the Herkners was so special for me. Not only did I surprise myself with my culinary skills, but I was also thrilled to see the Herkners so excited to learn about my traditions. Harald's sister, Evi, also joined us with her three children. Evi and her family lived in Chicago for three years, so they were incredibly enthusiastic about a real American Thanksgiving Dinner!

The menu included:

Stuffed Turkey

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Relish

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Casserole

Mashed Potatoes

My friend Patrick provided the green beens, corn, and mashed potatoes. It was so nice to have a fellow American there to celebrate!

The only thing missing was a pie or two, but we were all so full, we didn't need it anyway!

In the midst of all the excitement, would you believe that I forgot to take a picture of the turkey before Harald started carving it? It's a good thing he's a doctor, and was able to put it back together pretty nicely for a photo op.

Harald carving...

Our post-op turkey. (I'm sure you can tell that it looked beautiful before we cut it open, though!)

The bird ended up weighing 6.8 Kilos, about 15 pounds. It JUST fit in the oven!

Vinzi documenting the event.

I couldn't find mini marshmallows or canned yams anywhere, so I had to improvise with my Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. Ultimately, it was more of a Marshmallow Casserole!

Chestnuts Roasting on a Open Fire...

The Advent Season has arrived, and it's a beautiful, magical time in Vienna. Austria is a traditionally catholic country, so all christian holidays are observed, and the first advent really begins the Christmas season. To kick-off the advent season, the Herkners host a Maroni Fest, or Chestnut Party, every year. We set up a tent outside and served hot, homemade Glühwein (hot mulled wine), and really roasted chestnuts on an open fire! My photos didn't come out too well in the dark, but you can get the idea. :)

The Garden was transformed into our own little Christmas Market for the Party.

Harald roasting chestnuts with his nephew, Xavier.

Chestnuts roasting...

My friends Jay and Katya, two fellow Hoosiers also living in Vienna, came to the party!

(Too much Glühwein...?)

American Invasion at the Maroni Fest!

On the first Sunday of Advent, I came home to find everyone gathered round the dining room table with the first candle on the advent wreath burning, singing Christmas songs, eating cookies, and drinking warm punch. I then found out that we will do this every Sunday evening of advent. Such a lovely family tradition.

As I write this, I'm taking care of poor little Vinzi, who I had to pick up this morning from school because he's sick. If this were America, however, the kids wouldn't have had school today anyway, because it hasn't stopped snowing all day!

Here's current footage of our snowstorm:

Now the garden really is a winter wonderland. :)

As part of Austrian tradition, the Christkindl, or "Little Christ Child" (the "l" at the end is a diminutive in Austrian dialect), comes to every Austrian house on the night of November 30th to bring advent calendars to all of the good little boys and girls. This is such a cute tradition, and even I received an advent calendar!

Also interesting: "Kris Kringle" comes from "Christkindl". I hadn't thought of that until I read the article on wikipedia.

The holidays are such a wonderful time to be in a new country, experiencing new cultures and traditions. I wish you all a beautiful start to December, and hope that you are surrounded by warmth and love throughout this holiday season!