No Thanksgiving? No Problem: A Holiday Weekend in Germany

Since the United Kingdom doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I decided to explore another country and visited Germany last weekend! 

My first stop was Cologne where I spent eight hours exploring the festive city. Right next to the train station was the Dom (Cathedral) which was a beautiful piece of gothic architecture that kept my attention for almost two hours. After, I made my way through six different Christmas markets. The endless Christmas lights and culture kept me busy for nearly five hours, right up until I lost daylight and headed to Paderborn to meet one of my cousins, who introduced me to a proper German Döner wrap. I didn’t get any photos, but it was genuinely one of the tastiest things I’ve ever had.

From there, we traveled to Munich to meet another cousin and her family, and was where I spent most of the weekend. We explored three more markets and the Munich Alps, some of the most beautiful mountains I’ve ever seen, and I tried what might now be one of my favorite teas. Even though the temperatures were technically colder, the whole experience in Germany felt warmer than London, possibly because my cousins were very adamant that I dress properly for the weather. In contrast, in London, it feels like everyone is sacrificing warmth for style.

It was really special to spend Thanksgiving with family, even on another continent, and to have home-cooked meals despite being far from home.