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Its time to stand united and eliminate a ridiculous phrase from the common vernacular…”doorbuster”…as in “arrive at the crack-of-dawn for amazing doorbuster specials”.

It appears that the Kohls department stores win the post-Thanksgiving early-bird prize…they are opening at 4am Friday. 4am!!!! Honestly, what cheap, Chinese-made ‘doorbuster’ is worth getting up at that hour?

Charge me twice as much…I’m still sleeping…and digesting pumpkin pie. 🙂

Jeff and I spent a quiet Thanksgiving in San Francisco. It was a BEAUTIFUL day in SF…mid 70s…sunny…perfect. Jeff went out in the garden and created an amazing centerpiece for the table. The meal was wonderful, with an herb-filled turkey (rosemary from the garden), Jeff’s own stuffing creation (the best item on the table!), must-have green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, and a scrumptious hearty mushroom gravy. Jeff made a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert…and we have a pumpkin pie if that runs low 🙂

Of course…stories from our families did make us a bit homesick. Big piles of leaves in Virginia, which nephew Benjamin seems to LOVE playing in. A big family gathering in Michigan with the first snow of the season for decoration. We miss everyone, and send out big hugs.

At dusk, we worked off the meal with a walk along the Bay in the brilliant light of the Golden Gate Bridge. The perfect end to the day.

Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

Funny thing about Amsterdam. Most of the museums that we went in did not allow for photography, soooooo, most of the photos across our three days look rather similar. Lots of outdoor shots of canals, people, and bicycles. With a few variations.

Amongst the shots in this post (all from Saturday/Zatentag, October 27…text recap HERE) are images of lines at the Anne Frank House, canals and shops in the Jordaan neighborhood, colorful graffiti, and protesters in Dam Square (rallying against the crack-down on hallucinogenic mushrooms, fyi). My favorite shop name in Amsterdam (“Shirts and Cappuccino”). And of course, a pic that Jeff took of me and a stuffed rat…cheers.

Friday/Freitag, October 26 (Journal entry HERE). This was our travel day from Germany to the Netherlands aboard the high-speed ICE train. It was another heavily overcast day in Northern Europe.

One of our intermediate stops was Koln. The dramatic cathedral surprised us…and made for some fun, fleeting photos.

In Amsterdam, we stayed at the Hotel Patou…a sleek design hotel in a quiet location.

We arrived in Amsterdam late on Friday, so the daylight hours were fleeting. Still, a few initial shots…with some character.

Our last full day in Germany was Thursday/Donnerstag Oct 25, which we spent wandering along the Mosel River. (The details are in the blog entry HERE.)

Our primary stop of the day was the quintessential German castle…Burg Eltz…surrounded by a winding river and gorgeous forest. (The castle didn’t allow photography inside…but be sure to buy a guidebook!)

Lunch was in the colorful town of Cochem at the restaurant Zom Stuffje. The day was heavily overcast, so the images are brooding.

We also strolled around tiny Beilstein on our drive home.