Philadelphia Thanksgiving Without a Family Table, in Four Stops

My first Thanksgiving abroad, when I left New York alone for the long weekend, started with running shoes, the one ritual that needs no family. The Face to Face Turkey Trot starts at Parking Lot 3 in Wissahickon Valley Park on Thursday, November 26, at 9 AM, with a 5-mile run or a 1-mile walk on Forbidden Drive. The race supports Face to Face, a Germantown nonprofit. The run costs $55 after November 19, the walk $30, ages 4 to 12 pay $20, and race day bib pickup is at Chestnut Hill College Fournier Hall. Ein guter Start.

The Twisted Tail in Society Hill calls its Thanksgiving dinner a home away from home, and for a German without relatives here that phrase lands. The family-style meal costs $59 per person, with a 20 percent service charge added to every check that day, plus tax, alcohol and gratuity. Service starts at noon. The restaurant also packs the feast to go for anyone who would rather eat elsewhere, arranged ahead by phone or email. A 48-hour cancellation policy applies, book with care. Gemütlich enough for a stranger.

Friday belongs to the theater. Disney's FROZEN plays the Walnut Street Theatre at 825 Walnut Street, with a 7:30 PM show on November 27. The stage version adds twelve new songs to classics like Let It Go, and the story of two sisters finding each other again suits a holiday spent far from home. Group tickets for 15 or more start at $55, including a $2.50 historic preservation fee. Some performances offer open captions and audio description. Kitschig, maybe, but ehrlich, I would sing along.

Saturday ends at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens at 100 East Northwestern Avenue. The Holiday Garden Railway sends model trains past miniature historic buildings made from natural materials, and the Nighttime Express opens special evening hours to see the railway lit up after dark. The evening session on November 28 runs from 4:30 PM to 8 PM. Reservations are available, with member tickets from November 2 and public tickets from November 9. On that first trip, small lights and model trains were what finally quieted my Heimweh, and here waits a whole Modelleisenbahn landscape of them.