Another Adventure Begins
A few months have passed since I last travelled so it’s time for another adventure. These past couple of years have been better than normal for providing me with opportunities to explore this big world of ours. I suppose when the day comes and I have to settle down with a job and a family in the future these will be much shorter and further apart. Sometimes these trips have to happen on my own, but fortunately this European vacation will be with good friends from school whom I have travelled with in the past.
This trip begins in Frankfurt. After an uneventful couple of flights I landed in Germany yesterday morning. There’s always the concern that free internet will be hard to come by. Fortunately the Frankfurt airport had it and I was able to figure out a plan of how to get to the city and meet up with my friends. I still spent most of Friday in the airport since I didn’t really want to drag my bags around while trying to explore. Shortly after lunch I bought a one way ticket to the Hauptbahnhof in town and started walking around. I made my way to the local university library only to find out that there really aren’t a lot of comfortable places to sit down with limitations on where I can bring my bags. I tried to read for a bit, but I get passing out so decided to just make my way to our AirBnB house in the hopes that our host was there and ready for us. She was and kindly let me in. She was a very nice French lady with a little boy (many of their conversations went like “Mama?” and her response of “Oui, cheri?” repeated multiple times). I promptly laid down on my bed and passed out.
A couple of hours later I was woken up by my friends Meghan and Janice. They came in from Berlin via bus. We freshened up and headed out for some authentic German food. We ended up at a little cafe - The Albatros - and sat outside enjoying the crisp evening (cold may be more accurate - the cafe is even kind enough to provide blankets as this is something they probably recognize as an issue. We came back and had the opportunity of taking showers in a tub that didn’t have shower curtains, which is kind of difficult unless the goal is to get as much water all over the floor as possible. Sleep came very easily for me this night even after the nap.
The weather for the first full day of the trip was about as nice as we could ask for. We spent the day walking around to the various churches, markets, and plazas. It began with breakfast at another cafe that had typical breakfast food such as toast, eggs, cheeses, and meats. We made a friend with a local who has lived here for a few years and discussed some of the things we should do in the day we are here. We made our way through the city passing various old churches and an outdoor market - with some of the softest sheepskins I have ever felt - until we arrived at The Römerberg. This is the heart of the old town of Frankfurt and has the traditional architecture often associated with Germany. We made our way to the Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew and decided to climb the almost 200 ft tower. This is done by climbing a narrow circular stair that takes you right above the clock and provides a panoramic view of the entire city including the river that cuts through the middle. We made our way into the chapel after and had the opportunity to hear an organ play some hymns. I never get tired of walking into these old churches with their vaulted ceilings, statues, and altars.
We next walked to an indoor market that was pretty much food heaven. There were endless choices of meats, cheeses, breads, and chocolates. Free samples were in large supply providing us with a lunch tasting all that Germans have to offer. We then walked to the river and crossed over and walked through an outdoor flea market where people were selling anything and everything they could get their hands on: vacuums, grills, dvds, old cameras, clothes, bicycle handles, and cheap jewelry. We then made our way down quiet side streets looking at the old homes and yards and cobblestone streets. I was surprised at how clean and peaceful much of the city is especially on a Saturday.
Back at our apartment we all ended up passing out for more than three hours which may or may not throw off our entire sleep schedule for the next couple of days. We made our way out for dinner at 8 to a Korean restaurant, then had hot chocolate at a local Mickey D’s. One of the nice things about these trips is a forced disconnection from technology and the deeper conversations that can come from spending long hours with close friends - a growing closer that isn’t always possible under different circumstances. We are back in the apartment now, still awake at 2 am, supposedly waking up around 7. We’ll see how that goes.
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