25-27 August 2006:
I cannot believe this is my last weekend in Europe! The trip of a lifetime is winding down. Honestly, I am tired. I am sad to have to get back to the real world and the tedium that it is, but I am welcoming not having to change locations every two days, not having to worry about pickpockets, knowing that I can have clean laundry whenever I need it, and not carrying my passport everywhere. Clean beds, healthy food, normal life...it has its appeal!
I am in Frankfurt, the Manhattan of Germany. It is, actually, a very beautiful city! It does not have the "big city" feel that I thought it would. There is a beautiful old part of town. The sad thing is it was leveled during WWII and everything has been rebuilt. So, while the buildings are beautiful, there isn’t the "old world" feel that there normally is in Europe.
I arrived on Friday after an uneventful train ride from Paris. I met up with my Danish friend, Kristian, at the train station. He’s a good travel companion...does all the leg work like booking hostels, figuring out the in-city transportation, and speaking German...because I sure don’t!
Saturday, we went t
o Mainz, a small town outside of Frankfurt with the intent of taking a Rhine River cruise...but we didn’t make it in time :( I really had h
oped to go on one! But, the weather was questionable...half rainy/half sunny anyway. We just walked around, saw a beautiful church with stained glass done by Chagall, the artist and saw a "Scottish" wedding leaving the church. It was kinda strange...almost like one of those medieval dress-up weddings. There weren’t many guests, but those that were there were dressed up in renaissance dress and the guys were all wearing kilts. Strange. It was a nice, relaxing day, though.
Today, I ate a real Frankfurter in Frankfurt. It’s the little things, like real Danish in Denmark, real Swedish fish in Sweden, real Weiner Schnitzel in Wein (Vienna) and now, a Frankfurter in Frankfurt. Too bad I didn’t eat a hamburger in Hamburg.
Tomorrow I head out. I want to go to Köln and see the cathedral there. It is supposed to be incredible! And then on to Brussels. I will be in Belgium for 2 days, then head to London for an evening and fly out on Thursday.
I cannot believe how fast it goes. If I don’t post until I come home, I apologize. But, I appreciate all you that have followed along on my little journey and I promise to put some good photos with some excellent captions in soon after I get home!!
Perhaps my next post will be from the States!
28 August 2006:
seen. I had heard it was amazing...I couldn't even fathom how imposing, intricate, and immense it is!! The sky was overcast and grey, an ideal backdrop f
or the dark, imposing gothic cathedral. I only spent 2 1/2 rainy hours in Cologne, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cathedral. You walk out of the train station and BAM! It's right there! I even saw a group of missionaries (awwww...) and talked to them for a little bit.
