Blogs from Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, Europe - page 28

I am sitting here in the business lounge at Lufthansa Airline, in Frankfurt Germany. My flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was interesting, the gentleman sitting next to me was either drunk, insane, or both. Shortly after arriving he attempted to put a bag in the overhead compartment and promptly fell onto a woman sitting across the aisle, then after he got up he accused me of tripping him. He then sat down next to me, and proceeded to spend the next three hours drinking heavily and talking to himself. At one point he did stop to comment on how lovely my dog was (I had my computer on and there is a picture of Buster on my screen). He did try to sleep at one point but kept waking himself up from his loud snoring. I ... read more

31/10/05 - Saying farewell to Liesbeth and Michel was a sad event. Farewell to Liesbeth and Michel also meant that we were departing for Frankfurt so that Lorenza and I would also say farewell and for Lorenza to catch her flight home. The drive to Frankfurt was uneventful, except for the speeds that people travel at on the German autobahns. At 172km/h (the highest speed we reached) there were still many cars pulling away from us and disappearing quickly into the distance. The traffic in the “slow lane” is doing 130km/h, in the middle lane about 150km/h. I had to brake at one stage to slow down for a vehicle which was holding the traffic up at 140km/h; it was amazing how slow that seemed after sitting on 150 for so long. When we encountered road ... read more

Hello, Reader. Today was a day of new experiences. In the morning, I went with Katrin to shop and then walk through the park in Bad Homberg. Bad means bath. In this context, it refers to the rejuvinating and healing fountains where old or sick people come to drink and feel better. The park offers several fountains from which one may drink extremely foul, egg-tasting water. Though Katrin warned me first, she insisted that I try them. So I did... it was worse than the cherry snapps that her father had me drink the night before, after dinner. We then picked up Steffie and headed to the Goethe Haus. Goethe was a famous wrighter who wrote "Faust," which roughly translates to "Chicken Soup for the Flautist's Soul..." The house was beautiful and old (reconstructed). It is ... read more

Hello Reader. I never expected I would be updating my journal as often as I am now... but I want to take the opportunity now while I can, because there is a good chance that I won't have access to a computer for days on end in the future. I was up at seven thirty this morning. I scared Katrin's mother half to death, and she, in turn, screamed and scared ME... so we're even. After a first breakfast at eight with Katrin's parents, I accompanied Sybille (Katrin's Mom) to the supermarket... an experience to which I was looking forward. She was very patient with me as I marveled at the little differences and tried to pronounce everything I read. (I like to think my pronounciation is getting much better.) We then went to the Butcher ... read more

Hello Reader. I have arrived in Frankfurt unscathed. After a long flight into Iceland, then to Germany, I am TIRED! I am quite thankful that I don't have any bags getting lost stories to write about. Everything went more smoothly than I expected... in fact, as i was exiting baggage claim, i was confused because there was no customs. There was no one there to check my bag and grill me about why I'm coming to Europe and for how long. I had even went over my answers in my head... nope, just a door and a my friend Katrin and her mother waiting for me on the other side. Katrin, and ex-co-worker, is originally from Frankfurt and happens to be in town visiting for two weeks. She and her family has graciously invited me to ... read more