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Published: April 5th 2014
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I arrived into Frankfurt just after 7:00 am, after what seemed a long drawn out journey, including a five hour wait in Singapore and a strong head wind didn't help. The fourteen hours from Singapore to Frankfurt just took for ever!
I am only overnighting here so booked into an airport hotel, the Hilton Garden Hotel (haven't seen any garden yet).
Luckily I was able to check in immediately after claiming my luggage. I am not sure if lucky is the right word now I think about it again. Early check-in, 39 euro extra please. I think the girl felt a little quilty as she whispered (so the business men checking out couldn't hear) that she would give me free wifi the entire time I am here.
Once checked in I dumped my case in the room changed shoes and headed into the city. That was an adventure in it's self. I have no German knowledge at all, no phrase book, to assist but I managed to get a ticket from the vending machine, mainly just standing and watching a few people first, even managed to get on the correct train and get off at the correct stop.
Maybe I am not so geriatric after all.
Once in the city itself I had no plan, just thought i would try to do a tour of some sort. I wandered about for a bit and realised it doesn't appear to be a really touristy city as I didn't see advertising of tours even in the railway station. Using just one of my brain cells I walked into a hotel as if i was a guest there and asked about tours. It was basically too late, I guess the usual city tours had already departed, but he mentioned if i went down by the river they do river cruises both up and down the river.
It was really pretty down by the river, lots of spring blossoms, people sitting in deck chairs, others sleeping on the park benches or having picnics for two and generally using the park the way they should be used. I think they were a little misguided about the weather wasn't really that nice because it was foggy this morning and the day has just stayed dull and grey. There appeared to be loads of cyclists, on the walkways also.
I found the
place where the boat left from and didn't have long to wait as their was one going at twelve o'clock. Once I was ensconced on the top deck was where the frankfurter came into being. They had quite an extensive menu and as it was twelve o'clock i thought I would have a reasonable meal then in case I was too tired later on this evening. Well - no actually nothing was actually available except for frankfurters and fries. Duh - why bother to have a menu? The frankfurter was washed down with a lovely cold glass of riesling - what else would any respectable wine drinker drink in Germany.
The cruise up and down the river was really very pleasant, they a recorded commentary in English as well as German, of what we were looking at. It was
actually a little chilly sitting up on the outside deck and i eventually went back below for the last half hour.
By around two-thirty I decided my sense of adventure had disappeared as I was fading rapidly. Catching the correct train back to the airport turned out not to be as easy as getting from the airport into
the city centre. After a few near misses of almost getting on the wrong train. I already had a sore butt from sitting on the plane too long, I arrived back at the hotel with everything hurting, my back, my feet, my neck, my leafs, even my hair hurt. OMG is old age really catching up on me that fast?
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