Blogs from Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, Europe

Heute habe ich den nächsten Ausflug von meinem Projektapartment im Main-Taunus-Kreis unternommen. Diesmal in die Region Darmstadt. Dort habe ich mich schon im Jahr 2000 nach einer Wohnung umgesehen und war 2009 vor und nach meinem Unfall bei zwei Kunden. Zuletzt war ich 2014 in der Stadt zu einer Code Jam. Ich bin also am heutigen Tag zuerst zum Welterbe Grube Messel. Dort wurden aufgrund der geologischen Besonderheiten viele Fossilien gefunden. Ich habe mir das Besucherzentrum angesehen und an einer Führung in die Grube teilgenommen. Danach bin ich nach Darmstadt selbst und zwar zur Mathildenhöhe. Obwohl ich schon oft durch die Stadt durchgefahren bin, war ich in dieser Künstlerkolonie noch nie. Dort gibt es einen Turm und eine russisch-orthodoxe Kirche. Ich glaube, irgendwann hat eine Prinzessin aus einem lokalen Fürstenhaus einmal einen russischen Zar geheiratet. Evtl. ... read more

Today was a really exciting day as I got to meet up with my friend Connie from Germany who I haven't seen in 7 years! I met her when she was an exchange student in high school. She had come all the way from Munich the day before so we decided to meet up for breakfast at a Cafe around the area we were staying. It was so nice to see her again (and in her own country this time)! She brought her cousin along as well (Kerstin) who lives in the area so was able to guide us around. We had planned to meet up with Markus again later on as he was going to guide us around Frankfurt, so Connie and Kerstin joined us for the rest of the day. We walked through the ... read more

Thursday 13 August: We headed into the Hauptbahnhof and stored our luggage before going to Marienplatz – the square with the magnificent town hall and glockenspiel. We went a different way to when we were last here so we saw a bit more. We watched the show again and then grabbed some lunch and then thickshakes before deciding we were all buggered so headed back to the station a bit early. As with last time, the sheer number of beggars in this city is unbelievable. We got there and found a platform with a train about to leave so the seats were empty. We sat for a while and rested and it was entertaining to see people rushing to catch the train at the last minute. One young guy just missed out as the guard at ... read more

Officially married. check. Happy family. checked. Tipsy Husband and wife. check. It's time to have lunch! We all head back to the underground, where we understand that my sister is missing... yes, another disaster - her dress got caught in the escalator... her partner jumped, pressed the emergency button and Thomas's sister pulled out a Lederman. SAVED!!! on the train-off the train-into the cars and off we go.... Lunch is served at Burg Frankenstein (Frankenstein Castle ) and we are running a bit late than planned... We chose this place from several obvious reasons: The name of the castle made me lough, It's disabled friendly and was available for the day we wanted it. Oh yeah, it also had an amazing view and... read more

Both Ray and I arrived at Frankfurt Airport within an hour of each other as planned and even ran into each other after a couple of hours. Our bikes arrived in pretty good shape with just a couple of details that can be worked out at the bike shop tomorrow. We got on the subway at the airport and took a short ride to a suburb (Langen) to find a hotel. Cycled for a few minutes to find a hotel. Must get some sleep so we can get on our way to Heidelberg. Bike gear all over the room.... read more