PLANES, TRAINS.....and BOATS

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RHINE RIVER CRUISE I left Cologne in the early morning headed south to Frankfurt to meet up with Sheila, a CS friend from Long Beach also doing some traveling through Europe. I hopped on a train as usual but an hour into the trip I ditched the train in the town of Koblenz. My plan was to catch a 6-hour ferry boat along the Rhine River to experience the scenic route of medieval castles along the way, but things didn't go quite my way.

When I arrived in Koblenz I was pressed for time with only 45 minutes until the ferry was scheduled to depart. The ferry landing wasn't exactly near the train station and I imagine it would not have been too long a walk, but I didn't want to risk being wrong so I took the safe route waiting for the bus instead. The only problem was that the next bus was arriving at 8:47am - the ferry was leaving at 9am. Hmmm...I took my chance anyway. When the bus arrived I boarded very anxious to make it on time. I leaned over to the driver to double check my appropriate bus stop first asking, "Sprechen Sie Englisch? (Do you speak English?). He said "yes" and then asked me in a perfect American accent, "Where are you from?" Surprised, I answered "the States." I asked the same come to find out he too was from California...San Diego to be exact. Small frieking world. Deshaun was his name - a former solider in the Army now living in Germany with his family. I was hoping he would favor me being a fellow San Diegan and take pity on my sense of urgency - perhaps by running a few red lights or some people on the streets if necessary. Wishful thinking. As we pulled up to my stop, the boat was in clear sight but just as I stood up to get off I watched in great disappointment the ferry push off the dock. The next boat was scheduled at 2pm which I couldn't afford to wait for. Out of luck, on the bus I stayed keeping Deshaun company on his route back to the train station.

I killed time curious of what life for Deshaun was like being American living in Germany. Having lived in Germany for 12 years now he was of course fluent in the language. He didn't hesitate to tell me that he hated the cold weather and gave me the look of death when I told him that it was currently 80 degrees in the middle of October back in Southern California. While waiting at a stop light we observed a homeless man crossing the street which prompted Deshaun to comment that he didn't know why the homeless were "homeless" in Germany. I inquired why and he explained the homeless in there receive financial assistance from the government and even more interestingly that they are paid an extra 3-5 Euros if they own a dog. So folks, if you find yourself homeless and in Germany, mans best friend is your saving grace.

Back at the station I said good-bye to Deshaun and went looking for the next train scheduled for Frankfurt. But then a light bulb lit up above my head as it dawned on me that the ferry stopped at different towns along the way and that I could probably take a train further south to catch it. DUH. I was back in good spirits and made my way to the town of Boppard where I finally managed to catch the ferry. The ride was beautiful with gorgeous views of the small towns, hill top castles, and sloping vineyards passed along the way. A nice trip I recommend if you're not in a hurry to get somewhere. KD (Koln-Dusseldorf) is the operating fleet that starts from Cologne to Mainz but departing cities can vary depending on what time of the year you go. The best castle views are between Koblenz and Bingen. By the time we got to Bingen I was ready to get back on land so from there I took the train the rest of the way to Frankfurt.

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FRANKFURT I arrived at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (central station) in the late afternoon. Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany but my first impression of the city stepping outside the station was NOT a good one. Seedy characters of all kinds - the hotspot for drunks, homeless, and peddlers. I jetted out of there like Speedy Gonzales but no couchsurfing for me this time, but instead opted to stay at a hostel since my stay was for just one night. I arrived safely to the Frankfurt Hostel, just a block away from the station. What the train station lacked luckily Frankfurt Hostel made up for. The place was clean, the rooms were a descent size which included an in-room bathroom, free breakfast and wi-fi, and the night of my arrival they were serving free pasta dinner. Perfect for my budget.

I stayed in a room for four, meeting two of my roomies. I was first befriended by Sonia from Austria who was in town running a marathon. Then second was Katie from Australia also doing some traveling. Katie's story blew mine clearly out of the water - a teacher by trade, but like most Australians she had the bug to travel. She too quit her job and for the last 2 and 1/2 years she's been on an adventure around the world with only two weeks left to go. She had been all over Europe and also found odd jobs in between in places like Canada, Scotland, and Switzerland for extra cash with only a backpack to call home. AMAZING. The next day she was heading East to Thailand, her last stop before heading back down under. I watched as she "un"-packed for her trip, dumping almost all her clothes out from her bag she no longer needed to make room for all the bargain shopping she was looking forward to in Asia.

I finally met up with Sheila that night who herself was traveling in Europe for a few weeks visiting a friend in Frankfurt as well as friends in Riga, Lativia. I caught up with her just in time before she headed back to the States. We were joined by her friends Natalie and Nadia at Living XXL nightclub catching up exchanging travels stories, sipping on cocktails, and grooving on the dance floor. I couldn't stay long, but in the short time spent, it was nice to see a familar face from back home.

More pictures, click here ----> RHINE RIVER CRUISE PICS

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Photos

Dashaun
The homie bus driver from Diego...

Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
Watch your back yo...

Me & Sheila
Long Beachers in Deutschland