The past weekend was full of tasteful temptations.
We (Kim, Leah, and I) arrived in Farnkfurt, Germany Friday afternoon and miraculously survived driving with Leah’s sister on the Autobahn to her home 2 hours away. It had been my first time in a car since… well since before I left the states. I forgot how comfortable they can be. I kept my eyes closed most of the time for fear of going off the road, but when they were open the scenary was amazing: Lucious green fields and quaint towns with real houses.
We stopped for weiner schnitzel along the way. Interesting processed taste. Spanish food seems so light compared to German food. We spent our first night at Leah’s sister’s apartment on the U.S. Army base in Wiesbaden. That evening we went into the town and listened to a live band at an Irish Pub. Clearly German, they performed only popular English songs reaffirming my belief that only America can produce music…
Saturday morning we drove to Frankfurt and checked in to a very contemporary hotel. I quickly claimed the two beds that were next to each other and proceeded to sleep the following two nights diagonally across both of them! Saturday was spent exploring the town. We walked along the Rhine, checked out the “old” downtown area, and visited the Cathedral. I saw “old” because it was all destroyed during WWII and then rebuilt in the old style following the war. It only looks slightly fake. Food: best bratwurst and a doughy pretzel. That evening we napped for a couple of hours. Well actually Leah slept the whole night, but Kim and I woke up at 9:00 starving so we went to a cute restaurant next to our hotel. Have I mentioned yet that it was extremely difficult to communicate here? German is not in anyway similar to Spanish or English. I felt very lost. We initally sat outside until we realized no one was going to come out and serve us. So we went inside to order and were met by smiles from the only person working. (He had watched us sit out there waiting…) We ordered and sat back outside. When our food was ready he simply opened the window behind us and passed it out to our table. Danke! Pasta with meat sauce and pizza. Yum. When we finished we went inside to pay and he asked us something we couldn’t understand but took to mean seperate or together. Kim made an amazing arm motion (cutting up and down in the air) and he understood! We then walked through the red light district and returned to the hotel to sleep. It would only be a complete trip if we saw the waiter guy at least four more times that weekend and everytime we saw him no one could contain their laughing.
Sunday I had chocolate cake and coffee for breakfast. Then we toured Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s house. You may recognize him for being a famous author and poet and writing Faust. Then Leah went to an art museum and Kim and I went to a bakery for a snack. Apple Strudel. We then went for a walk along the river where we ran into a Lions Club International festival. Initially the 3 yard long slide that kids were riding down in plastic buckets caught our attention. Then it was probably the live band with accordeon player. Finally the brats, applewine, and bread with melted cheese. Our day ended with a walk through the affluent neighborhood and a hunt for some German chocolate bars.
Monday was spent traveling and napping and then finally home in Madrid, studying. I had one final yesterday, I have one today, and then two more next week. Only two weeks left from today. I’m not quite sure where the time went. As much as I’m ready to go home, I’m nowhere near ready to leave.
coming soon… update on Grenada and la Alhambra.
