12-15-2015 FRANKFURT, GERMANY

We were in a bit of a hurry to get to Frankfurt where our car was due to be dropped off by 3PM.  But not so much in a hurry that we couldn’t drive the squiggly back roads for a time.  On a map, this road looks like the convolutions of a brain and Rob was in Heaven driving it. 

Tiny road to Frankfurt

We passed through many tiny villages with very narrow roads sometimes not much wider than a driveway and in the fields, perfect and laid out with a t-square, the occasional shrine requesting God’s blessings and protection.  This is the pretty part of the trip, far more so than screaming along the autobahn at ~110 mph being passed by others screaming faster.

On the tiny winding road to Frankfurt

Upon arrival in Frankfurt, we found it to be a mix of antiquity and big, modern, windy city.  Our hotel was about ½ block from the Christmas market so we dropped the car off when we arrived and our feet were our final transportation for two days.  Maybe the cities and villages compete for first place in the spectacular department when it comes to the Christmas markets.  Frankfurt’s would certainly rank way up there.  First, there is a tree in the middle of the square that we estimate to be 150 feet tall and it is decorated with lights and ornaments all the way to the top.  Would it be fun to ride that cherry-picker or what?! 

Giant tree at the
Christmas Market

One last time, we spent some hours weaving in, out and around the beautifully-decorated booths in the cold and occasional rain. 

Mr. Tree

This time, we were lucky to find enclosed, warm booths that were set up like saloons with long tables and seats!  Rob had his first pizza in weeks but done German-style, “flammkuchen,” with a cracker thin crust, white sauce, special cheese and vegetables.  About the cheese:  we asked about it and Hanka described it as “Französches emantaler mix,” a secret private recipe that the chef would not divulge! 

Rob gets a pizza fix
(flammkuchen) 

She offered me a bowl of the cubes marinating with, she turned the spoon a bit for me to see, a snail in it!  I wanted to try it but a whole bowl, maybe a pound, of cheese was a bit too much.  I pointed at my fluffy middle and Hanka cried, “Nein, nein, NEIN!  Not too much!  It’s Winter!  ACH!”  She walked away shaking her head.

We took a ride around town on the tour bus to learn a bit of the history.  When Charlemagne was engaged in battle and his troops were backed into a corner at river’s edge (the Main), he looked out to the water and saw a doe and her fawn crossing.  He then realized it was shallow enough to wade across and so his troops escaped capture, crossed the river and set up a “fort of the Franks,” which over time evolved into the city’s name, Frankfurt.  Closer to home, in 1938, a year when the Nazis were on a mission to destroy every Hebrew molecule on the planet, the synagogue here was destroyed by fire in similar fashion as in other cities we have visited.  Nevertheless, the synagogue was restored, the Jewish people returned and there is a community of roughly 7,000 now living in Frankfurt.  And also, maybe, in peace.  Even closer to home, moored at the river’s edge was the River Queen, the boat we sailed on 2009 from Amsterdam to Budapest! 

MS River Queen on the Main!

Wow, cool!  “Hey Rob, I can see our room from here!”

This morning, a taxi carried us to Frankfurt airport at 6:30 AM.  After many days of little sleep in strange beds and noisy rooms with sirens and boy racers on the streets, the chimes of the church bells every 15 minutes starting at 4AM, in and out of the suitcase, we are very tired.  Maybe when we arrive home we will sleep for 24 hours.  Then, it will be time to (wait for it) get into Christmas!  Das ist alles, für jetzt.  Frohe Weihnachten mit liebe!

Merry Christmas with love!