And we all know what it's like once you hit the airport it's go, go, go from check in, to baggage drop-off, to security and a last minute pee break and I was ready for boarding. Wow, it all just went by in a blur of activity.
I was so, so fortunate to have booked the incredible Singapore Airlines because they are so professional and the plane was amazing. A double decker, something I hadn't been on before and I was seated on the top floor which was exciting and there was so much more leg room, I love this airline and would highly recommend it because it was also the least expensive, by almost half, of what every once else was charging. And they are so good to you when you get on, they give you yummy meals and all the drinks you want and not to mention a complimentary pair of socks (how sweet.) They also have individual TV screens so I watched 3 and half movies as well as three episodes of "Big Bang Theory." So all-in-all a very good night and this morning I woke up over Europe to a beautiful, sunny day.
We landed in Frankfurt about 10:30am and was told it was 48 degrees Fahrenheit, brrrrrrrrr! Well by the time I checked in to the Steigenberger Airport Hotel the sun was still shining and I could only detect a slight breeze but I was preparing myself for later when I got into the city center for a very chilly day. I put on a cashmere sweater and hoped back on the free shuttle bus and zipped back to the airport where I then zipped on the S train (I think that the S stands for speedy because they do move pretty fast.) I walked around town a bit and had a delicious egg sandwich at Der Backer Eifler which I later learned was a chain restaurant but well worth a visit if you ever pass one.
I did the hop-on-hop-off bus as I always like to do one of those when I get to a city for the first time. I had been in Frankfurt many, many, many years ago when I was about 9 years old so needless to say things have changed a lot since the 70's and my memory for that time is understandably a bit fuzzy. So the bus tour went around the major sights which really focus on architecture, predominately skyscrapers. There are several and all very interesting. There are of course some wonderful old buildings like this row I found near City Hall which was simply lovely and exactly what I would imagine a German building to look like. The other buildings are incredibly modern and Frankfurt can boast several first in engineering apparently and also several green skyscrapers which is always a good thing for the environment.
The City Hall building was one of my favorite dating back several centuries, it's simply beautiful with lots of artistic details. But one of my favorite things about the city was the pedestrian bridge. It's a small, but charming old bridge and on it you'll find all these locks, in various sizes, shapes and colors each secured to a part of the railing spanning the whole bridge. It wasn't until I asked a lovely family I met on the train that I understood the meaning. Apparently year ago a pair of lovers put their lock on the bridge to signify their bond of undying love or something like that and from then on couples came and did the same thing. The city does go around from time-to-time clipping them to make room for new ones. In this picture, if you look closely, you'll see the locks.
And the Central Station buildings was very impressive and although I can't be 100% sure and neither can my mother but we both think that was the train station that my sister and I walked to when we were here in the 70's while my mother had stepped away from our table at the hotel. For some reason we thought she said meet me at the train station. Yes, two little girls wondering the streets, of what we believe was Frankfurt (although we did visit several other German cities that trip, all by themselves. My mother of course called in all the law enforcement she could find to seek us out and in no time, at least by my standards but maybe not hers, she found us waiting patiently at the train station. Oh, what children do to torture their moms.
I also found it fascinating on my train ride back to the hotel that there were these groupings of tiny homes or in some cases shacks with little plots of land surrounding them. The plots had flowers and other vegetation so I presumed they were more affordable garden homes, almost a German version of a trailer park but with real, very tiny, wooden homes. Well another nice person on the train enlighten me that very few people live in these groupings (and there are many throughout German apparently and particularly near cities where land is scarce) and they are predominant garden rentals. People who love to garden but live in a city without space rent these plots and but their little shacks on them and create their gardens. I love the idea and we have something kind of like it in NYC which are shared neighborhood gardens. I really loved that in some places people would put their countries flag on their plot and although I mostly saw German flags flying I did spot an Italian one and a few others that I didn't recognize the country of origin.
And jet lag had finally set in by around 5:30pm so I took a quick dip in the pool at the hotel (which by the way had an amazing view of the airport runways) and relaxed for a bit on the chaise lounge over looking said runways before taking a much needed shower, writing some emails and then went off to bed.
All-in-all a very nice first day in Frankfurt and good start to my adventure. Oh, and on the job front, I can't say I loved Frankfurt enough to want to stay there, mostly because it's just so busy and noisy and I fear will be miserably cold in the winter so I didn't drop off any resumes. Sometimes you just know when a place isn't right for long-term residency.
