Day 1 in Frankfurt

September 26, 2021

After a year and a half of global pandemic lockdown, I finally got to hop on an international flight again. The destination: Frankfurt, Germany, to visit my friend Sarah who is here for a year working on her thesis.

My 10 hour direct flight was uneventful, and not full so I was able to lay across an entire row for a couple hours of snoozing. Sarah and Avery (her husband) met me at the airport, so I didn't even have to figure out buying a bus pass on my own.

After dropping my stuff at their apartment and brushing my teeth, we headed for the old

 part of town.

The streetcar from their place in Offenbach (a suburb of Frankfurt) dropped us on the south side of the Main River, and just across was the old town.

The bridge we crossed is a popular spot for love locks.

Really popular.

The Altstad (old town) was filled with quintessentially German buildings. Lots of hues of brown and red, very close together.

Group selfie in front of the building where the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned back in the day. We didn't notice Mickey until later.

It was about lunchtime (and long enough since my last plane food) so we went to a favorite sausage place of Sarah and Ave's, and I had currywurst and fries for my first German food. The verdict was very delicious, would eat again.

It started raining so we went back to the apartment by way of a bakery, and I decided on apple strudel. I've got a whole bingo list of pastries to find while I'm here, and checked this one off first.

After a short nap for jetlagged me, we went back out for an evening walk. This is the Hafenplatz, a small waterway off the Main once used as a port.

A crane is still standing from the days of unloading boats and you can climb to the top platform.

Dinner was a döner kebab sandwich and some apfelwine, an apple cider type drink, for the three of us. Absolutely delicious, and I'll definitely be coming home with a traditional diamond patterned apfelwine glass. Apparently the pattern is supposed to make it easier to hold on to the glass when you have greasy fingers from the sausage you just ate.

All around a satisfying first day in Germany. I have picked up a few key words and phrases which will hopefully help some when I do t have Sarah or Ave with me, though mostly I'll rely on their English skills. But I can find the bathroom and say thank you.

Time for bed and some actual hours of sleep and then I'll see what tomorrow holds.