Germany Breakdown: Days 1 and 2
So I've had the excellent pleasure of traveling abroad recently. Shane and I booked a flight to Frankfurt, and capitalizing on the extended holiday that is Thanksgiving, we made our way to a week of snowy, glorious fun in Europe.
I kept something of a journal during the trip, and took some 6 Gigs of photographs. Some of all this will be shared here, in a daily digest sort of fashion. So it begins: Germany, Days 1 and 2.
We flew on one of these:
The flight was uneventful, I watched the X-Files movie and thanked God for ear plugs that sort of mute the droning sound of planes in flight.
Day 2 is better
We land in Frankfurt early, around 7am local time. The custom's man asks me if I have enough money for Germany "It is more expensive than America". I assure him I'm fine.
Having nothing to declare, we walk right out and to the train station for a lift to Rudeshiem on the Rhine, our planned first stop on the Germany tour. But, we have to make a change over at the Frankfurt HBF. Being novices, we get off a stop too early, and spend some time enjoying the less attractive area of Frankfurt. I snap this photo:
We do make it to the main station eventually, and with an hour to kill we do two things. Play with the train sets:
And somewhat embarrassingly, spend our first Euros on Starbucks coffee. In our defense, there weren't really many other coffee options. Although, there was a McDs.
The train ride to Rudeshiem is pleasant and scenic although I'm drowsy from the flight, which will pretty much be a constant today. We arrive easily enough, and after snapping some shots from the train platform and passing by a closed up vineyard that says "Carl Jung" on the gate, we get some real German food. I go with some Goulash, which smells just like what my mother and grandmother used to make.
Wandering around town is fun, and we even spot the beginning of them setting up for a Christmas Mart:
It's getting a little tiring and cold carrying around our heavy bags at this point, so it's time to try and make our way to the hotel (castle!). And here is where Shane and I's propensity for getting lost and wandering aimlessly rears it's head. We call the hotel from a pay phone to get basic instructions on how to get there. They recommend a ferry across the Rhine to Bingen and then a train up to Oberwessel, then a taxi up to the hotel (castle!).
Easy enough. Or not. It takes several circuits of the route along the river and a few inquiries to German passersby before we actually find where the Ferry leaves from, only it only leaves every hour. Ha! So, thirty minutes or so later, we're aboard. And let me say, it is COLD! The next adventure is finding how to get to the train station. You can see it easily enough, but it is a labyrinth of bridges and pathways to actually find how to get there. Eventually, we arrive, acquire tickets, get some Nescafe, and in good time train it to Oberwessel.
Where it starts to snow (snow!). From the train station we can see the hotel (castle!) that will be home for the night:
The taxi gets us up there after we spend some time shivering in a phone booth. The room is awesome, and I get to sleep in a cubby hole:
Also, the snow is awesome:
After a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant (I have pork over potatoes), we crash soundly for the evening at around 8 or 9. Early, but we have been up for nearly two days. Tomorrow, more castles and scenic views, and more food!
I kept something of a journal during the trip, and took some 6 Gigs of photographs. Some of all this will be shared here, in a daily digest sort of fashion. So it begins: Germany, Days 1 and 2.
We flew on one of these:
The flight was uneventful, I watched the X-Files movie and thanked God for ear plugs that sort of mute the droning sound of planes in flight.
Day 2 is better
We land in Frankfurt early, around 7am local time. The custom's man asks me if I have enough money for Germany "It is more expensive than America". I assure him I'm fine.
Having nothing to declare, we walk right out and to the train station for a lift to Rudeshiem on the Rhine, our planned first stop on the Germany tour. But, we have to make a change over at the Frankfurt HBF. Being novices, we get off a stop too early, and spend some time enjoying the less attractive area of Frankfurt. I snap this photo:
We do make it to the main station eventually, and with an hour to kill we do two things. Play with the train sets:
And somewhat embarrassingly, spend our first Euros on Starbucks coffee. In our defense, there weren't really many other coffee options. Although, there was a McDs.
The train ride to Rudeshiem is pleasant and scenic although I'm drowsy from the flight, which will pretty much be a constant today. We arrive easily enough, and after snapping some shots from the train platform and passing by a closed up vineyard that says "Carl Jung" on the gate, we get some real German food. I go with some Goulash, which smells just like what my mother and grandmother used to make.
Wandering around town is fun, and we even spot the beginning of them setting up for a Christmas Mart:
It's getting a little tiring and cold carrying around our heavy bags at this point, so it's time to try and make our way to the hotel (castle!). And here is where Shane and I's propensity for getting lost and wandering aimlessly rears it's head. We call the hotel from a pay phone to get basic instructions on how to get there. They recommend a ferry across the Rhine to Bingen and then a train up to Oberwessel, then a taxi up to the hotel (castle!).
Easy enough. Or not. It takes several circuits of the route along the river and a few inquiries to German passersby before we actually find where the Ferry leaves from, only it only leaves every hour. Ha! So, thirty minutes or so later, we're aboard. And let me say, it is COLD! The next adventure is finding how to get to the train station. You can see it easily enough, but it is a labyrinth of bridges and pathways to actually find how to get there. Eventually, we arrive, acquire tickets, get some Nescafe, and in good time train it to Oberwessel.
Where it starts to snow (snow!). From the train station we can see the hotel (castle!) that will be home for the night:
The taxi gets us up there after we spend some time shivering in a phone booth. The room is awesome, and I get to sleep in a cubby hole:
Also, the snow is awesome:
After a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant (I have pork over potatoes), we crash soundly for the evening at around 8 or 9. Early, but we have been up for nearly two days. Tomorrow, more castles and scenic views, and more food!