Green Eggs and Uno

Day 142

I was up early and packed quietly. I said goodbye to Andrew and headed out. I was on my way to Frankfurt. The train ride was amazing. For most of the time we were right next to the Rhein. There were castles and cute little towns. I would have loved to stopped by all of them. I would take a lifetime though.

When I got to Frankfurt I was happy to find that my hostel was really only a stones throw from the train station. It was however right next to the red light. Next to the hostel was a strip club that advertised a virgin room. Despite the unsavory area, it was on a main street and well lit at night. I wouldn´t have any worries if I was out late.

After dropping my things off at the hostel I grabbed a map and went off to explore. Eventually I found myself at the history museum. It pretty much completely sucked. The only worthwhile part had a few models of the city before WWII, right after, and then after reconstruction. Most of the museum seemed to have state dinnerware. This just doesn´t get my interest up.

When I finished with the museum I headed back to the hostel. There was a free afternoon walking tour and I didn´t want to miss it. Most free walking tours are kinda crap, but this one was really fabulous. It lasted four hours, had a few breaks, and was quite informative. Frankfurt was heavily bombed during WWII. After the war there were two main camps, those who wanted to rebuild completely, and those who wanted to restore. They ended up doing a bit of both. Today Frankfurt has the tallest skyscrapers in Europe, but it also has a cute medieval looking Market Square.

Sven, the guide, led us to the Dom. It´s considered to be the highlight of the city, but after Köln it didn´t look like much. In front of the Dom were the remains of a medieval monastery, these were uncovered due to the WWII bombings.

After a short break for apple wine in the Market Square we peaked into St. Nicolas, the oldest church in town. We were really lucky and someone was playing the organ. It was fabulous.

After Sven treated everyone to ice cream we headed across the Main River to get a view of the skyline. It was pretty nice. At this point we found a nice shady place to just hang out for a bit. Sven said that the tour was free, but if we wanted to tip him we could, if not, that was cool too. He was a good guide and I gave him a nice tip.

When we were done relaxing on the grass we headed back to the hostel. That night the hostel was giving everyone free dinner. I don´t remember the name of it, I think it was like green salad or something. Basically it was an egg and a potato covered in some oddly bright green colored sauce. It was really good.

By the time dinner was over I had met Canadian Megan, another Canadian guy whose name I can´t recall, Irish Stacy and Iranian Kadhim. I pulled out the Uno cards. This really does seem like a game that brings people together. We had a great time and everyone ended up laughing as we added extra rules. Eventually I was worn out though and headed to bed.