They charge you to use the bathroom in Germany. They charge 70 cents, but the turnstiles dispense a voucher for 50 cents back if you buy something from wherever you are. It's a little inconvenient when on the road, but I guess as a trade off, the bathrooms are very nice. Much better than your run of the mill American rest stop bathroom.
We're traveling by bus for this leg of the trip. Set out from Amsterdam bright and early. Stopped briefly at the bus depot to change drivers and get everyone some much needed coffee. I can tell I will be depending the existence of this drink during this trip.
There is a legal regulation on how long a bus driver can drive before having to stop and take a break, but for this part at least, our only mandated stop came right around lunchtime anyway, so it was all good.
Driving on the German highways system at times honestly looks indistinguishable from the American interstate.
Until you see things like this:
We arrived in Frankfurt mid-afternoon. According to our guide, Frankfurt is one of the few European cities with skyscrapers. This made it feel, once again, like a place in America. Could've been Cincinnati or something.
Got into the hostel, put our stuff down, met back downstairs for some pretzels and metro cards. Took the train downtown for a brief walking tour. Other than the language being German, you couldn't confuse Frankfurt with an American city because of places like this, the first stop on our walking tour:
Distinctly European.
Walked by the river Main
Since Frankfurt is a big city and sits on the Main, they call it Mainhatten. Oh ho ho. How punny.
Returned back to where we started, then were set free to walk around and do whatever we wanted for a few hours. I wanted to check out the Frankfurt Cathedral first:
Yes it was an impressive structure, but for a cathedral it was actually kind of small. Again, for a cathedral. Also, check out that pipe organ:
Next, the group I was with decided to check out one of Georgios's suggestions, the Main Tower, which he claimed was the tallest building in Frankfurt and had an observation deck at the top that you could visit for 5 euro. It turned out to be an excellent suggestion:
It's no Willis Tower, but I think the contrasting cityscape of skyscrapers and traditional European architecture made for a more interesting view.
There was some supposedly famous reporter there filming a news segment:
Also, I find the claim of Main Tower being the tallest building to be dubious:
After the building, it was time to return to our meeting point for dinner. We walked as a group to an area with a bunch of restaurants and were set free to choose whatever we liked best. We walked along, looking at various menus, when some German guys sitting outside started talking to us.
"Sprechen Sie Englisch?"
"Oh you speak English?"
Yes.
"You are looking for a restaurant? There is no food here, only drink. But the best German food in Frankfurt is right over there." He told me the name of the place. We thanked him and turned the corner to find this wonderful hidden little restaurant with a large outdoor area and a guy in the corner softly singing some light jazz.
This was my meal:
Frankfurters in Frankfurt! And of course, beer.
I love these little moments that happen like this. Getting some restaurant recommendations from some locals, having delicious authentic German food, enjoying your little discovery with friends. Good stuff.
Got some kind of apple dish for dessert. We then discussed who had smaller bills and coins so we could properly divvy up the check.
"Maybe they can do separate checks. We'll ask Hans"
...
"Our waiter's name is not Hans"
"You don't know that."
When he returned, Meagan asked our waiter what his name was.
"Fabio"
Other than his name actually being Hans, that was about the best answer he could have possibly had.
After dinner, we returned to the bar where everyone was meeting. They had a special on a meter of beer. I was envisioning like, a tub and a bunch of straws, but it was much more practical:
We drank and played never have I ever and got to know each other a bit more. Then we went upstairs to the karaoke bar and sang and danced until we were all tired. We then began to walk home, grabbing each cab that we could, getting a handful of people in, then continuing on. Soon, it was just me and four others left. We crossed the bridge at night:
And this morning we're in transit again.
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