Monday, September 19, 2011
Leipsig, Germany to Frankfurt, Germany
Wonderful night last night, early morning today, we're off to Frankfurt. Easy haul to the station with our bags, a quick breakfast at a small kiosk, muffin and coffee, then check the info board, sure enough a track change from track #10 tro track #15, we moved, waited, here it comes, we're on it, stowed our bags, settled in.
Three and a half hours later we were in Frankfurt, and a short walk from there to our hotel. We checked in and immeditately headed downtown to check out the sites and map a wheelchair friendly way to get to the 'Altstadt'. We found a charming river walk that took us all the way from our hotel to the old city center, and completely wheelable. Once in the old center, we explored happily, the churches, the old buildings, the sight and scent of history, the cobblestones. Finally, hungry, we thought of food. But we wound up not at the German food specialty shops but at .... Subway, and Starbucks. We just felt like a taste of home. We sat and ate, and drank coffee, outdoors by the promenade, then walked into the old city and finally turned left at the main 'shoppingstrasse'. Now headed roughly homeward, we wandered and looked, eventually stopping at a deli to get a couple of bottles of wine and a large pretzel to welcome our friends Dick and Shiela. Then onward, winding through the business area and the high rises, past the stock exchange with its huge Bull and Bear statues in Bronze outside, past the Deutchebahn and Deuchebank and Bundesbank and the European Central Bank and other bank and finance related buildings. Frankfurt is also called 'Bankfurt' and 'Mein York' - after the Mein river and New York, by the locals. Fully 90% of the value of trading in German securities, and the DAX index, is based here.
Finally, home to the Ibis, a rest, then downstairs to wait for Dick and Shiela's arrival. Which came in due course and on scedule, we welcomed them, then wine in the hotel lounge, then snacks, then more wine, then finally the two bottles of wine upstairs in their room. A lot of wine and chatter of friends and family, but finally to bed and sleep, exploring to do tomorrow.
