Berlin in Frankfurt

So we live in Frankfurt now? It is strange to say. Since we are in a hotel for a few weeks until our apartment is ready, it really feels more like a long trip here than anything else. Thankfully the flight and transition into the hotel went quite smoothly and we are able to catch up on sleep and enjoy the city thanks to the three day weekend. The weather has been so lovely too – 75 degrees and sunny most days.

Here are a few highlights to share from our first couple days here :

• Frankfurt walking tour 

On Friday morning while Jeff went to work, I went on a walking tour with the same company Jeff used several years ago here. The tour is in English and owned by an American guy and his wife and costs 14 euro a person and is well worth it. While Frankfurt is certainly not the most fascinating or beautiful city in Europe, it was a great way to acclimate myself a bit more to the city especially since the last time I was here was in the  middle of the winter and it felt like a different city! My group was comprised of six couples (most retired) – 2 sets from Australia, 1 from Texas, 1 from Washington State, 1 from Williamsburg, VA, and 1 from California. Small world! One of the couples were heading to D.C. next to stay for a month so I emailed her some recommendations, which was quite fun.

Here are just a few tidbits I learned on my tour:

• Festivals everywhere, all the time! 

The walking tour company has a great blog with info on all the different festivals here. In September alone, there are probably twenty different events happening around Frankfurt. When we left our hotel this morning to go on a run and get breakfast, we happened upon three different events:

1. A festival put on by the Indian Consulate General – there were lots of food stalls (where I ended up getting saag paneer (spinach) for breakfast), kids dancing on the stage, music, and lots of color!

2. Frankfurt flea market – we ran across the bridge thinking the stalls were food but quickly realized it was a flea market. People were selling EVERYTHING from bike tires to clothes to paintings. We were hungry so we really didn’t stay except to walk through it but I bet you could find some neat stuff.

3. Rheingauer Wine Fest – This is a street festival with lots of stalls representing  wineries along the Rhine river. I am quickly learning that I’ll need to learn like white wine while living here but I have to say that a cold, dry Riesling isn’t so bad. On Thursday and Friday, it seemed like people even took a break from work in the afternoon for a glass of wine with their colleagues – doesn’t sound bad to me! There are all stalls for roasted nuts, flatbreads, smoked salmon and of course all kinds of wurst and bread.

That’s all the excitement I have to share for now – looking forward to settling into our apartment, buying groceries, and cooking at home in just a few weeks!