“Einzfahrt, Yuhzfahrt, Weallzfahrt”: Mishaps in Frankfurt

I should begin this post by saying that Jessica and I have the amazing ability to get lost every single time we set foot out of any establishment. If there were a Guinness Book of World Records for Number of Times Getting Lost, we would win. It’s actually quite impressive, and our time spent in Frankfurt proved that we truly are the bloody best at being lost (and the best at making being lost totally fun!!). Our expertise at lost-ness paired with complete incomprehension of German essentially made us awesome.

Here’s a quick outline of everything that went so perfectly wrong upon our arrival to Frankfurt.

1. We got off at the wrong train station and had to wait an additional hour to catch the next train headed to the right station.

2. We got to the right station, bought our tickets… and promptly proceeded to board the tram going in the opposite direction from our hostel.

3. We got off as soon as we realized our mistake and boarded a tram back to the main station, where we waited a half hour for the next tram going in the other direction.

4. We got on that tram, and, of course, got off at the wrong station.

5. It started raining. 

6. We gave up on public transportation and just decided to walk to the hostel.

A little before 9:00 in the evening… we made it!!

Meininger hostel shone like a beacon of hope in front of us. We just had to snap a picture. 

 Hungry, we headed off to the Rock House down the street, where we enjoyed well-deserved glasses of rosé.

August 11^th

Today, we thought, “Okay, we are not going to get lost again! Google Maps will serve us well today and we will find exactly where we are going!! Huzzah!”

Alas, such did not occur (I blame Google Maps).

We were on a quest to find the Apfelwein festival and Old Town. Not only did Google Maps take us in the wrong direction, but it also brought us almost all the way back to our hostel in a giant, nonsensical loop.

So, we decided to wing it, go with the flow, and see where the city took us.

Smart car for the WIN.

And… it took us right to the Apfelwein festival!!!

We ate Apfelweinbratwurst, drank Apfelwein (an apple wine more similar to beer than actual wine), and later enjoyed ice cream at a nearby store.

A cute little popcorn stand at the festival. 

Bratwurst paradise!

I apologize for the suggestive-looking nature of this photo, but these apfelweinbrwatwurst were just killer. 

Cheers, to finding the Apfelwein festival! 

                                  

We then wandered to the canal, watched some really strange-looking goose relatives, and ventured west, which brought us to….

Old Town!!!

In Old Town, we met a very nice German boy named Xavier who also spoke French as well as English (and my frustrations with Americans’ belligerent monolinguism continue to grow….). We saw a pretty church and decided that the day had been a very successful, fun, relaxing time in a beautiful city (Frankfurt is not a huge tourist-y place like London, but I would highly recommend a quick visit to its city center. It’s a great place to stroll!).

A tree-lined path along the canal. 

Funnily enough, after getting so very turned around in the earlier part of the day and walking for more than five hours, we found our way back to the hostel in less than half an hour.

Looks like we may not get that Guinness World Record after all.

Hugs to you all.

D