Frankfurt was quite an adventure! We booked a hotel across from the train station - 3 stars, well-reviewed, fairly cheap. It sounded like just what we needed. On the train up there, however, we started reading my travel book's entry about Frankfurt, which began with a warning that Frankfurt has a large drug/prostitute scene, most of which is concentrated right around the train station. Great. So we get to our hotel, and they have us booked for a 1 person room, not a 2 person room. This was my fault, since I didn't realize that one bed meant one small twin bed. So they rebooked us, and we went upstairs. We had a little trouble opening our door, but the maid helped us out; we put our things down and went out. We accidentally took a less populated street (right by our hotel) to get to the city center, and passed what was undoubtedly a drug house. I have never seen so many smelly, creepy people. We did not walk down that way again! The rest of Frankfurt was very nice, and very busy! They had closed part of the sidewalk in one of the main parts of the city, and moving down the remaining part of the sidewalk was unbelievable - you couldn't turn around! I've never been so close to so many people in my life. Neither Dan nor I lost our wallets, thank goodness. We wandered for a while, then returned (via a different route) back to our hotel. Once again, we couldn't open our door. Both of us tried, but neither could turn the key far enough. I went downstairs and told the lady that our door still wouldn't open. She walked back up with me, explaining that it was so easy. But as she tried to open our door her eyes got big. The other part of the lock had fallen off on the inside, with all of our things in the room. The manager gave us another room, apologized profusely, and promised that the locksmith would arrive soon so we could get our things. They brought our things up to us an hour later.
The next day was awful, because it meant Dan was leaving. I cried the whole way to the airport, we both cried at the gate, and I continued crying on the train back. A mother sitting across from me noticed how upset I was and gave me a tissue. I finally stopped crying before I transferred to the second train, where I met two new American exchange students, going to Freiburg. We talked, I helped them with their luggage, and sat with them on the train. It was nice, and I certainly wish someone who knew what was going on had been there to help me upon my arrival!
Dan's pommes frites sauce, which means french fry sauce, which is mayonnaise. Gross.
Downtown Frankfurt
A really cool building in Frankfurt. We went inside to escape the crowds, but it was a mall and no less crowded than the streets.
This Tuesday, after Dan left, we took a tour of Breisgau Milch, the local milk factory. Milk is pasturized differently here, and some of it does not need to be refridgerated. Most of the tour was difficult to understand because the guide was both far away and had a very strong Badish accent (Baden is the region I am in, and Badish is the dialect). It was cool, though, to see that, when people recycle milk bottles, they go back to the factory to be washed out and reused. The Germans love their recycling. We also got to wear the stylish outfits, pictured below, complete with hairnets for our tour.
Bryce and BethAnne modeling our milk-tour outfits. Bryce goes to Bowdoin with me.
Our souvenirs from the milk factory.
Burger King after St. Patty's Day
Bryce and BethAnne modeling our milk-tour outfits. Bryce goes to Bowdoin with me.
Our souvenirs from the milk factory.
Tuesday was also St. Patricks day, so of course we dressed in green and went out. A bunch of us ended up at the bar I work for, since it is an Irish pub. They had a live band, and we danced and had green beer. We left early, so that we wouldn't miss our tram, and went to Burger king for late night snacks while we waited for our tram to arrive. Burger King is a little different here - everything is a little more expensive, because they need to know exactly where the meat came from. This was instituted after the most recent mad cow scare. But the fries are still good, and it's a little bit of the US in Freiburg. It also happens to be situated next to McDonald's, Subway, and Starbucks.
My job is pretty awesome. The first night was crazy, because they had us two newbies working the floor alone. The experienced worker had called in sick, and nobody could fill in. I got sassed by some Italians who were underage - you have to be 16 to drink beer and wine, and 18 for hard alcohol. If I serve them and get caught, I personally get fined 1000 euro. I chose to ask them for IDs, and half of the group left. I also got asked for my number 4 times, and got mistaken for being French (again). We finally finished working at 2.3o AM, then sat around and had a beer until the wee hours of the morning. It was nice, though, because I know now that I really do have a home at the Irish pub, and that they would help me if I needed anything.
My job is pretty awesome. The first night was crazy, because they had us two newbies working the floor alone. The experienced worker had called in sick, and nobody could fill in. I got sassed by some Italians who were underage - you have to be 16 to drink beer and wine, and 18 for hard alcohol. If I serve them and get caught, I personally get fined 1000 euro. I chose to ask them for IDs, and half of the group left. I also got asked for my number 4 times, and got mistaken for being French (again). We finally finished working at 2.3o AM, then sat around and had a beer until the wee hours of the morning. It was nice, though, because I know now that I really do have a home at the Irish pub, and that they would help me if I needed anything.
Burger King after St. Patty's Day
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