Georgian treats at Pirosmani in Frankfurt…

Bill and I didn’t go out yesterday because we were waiting for my contact lenses to be delivered. The driver didn’t get to us until late afternoon. When he did, one of the lenses was the wrong prescription. It’s very convenient to be able to order my lenses from Amazon.de without having to mess with eye exams, but sometimes there’s still human error when it comes to ordering them online.

Bill ended up making roasted red pepper and Brie soup with fresh, homemade bread. We paired it with a lovely white wine from Italy. Here are a few photos…

*Arran is enjoying all the attention he gets as the only dog.*

Although the weather is pretty crappy today, we decided to venture into Frankfurt to try a Georgian restaurant called Pirosmani. Regular readers might remember that last year, before we moved to Wiesbaden, we tried an excellent Georgian restaurant in Stuttgart called Tshito Gwrito. We were bowled over by the food at the Georgian restaurant in Stuttgart and hoped to be similarly impressed by Pirosmani. This restaurant is near the Frankfurt Zoo, as well as a large parking garage, so getting there and parking is super easy. Making reservations is also easy, since they are on OpenTable.

*I always get a kick out of this tower…*

I lived in Armenia for two years. Armenia is just south of Georgia and the cuisine is kind of similar. I haven’t found any Armenian restaurants in Germany yet, but Georgian food is somewhat accessible. Frankfurt has at least two restaurants featuring cuisine from this country in the Caucasus. Edited to add, my German friend Susanne has done her best to find Armenian restaurants for me. They do exist here, but some of them are German or Russian hybrids.

We arrived about twenty minutes early for our 1:00pm reservation. Although the place opened for lunch at 11:30am, there wasn’t a soul in there. We had to climb stairs to get to the dining room. On the first floor, there is a cigar bar, nicely decorated with Georgian bric a brac. Georgian wines are wonderful and, I’m sure if I liked to smoke cigars, they would go very well with tobacco.

We waited in the empty dining room for a few minutes and Bill stuck his head in the kitchen to alert the staff that we were there. A small, black haired woman came out and snapped at Bill in German that she’d be right with us and not to come behind the bar. I must admit, I was a bit put off by her abrupt attitude, particularly since Bill had been friendly and we were waiting for several minutes to be acknowledged. She seemed kind of bitchy, which only invites me to respond in kind. But she ordered us to hang our jackets on the coat racks in the back of the dining room and take a seat at a two top next to a window.

I could hear Russian pop music, along with some music that could have been Armenian, Georgian, or Turkish– I couldn’t hear the lyrics closely enough to tell. I just felt like I was back in Yerevan. The dining room is very formal looking, but the music is definitely casual. Bill wanted to order a bottle of wine, but they didn’t have any that was dry. We settled on a “halb-trocken” (semi sweet) red from Georgia. Our surly waitress brought out some insanely delicious bread and butter and we ordered our first two courses.

I started with Sazivi, a cold dish of fried corn fed chicken served with a sauce made of crushed walnuts and saffron. The chicken was basically cut up, complete with bones. I liked the walnut sauce, which was a bit rich, but had sort of a spicy kick to it. I had to watch how much I ate, though, since I followed up with pork “shashlik”, basically marinated pieces of pork served with roasted and pickled vegetables. Bill had tschichirtma, a hearty chicken soup that had a whole piece of chicken in it, complete with bones. He followed it with tschaqapuli, a lamb stew in tarragon white wine brew, refined with fresh herbs.

While we were waiting, another party showed up. There were four of them, and they sat in a corner. There was another party of two at the back of the restaurant. I noticed the waitress seemed to relax a bit and warm up once she saw us enjoying the food, pictured below.

*Empty room. I loved the tile floor, though.*

We really did enjoy the food and the atmosphere, which was kind of classy except for the table full of linens in front of our table. The waitress was rolling them into napkins. The service could have been better. The waitress didn’t replace soiled silverware, nor did she have a particularly friendly attitude. I totally understand being surly when you’re waiting tables, but I was puzzled by her lack of warmth. In my experience, Georgians are warm, like Armenians are. Oh well… maybe the yucky weather put her off.

We spent 102 euros on lunch. It was a bit pricey, particularly since it wasn’t dinner, but we had plenty to eat and the food was mostly good and a nice change of pace. The dining room seems fancier than the overall atmosphere is. I would probably go back again, although I hope for a somewhat nicer waitress. I notice they offer a business lunch deal, as well as three hours of free parking. We didn’t take them up on the free parking, although we probably should have. Maybe we’ll try Old Tiflis next time. It’s Frankfurt’s other Georgian restaurant.

Frankfurt, Hessen

Damned good burgers at Fletcher’s Better Burger in Frankfurt…

We had absolutely perfect weather today. It was so perfect that we were seriously considering going to an apple festival in Mainz. We decided to go to Frankfurt instead, since Bill discovered a new burger restaurant we had to try. A friend at a conference he just attended at Ramstein Air Base told him about Fletcher’s Better Burger, a chain in Frankfurt that was started by an American. At this writing, there are four locations, all of which are in Frankfurt. I have a feeling this restaurant will take off and there will soon be more places to enjoy one of Fletcher Davis’s juicy burgers.

We tried the location at Katherinenpforte, which is right next to Frankfurt’s big main square and just around the corner from Five Guys. There’s a huge parking garage located right next to the square. It was a bit of a mad house getting in and out of it, and we had to park on the top floor because so many people did a shitty job parking. However, Fletcher’s burger was so good, I didn’t mind it so much. Here are some photos from today’s visit.

The Katherinenpforte location is in a round building…

It’s a pretty low key affair. They just have burgers (beef and veggie– made with peas), fries, soft drinks, and beer. The meat is fresh daily, and they make their own buns. Burgers come with tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mayo, honey mustard, lettuce, and pickles. You can also get jalapenos, fried onions, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, mustard, and grilled mushrooms free of charge. Irish cheddar cheese and bacon is extra.

Unlike Five Guys, Fletcher’s Better Burger only gives you one patty with a standard burger. Of course, if you want more meat, you can add it for 1,60 euros or 1,90 euros for an extra patty with cheese. You can also order your burger wrapped in lettuce if you’re watching your carbs.

I have to say, we were really impressed with our burgers. They were juicy, fresh, flavorful, and a good size. I also liked the cross cut fries, which were robust with potato flavor and cooked to perfection. I definitely think Fletcher’s Better Burger could give Five Guys some competition. I noticed they weren’t nearly as busy, either.

The only thing I didn’t like about our experience was the music. They were playing godawful dance versions of classic 80s songs, including “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and a cover of “With or Without You”, which was originally a U2 song. I found the music very annoying. But we could have eaten outside, as they did have plenty of tables available. Also, the bathrooms, which are at the bottom of a flight of stairs (bad news for wheelchair users), could have used some attention today. We would still go back, though. It’s nice to see the humble hamburger getting better treatment in Germany.

After we ate, we walked around a small fest that was going on. We didn’t stay long because there were a lot of people crowded into a small space. But I did take some pictures.

People were selling gifts, crafts, and lots of food. I was disturbed by the number of stalls specializing in mushrooms… the one food I will not eat under any circumstances. Some guy was also selling mushroom lawn ornaments. Creepy!

I’m sure we could have found more to do, but Frankfurt was even more of a zoo than usual today, so we decided to head home so I could write this post. Tomorrow, we’ll hit the apple fest… or, at least that’s the plan.

Hebridean Island Cruises

Off the ship and on to Frankfurt…

We woke up bright and early on Tuesday, the day of disembarkation. Bill and I did most of our packing the day before. We also filled out the survey and turned it in before the previous night’s embarrassing incident. I wish I had waited, because the second disappointment came that morning. We had our final breakfast. I went with porridge without a whisky dram, a side of streaky bacon, and some fried bread. I should have skipped the bread, given the long coach ride from Oban.

As we cruised toward the charming town where we’d be ending our cruise, Bill and I spoke to one of the more reticent passengers, a guy who had revealed to me earlier in the cruise that he and his wife live in Oban. When they got off the ship, it was an easy trip for them to go home. I liked his wife, who looked a lot like my friend, Melody, especially in the face. The guy, who told me he was 80 but looked about twenty years younger, said it was his first and last Hebridean cruise, due to the expense. Then he told us how he’d made his living. It had been his job to maintain Scotland’s many lighthouses. Talk about an unusual and interesting career! And he looked so fit. I never would have guessed he was 80. He was also the guy who showed up in jeans to the first gala. While some people appeared to be a little appalled by it, frankly, I thought it was kind of bad ass. He looked great in his jeans, and I was sorry when he changed.

So anyway, I got a few last photos, although we’ve seen Oban a few times. It’s the place where the bulk of Hebridean cruises embark and disembark. Then, when we were called off the ship, I didn’t see our luggage. It seems our young and apparently rather inexperienced cabin steward wasn’t clued in on the fact that he was supposed to bring our bags out of the ship. Remember, we had FIVE of them, and they were heavy. We had to get them up a long flight of stairs. Bill went down to the stateroom to see if we’d left anything, and there our bags were. The cabin steward was in the room, reading something. He claimed he “didn’t know” what we wanted him to do with them. On every other cruise we’ve taken with Hebridean, our bags have been taken out for us and left near the coach.

The day prior, this same guy, who had been very nice, but seemed immature and inexperienced, had specifically requested that I give him nice comments on the final survey, since he was on probation and the staff was “watching him closely”. It didn’t occur to me to say it at the time, but it seems to me that asking for positive comments is kind of counterproductive. Those who do a noticeably good job are going to be recognized and rightfully praised. I can think of at least ten crew members who will never need to ask me for praise. I will give it to them freely, because they are so good at their jobs.

I mostly thought our steward did a good job. When I asked him for an extra blanket, he offered to give us a duvet, which turned out to be a much better choice for us and made the bed more comfortable. However, he was a bit slow in getting the room clean. More than once, I came down at lunch to find it still wasn’t quite done. On previous cruises, the room was always made up much sooner than that. One time, he left us without toilet paper. A couple of times, I found my nightgown cutely laid out on my pillow, which seemed a little weird. He had so neatly arranged my toiletries, yet didn’t know to get the bags off the ship on the last day. Still, I try to be fairly easy going about most things when it comes to service. I’ve done that work and I have empathy for people who do it now.

We spent well over $12,000 on this cruise and it was mostly worth it, despite the seasickness. We really did have a great time. But between the dressing down Bill got the night before and the steward’s lack of a clue, I was left a little deflated as we left the Hebridean Princess. Bill actually hauled three of our bags off the ship himself, which he definitely should not have felt like he had to do. However, when we boarded the coach to Glasgow, Captain David Kirkwood was there to say goodbye and he was very sincere as he thanked us for sailing… and even kissed me European style (on both cheeks). So, although I wasn’t happy about a couple of lapses in decorum at the end of the cruise, I would still happily cruise with Hebridean again (if they’ll still let me back on the ship 😉 ).

The ride between Glasgow and Oban takes about two and a half hours, so we had a quick break in Inverary. I was grateful for that, since the fried bread was making me feel kind of queasy. I was able to get ahold of my bottle of Tums, which saved the rest of the ride for me. Fried food and coach rides don’t mix for me.

Glasgow Airport is another thing altogether. It gets a lot of traffic that it can’t seem to handle. Our flight wasn’t until 4:15, but we had arrived at about noon. We had to hang onto the luggage or pay to stow it until 2:15. We paid to stow it, then had lunch in one of the airport’s rather crappy restaurants. As we were leaving, we ran into one of the new stewardesses, Sonia, who is from Portugal and on her way home for two weeks. I think she will do fine on the Princess. She’s very smart, sweet, hard working and service oriented. I enjoyed getting to know her, although I didn’t initially recognize her without her uniform.

As we were leaving the bar, I noticed a group of ladies with Hebridean luggage tags on their bags. They no doubt noticed mine and probably wondered if we were coming or going. We were going, since it was time to check our bags. Glasgow doesn’t have a lounge for Lufthansa, so we used their “Upper Deck” lounge, which business class passengers can access for free. Bad pop played very loudly put me in a mood, although it was worse in the terminal itself. Luckily, our flight was on time and we had a seamless flight back to Germany. I even got a few cool photos of another Lufthansa plane flying next to us.

Once we got to Frankfurt, it was back through passport control, where Bill got the third degree about our status here. Then we collected our bags and, thank God, a luggage cart. Frankfurt is a huge airport and you have to walk your ass off to get anywhere. Doing it with five bags is a nightmare. Then, we had to get to another level to access the parking garage and half of the elevators seemed to be broken. But we did find a couple of them that functioned, managed to find our Volvo, and now we’re home, chilling…

*New art purchased in Edinburgh… Polish artist Matylda Konecka did all but the one on the lower right side.*

I’ve already hung up our new art, welcomed our dogs home, and done some housework. The laundry is done and my blog is now complete. I’ll probably write one more post to summarize our trip… strictly for those who don’t want to wade through the whole series. I left out some things, like the lovely Scottish gentleman who was a British Army public health officer and musician, and had lived in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) for twenty years. And the two British/American couples we met, who were charming in their own ways. And the beautiful lady who was always dressed to the nines, no matter what… and the pistol of an 88 year old who managed to keep up with everyone and everything, and told us of her plans to visit the Chilean Fjords soon.

Despite my minor grumbles, we had a very good time. And yes, Bill will continue to wear his kilt. If I have to wear a seatbelt, he has to wear his kilt sometimes… and the idiots who either can’t avert their eyes to avoid being offended by his shorts length knit boxer shorts or are rude enough to comment on it can simply go jump in a lake. I do love Scotland. I love Bill. And anyone who shames him for looking gorgeous in his kilt can answer to me.

Cologne, North Rhine Westphalia

The Eagles sure didn’t stink in Cologne… part 1

Last October, as Bill and I were preparing for our big move from Stuttgart to Wiesbaden, I found out that the Eagles, one of my favorite bands of all time, was going to be playing two dates in Germany in 2019. 2018 was our summer of concerts. We saw The Rolling Stones in Stuttgart, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor (all at one show) in Dublin, Roger Hodgson in Stuttgart, and the Irish Folk Festival in Stuttgart. I also knew we were going to be seeing Elton John in Stuttgart in May 2019.

Given that we’d already spent so much money on shows and knowing that a move always requires more spending, I hesitated slightly before I bought the tickets. When we go to concerts, they usually turn into major spending events. I usually book us a nice hotel, so we don’t have to worry about driving far to get to the venue or trying to park (although we made the mistake of driving to the Elton John show). I also don’t bother with “nosebleed” seats. There was a time when those were the best seats I could afford, but now I want to sit closer, which always means more money.

I asked Bill what he thought about seeing the Eagles, even though the band’s legendary frontman, Glenn Frey, passed away in January 2016. After some thought, Bill was okay with attending the show. Now it was time to choose a city. I had a choice between Cologne and Munich.

We had been in Cologne once before, back in May 2012, when we took our very first Space A military “hop”. I remember we stayed at the Ibis in the train station, which was fine for a night when we were totally exhausted, but probably wouldn’t do now that I’m older and richer. I also know Munich is expensive, since we did a blind booking out of Cologne on Germanwings (now known as Eurowings) during that same Space A hop and got Munich. Don’t get me wrong– Munich is so much fun; but it’s super pricey. Even average hotels down there cost a mint. Munich is also further away from us, now that we’re in Wiesbaden.

Both of the shows were on work nights, but the Cologne show was the day after Memorial Day, so we decided it would be easiest to go to Cologne. Bill would use up one less vacation day, and both the concert tickets and the lodging were less expensive than Munich. Now that we’ve been back to Cologne, I can say that we’ll probably go there for more shows. Not only was it super easy to get to the concert venue, it’s also super easy to get to Cologne from where we live. And, as a bonus, we discovered an amazing hotel in the Excelsior Hotel Ernst! As long as we can afford it, I think the Excelsior Hotel Ernst has effectively ended our Ibis days in Cologne.

This trip was also important, because it provided an excellent opportunity for our dogs to try out a new doggy pension. When we lived in Stuttgart, we used Dog on Holiday, which I would absolutely recommend to anyone. In fact, we’ve decided that anytime we need to go to or through Stuttgart with our dogs, we will try to have them stay with Max and Christine. But it wasn’t practical to take the boys to Dog on Holiday from Wiesbaden, so we needed to find a place for them closer to our new town. In February, we visited the Tierpension Birkenhof, and arranged for our boys to have their first stay during this quick trip to Cologne.

I got us fifth row seats!

With all of the arrangements made, we set off for the “city of pleasant smells” on Monday of this week– Memorial Day. Since our hotel was super close to the train station and the train station had a stop near Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, which was where the Eagles would be “crying”, we decided to take the Inner City Express (ICE) train from the Frankfurt Airport. The Tierpension Birkenhof is fairly convenient to the airport, although not as convenient as Max’s pension is to the Stuttgart airport.

The Tierpension Birkenhof was recommended to Bill by one of his co-workers. It’s always interesting to see the differences in the “doggy hotels” in Germany. When we were in Stuttgart the first time, we used to use Hunde Hotel Haase, which was a beautiful facility in Bad Niedernau, a very country hamlet south of Stuttgart. Kiersten, the lady who ran it back in those days, was absolutely awesome. But, when we came back to Stuttgart in 2014, she’d left and took the hotel’s good reputation with her. We used the Hunde Hotel Haase a couple more times, but kept hearing horror stories about dogs that were left there. That’s when we switched to Dog on Holiday, which has been universally great, despite it’s somewhat urban location.

Tierpension Birkenhoff is a rather large facility that cares for dogs and cats. It’s located in a somewhat suburban area, yet it’s near farmland. The owner doesn’t accept VAT forms, and we haven’t yet met him. We have met two of his employees, both of whom seemed very kind.

I have noticed that each German dog facility has its quirks. At the Birkenhoff, you’re not allowed to bring your own dog bed. I’m not sure exactly why this is… I think it’s because the other doesn’t want to have to worry about the owners’ beds getting dirty. Nevertheless, it does make things somewhat more convenient for us, since we’re about to trade in our RAV 4 SUV for a Volvo SUV and will probably have to bring the dogs in my Mini Cooper next time they stay. Mini Coopers are small. Dog beds take up a lot of space.

Frankfurt Airport train station to Cologne Messe

Once the dogs were dropped off, we made our way to the Frankfurt Airport. Bill had reserved parking with ACS at the airport, which turned out to be very convenient, once we figured out where P4 was. The reserved spots are reasonably priced and located near the terminal, so there’s no need to haul heavy bags long distances from far away lots. Frankfurt Airport is a bit more confusing than Stuttgart Airport is. It’s huge, and finding parking can be super confusing and annoying. But now that we know where the ACS parking is, I’m sure we’ll use it all the time. It really made parking super easy.

Frankfurt Airport also has a big train station, making it easy to access a lot of cities. If we had left from Wiesbaden, it would have taken a lot more time, required us to park in the parking garage from Hell, and we would have needed to change trains at least once. From Frankfurt Airport, it was a straight shot to Cologne.

I like how, in Germany, “bullshit” isn’t a bad word. You’ll even see it on billboards.

We had time for lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant called Little Italy, not to be confused with the Little Italy in Wiesbaden, which has become one of our favorite Sunday lunch stops. The Little Italy at the airport is in the shopping area called The Squaire. It’s not long on ambiance, but the food and service are good.

Mmm… food!

Bill went vegetarian with spaghetti and fresh vegetables, tossed in a little olive oil and washed down with a tempranillo.

I had a very lovely tagliatelle salmone. The salmon was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. I love salmon that isn’t overcooked, and they did a really good job with this. However, I probably would have preferred about half this much food.

With lunch sorted, we headed down to the platform where we’d catch our train to Cologne. But then, about ten minutes before we were to depart, our original train was cancelled due to some people on the tracks. Don’t ask me what that means. I have no idea. Bill ran up to the Deutsche Bahn (DB) information kiosk, where he was advised that we should take another train.

Instead of dropping us directly at the Cologne Hauptbahnhof, would go to the Cologne Messe stop. That would require us to take a city train one stop over the Rhein River. The nice thing about the train we took was that it went directly from Frankfurt to Cologne, with no stops. It was also practically empty, which was a good thing, since changing trains also erased our seat reservations. Within an hour, we were whisked to Cologne, having flown past beautiful scenery at about 280 kph.

I was surprised by how fast our trip from Frankfurt to Cologne was on the ICE train. It was also very comfortable, since the train has clean toilets and a restaurant. We did not use the restaurant during our trip to Cologne, but it was nice to have had the option.

Bill checks the schedule…

This is the life. First class all the way. Second class probably would have been fine, too.

We could have taken a more leisurely train to Cologne and probably saved some money, but this was a really nice way to get where we were going. It’s been too long since our last train trip. I think we need to take them more often.

It was a simple thing to take the S-bahn over the Rhein River to get to Cologne’s main station, home of the city’s majestic Dom and our hotel, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.

Frankfurt, holidays

Easter in Frankfurt!

We were blessed, once again, with incredible weather. The skies were sunny; the air was warm and breezy; and the Autobahn beckoned us to drive to Frankfurt. We were considering going to the Dippemess, but Bill wasn’t keen on trying to deal with the train. The station most convenient for getting to the area of Frankfurt where the Dippemess is going on is in Hofheim am Taunus.

We started off our Easter with Ebelskiver– Swedish filled pancakes! That’s the closest we got to Easter eggs today.

We decided to visit Frankfurt’s old town, which we missed the last time we went there. Last time we were in Frankfurt, it was late December and the weather was pretty dismal. It turns out we weren’t far from the old town that time, but it was cold and yucky outside, so we didn’t explore the way we should have. Frankfurt was pretty badly damaged by air strikes in World War II, so there aren’t too many really old buildings there. Instead, there are many skyscrapers. It’s the land of banks. Below are some pictures I took today.

Today was the first day since the fall I could drop the top on my Mini. I caught a little girl smiling at us as we rounded the bend. My car is ten years old, but it’s still cute when the top is down… Some people might say that about me, too.

Frankfurt on the horizon.

Near the train station.

Frankfurt is like Stuttgart on steroids. It’s a very busy place, and it seemed like everyone was there today.

Our first glimpse of the Dom… that tower is 95 meters tall…

It costs three euros for adults to climb the torturous 328 steps to the observation platform. It’s 1,50 for kids.

These two ladies were among many wandering musicians we heard today. They played beautifully! One thing I love about Europe is the preponderance of wonderful musicians who share their gifts on the streets.

On the other side of the fountain, there’s a wine bar.

The old town was happening…

More musicians… they were good, too, although they played the classics with a bit more tempo than I’m used to…

Pretzel anyone?

Down by the river. This was prettier from 66 meters up.

Much to my shame, I consented to having lunch at Five Guys. I really wanted to go somewhere more authentic, but every place was really crowded. For once, Five Guys wasn’t, so we decided to treat ourselves to a rare American style burger.

Bill went in to get the food while I waited outside. An ambulance pulled up with its lights going…

Suddenly, around the corner came an old man wearing a heavy coat and carrying a bottle of beer. He was yelling at the ambulance attendants. I didn’t understand what he was saying, mainly because I could barely hear him… I could tell by his body language that he was agitated about something. The ambulance attendants seemed amused. They smiled, but didn’t say anything to the old man.

A Five Guys staffer came out to sweep. He looked at me; I looked at him, then turned to face the ambulance, since the old guy had come around near the front of Five Guys. Turning to look at the ambulance guys meant I wasn’t staring at him as he continued to yell in German, looking and sounding very stern.

Finally, after a couple more parting shots, the guy stalked off angrily. I did notice a lot of homeless people and beggars today. A woman hit us up for money while we ate lunch. Bill and I have both had bad experiences with wandering people in other European cities. His bad experience was in Seville, while mine was in Athens.

I’m sad to say the burgers were kind of disappointing. They weren’t very hot and the pickles were a touch too sweet. But they were still better than a lot of burgers I’ve had in Germany. The fries were great, and the beer was a Brooklyn Lager, a nice change from the usual Weizen.

After lunch, we wandered back toward the Dom, passing through the old town again. We passed one of the homeless people who had been hanging around Five Guys. The guy was a Spanish speaker and someone was kind enough to slip him a cup of fries. But just as we were about to pass him, another homeless guy jumped in front of the other guy and appeared to demand his pommes. I was tempted to see what was about to transpire, but thought better of it. Gawking isn’t nice. Still, it’s always interesting to see real life human drama in person.

We had to tip this lady…

She was making this dog out of what appeared to be sand.

It was incredible. The dog actually looked real.

We did a little window shopping. A few stores were even open today, though it’s Easter Sunday.

We found ourselves in front of the tower again. It was right next to our parking garage. I looked at the sign and asked Bill if he wanted to climb up. I’m usually cussing at myself when I do these climbs up narrow spiral towers, but then I enjoy the views so much that I forgive myself… until it’s time to climb down again. The Frankfurter Dom Turm is a very challenging climb indeed. I think it took about ten very difficult minutes to get to the top, breathless, sweaty, sore, and rewarded with incredible views…

I zoomed in to get a shot of the TV tower. Seems like every German city has one. Still, as high up as this cathedral tower is, it’s still not as high as the Thyssenkrupp elevator testing tower in Rottweil. That’s the highest observation deck in Germany. You can read about our visit there by clicking here. And thankfully, when you visit the testing tower, you can take an elevator.

A whole lot of sweating, swearing, panting, and praying went into these photos. I will probably be nearly paralyzed in the morning. But we had amazing weather and as long as I’m physically able, I’m going to do these things. Hey, I probably burned off my Five Guys lunch, at least.

A quick round around the tower and we went back down. That was tough in a different way. You have to be careful not to faceplant.

The stairs pretty much look like this all the way down. It makes passing a rather intimate experience. No wonder they charge more for adults. Pro-tip: If you make this climb, especially if it’s warm outside, please for the love of all that’s holy, wear DEODORANT. Trust me.

We came; we saw; we conquered. And we never have to do it again!

We went into the church, which is rather plain by cathedral standards. This cathedral, officially known as the Imperial Cathedral of Bartholomew was completed in 1550. It was renovated in the 1990s and is also undergoing some work today.

This sign explains in English and German what happened to Frankfurt on March 22, 1944, when World War II was raging. The British Royal Air Force did a number on the city, sending a lot of old, beautiful buildings into flames. The cathedral was also badly damaged and was rebuilt in the 1950s. The inside of the cathedral is pretty workmanlike as a result. The cathedral was also burned in a fire back in 1867.

But the organ is pretty awesome.

Look carefully. You can see the people. That’s where we climbed to this afternoon.

It really was worth the effort, even though I can feel my muscles stiffening already.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home to the dogs, who were no doubt wondering where their dinners were. It’s nice to live close to Frankfurt, although I’m glad we don’t actually live in the city itself. It’s very busy! Still, it’s different from Wiesbaden and Mainz and, dare I say it? Stuttgart…

On the way out of Frankfurt, we got behind a Segway tour.

So long, Frankfurt. Time for me to have a beer in my backyard, enjoying my new garden furniture and watching the flowers grow. God bless Spring… and happy Easter to all.

Frankfurt

Our first foray to Frankfurt, lunch at Conrad’s, and Five Guys to go…

From 2002 until 2007, I lived in Northern Virginia, birthplace of Five Guys, the burger franchise that’s been taking the rest of the United States and parts of the world by storm. When I tried my first Five Guys burger, they were strictly a Northern Virginia/Washington, DC enterprise, having been founded there in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell and their then four sons (a fifth was later born and is involved in the business, too). I remember being flabbergasted by how good and how messy they were. We became fans.

The things we’ll go through for good burgers…

I was born and raised in Virginia, and lived in Northern Virginia for two years after my dad retired from the Air Force. My parents lived in NoVA long before Five Guys existed, so I never got to try it when it was still brand new. In 2002, I married my husband, Bill, and the following year, we moved to Fort Belvoir, Virginia. We had several Five Guys locations near us. I remember quite clearly at that time, the Murrells swore they would never franchise. They wanted to maintain strict control of their product, which was always selling like gangbusters in their no frills locations scattered around the D.C. area.

In 2007, we moved to Germany the first time, and while we were gone, somehow the decision not to franchise was overturned. By the time we came back in 2009, there were locations all over the place. Back in 2016, Germany got its very first Five Guys location in the heart of Frankfurt.

I remember being excited to hear about the new Five Guys in Germany, especially since they announced plans to expand throughout the country. As many of my fellow Americans may have discovered, despite giving the hamburger its name, Germans can’t seem to get them quite right. I have noticed that some places are doing better, though. I mean, having moved back to Germany in 2014, I notice that more places are offering better burgers made with real beef. Still, I have been missing American style cheeseburgers. Yes, we can make them at home, but there’s something special about a really juicy, messy burger that’s been squashed into a foil wrapper.

Until the end of last month, we were living near Stuttgart. A road trip to Frankfurt from Stuttgart certainly isn’t out of the question. On a good day, the drive is about three hours on the Autobahn. Nevertheless, we never managed to get to the Five Guys when we were living in the Stuttgart area. We did go to one in Glasgow, Scotland, and it was a little disappointing. The burger tasted fine, but the cheese wasn’t melted. That was a huge turnoff. I can’t abide unmelted cheese on a burger!

Anyway, now that we live in Wiesbaden, we’re within striking distance of Frankfurt and its many restaurants and varied cuisines. Today, since I’ve been cooped up in the house entirely too much this month, we decided to go to Frankfurt and hunt down some Five Guys burgers.

Originally, we planned to take my car, a 2009 Mini Cooper that we bought in Stuttgart as we were leaving the first time. In nine years, I’ve managed to rack up a pitiful 35,000 miles on the odometer, so we try to drive it as much as we can on the weekends and trips that don’t involve bringing our dogs. Unfortunately, the engine refused to turn over. In nine years, we’ve also never changed the battery. Guess fixing that’s on the agenda this week.

We took the other car, our 2006 Toyota RAV 4, which we hope to soon retire. This was our very first trip within Frankfurt itself. Prior to today, we’d been to the train station and the airport. That’s it.

A fine landmark. Just after we passed it, Bill tried to turn right into traffic going the opposite direction. Fortunately, they were stopped at a light and he managed to correct his error before we got creamed. Then we found a parking garage, where we were in good company with lots of others seeking parking today.

The air was heavy with the aroma of curry wurst and the sounds of people rushing around, shopping at high end retail stores. The weather was kind of grim and depressing, which didn’t really make me want to explore. Frankfurt is the land of big business, banks, and people with lots of money. I haven’t seen much of it, but it doesn’t appear to be a particularly picturesque town.

It definitely has a different feel than Stuttgart has. I was reminded a little of Washington, D.C.

We spotted the big church located right next to the Five Guys, but still had to wander around a bit before we finally saw the magic sign. It was about 1:30pm…

Eureka!

But it was packed, and there was nowhere to sit. Actually, this was a lot less busy than it was a couple of hours later, when we decided to come back.

The Five Guys was full of people at 1:30pm. I started inwardly berating myself for wanting to stand in line for burgers I’ve had a bunch of times. I told Bill we should go look for another place to have lunch. Bill had to pee like a racehorse, so he was eager to find a place quickly.

We walked out of the big Walkplatz where Five Guys in Frankfurt is. This looked interesting, but we needed to find a place for Bill…

This mural was right next to an enticing place called Conrad’s Restaurant.

I wasn’t really wanting German food, but Bill was eager to relieve himself. A friendly waiter beckoned us, so we went in. The inside of Conrad’s is very small and rather poorly laid out. There are several very large booths and the tables are close together. There’s not much of an aisle for people to walk through, either. At one point, Bill and another man had to get out of their seats to allow a woman and her stroller to pass.

Conrad seems to specialize in Schnitzels, though they offer other stuff like steaks, sausages, and breakfast. The restaurant has a full bar, video gambling, and flatscreen TVs tuned to sports. There’s also really shitty pop music on blast. Seriously, the music really got on my nerves.

Bill looks at the menu…

He decided on a Paprika Schnitzel, which was a pork schnitzel with a pepper, tomato, and onion sauce. It was served with fries, but you could also substitute country style or mashed potatoes. You could also have veal or turkey schnitzel for a small upcharge.

I went with the Mozzarella Schnitzel. It was a pork schnitzel with fresh tomatoes covered with mozzarella cheese and baked. I don’t actually like schnitzels that much. They’re usually too much for me to eat. Today’s was no exception, although it tasted fine. I only finished half of this one and its accompanying fries. However, I did appreciate that Conrad’s offered several different kinds of schnitzel, which puts them ahead of any other place where I’ve seen them offered.

Conrad’s doesn’t exactly get the best reviews on Google or Trip Advisor. I wouldn’t be as harsh as some other reviewers have been. The schnitzels were hot, fresh, and served with a smile. The fries weren’t that great, but they weren’t terrible. I thought of Conrad’s as a perfectly average restaurant until it came time to use the restroom. There, stationed on a little stool in the tiny area near the toilets was a woman with a plate. She was collecting change from people wanting to use the bathroom.

At first, I thought maybe this was just for people coming in off the street. I’ve seen some places put out plates for people who really need to use the bathroom but don’t want to eat. That might have been the case at Conrad’s, too. But I didn’t see a sign or anything indicating that the Klofrau was only charging people who weren’t eating or drinking. I find being asked to pay a Klofrau very tacky in a restaurant. I mind it only slightly less at truck stops. On the other hand, I’m sure the Klofrau discourages people from taking advantage of the restaurant’s prime location.

Anyway… I don’t think we’ll go back to Conrad’s… but it wasn’t a disastrous meal. The food wasn’t terrible or overpriced. It was just profoundly mediocre. You can make reservations on OpenTable, too.

The outside of Conrad’s.

While we were eating our schnitzels, it occurred to me that Five Guys will probably always be packed. And I didn’t really want to come back to Frankfurt to do this again… at least not while the weather is so cold, damp, and depressing. Maybe we’ll brave it again when the sun stays out longer than six or seven hours a day. So, although we ate schnitzels and I wasn’t even able to finish mine, we decided to pick up a couple of burgers to go.

This was what it was looking like at about 3:00pm. The second photo was taken about twenty minutes later. People were actually standing outside the automated doors. Good thing they don’t take a pause and are open every day.

Bill went in to get a couple of burgers, sans our usual fries. I waited outside and played Evil Apples. About thirty minutes later, he came out with our burgers. He said the music at Five Guys was a lot better than it was at Conrad’s. They were playing awesome classic rock by Rush, the Outfield, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They also have free peanuts, just like the Five Guys restaurants in the States.

You can fill your bike tires with air while you eat burgers.

We made our way back to the car. I took note of the energy in Frankfurt.

Teens were dancing in the square.

I notice there are even more signs in English in Frankfurt than there are in Stuttgart. It’s a very international city. Even our trash bins have directions in English on them.

And big ass buildings, too! I’m sure Frankfurt has a charming area somewhere. We’ll find it eventually. As we passed through this intersection, we found ourselves on the gambling and sex street, very close to the train station.

They look like the American style Five Guys burgers.

Right down to being smashed into foil.

I did taste my burger before wrapping it up for later, when my schnitzel has been digested and I have more room to enjoy it. I’m happy to report that it tastes almost just like it does in the States. It’s juicy, and the beef is very flavorful. The only difference I noticed are the pickles, which are a little bit sweeter than what we get in the U.S. But then, Germans seem to like their pickles sweeter. It would have been nice to eat it while it was piping hot, but I think it’ll be fine in awhile. It wouldn’t be the first time we saved a Five Guys burger for later.

I’d go back, although not anytime soon. I definitely don’t need a Five Guys location near me, but it’s nice to have one. Do you need to drive here from another German city like Stuttgart? I’d say it depends on how much you like Five Guys burgers. Stuttgart has a few places that are getting pretty good at making decent burgers. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Next stop… Hooters? Maybe not.

Rhein

France and Germany… a send off from the Army– Part 9

After two nights in Nice, Bill and I hopped a flight to Frankfurt. We flew from Nice on Niki, an Austrian budget airline that collaborates with Air Berlin. Bill and I flew on Air Berlin in 2009, when we took our Scandinavian cruise. Let me just say, European carriers are a hell of a lot nicer than American carriers are. You go on the plane and they offer you a newspaper. You get a drink and a sandwich that is actually edible. The seats are somewhat comfortable, too. I would definitely “fly Niki” again if we ever get back to Europe and have the opportunity.

The flight attendants were kind of oddly dressed on Niki. The top half of their uniforms were very formal and businesslike, with a blazer, blouse, and perfect makeup and hair. The bottom half was jeans… nice jeans, but still jeans. It was like the fashion equivalent of a mullet– business up top and party on the bottom.

Flying over Vienna…

Our flight routed us through Vienna, another city that was on my 1997 European tour. I have yet to visit Vienna with Bill. I hope someday we’ll get there together. As we were getting on the flights, I was all wound up about the term “dependapotamus”, a slang expression used by certain people in the military who bash family members… aka “dependents”. There was a young guy sitting in front of us on the plane who must have overheard me and I think, told his two female companions about it. They reminded me of a reincarnation of ABBA, minus Bjorn.

Upon entering Frankfurt, we approached a guy who appeared to work for the airport. We were trying to find the train station in the massive airport. The guy was obviously American and spoke German with a heavy accent. He directed us to the right place and we arranged for a train to get us to Landstuhl, where I had booked us a room in a cute, family run hotel in town.

It was quite an ordeal to get to Landstuhl, though, because we had to change trains three times to get there and it happened to be rush hour. We got on the first one, a high speed ICE train, for a twenty minute ride to Mannheim. The train was packed and I was grumpy about it, as usual…

Waiting for train tickets at Frankfurt’s airport…

We stood near the bathroom between cars and Bill then very gallantly decided to get me a snack at the onboard bistro. He came back with a beer and a container of curry wurst, which was basically a sausage with a curry sauce. It smelled good and was piping hot, but I couldn’t eat it and balance at the same time. I appreciated the gesture, but told Bill he should have gotten me something less labor intensive.

At one point, the train lurched and both Bill and I lost our balance. I was holding the currywurst and it almost tipped on me. Thankfully, a very kind German lady noticed and saved it before it spilled. I said “Thanks”, but it probably came off sounding annoyed rather than grateful. I’m sorry about that.

While we waited for the next train, Bill and I shared the curry wurst. I started to feel less grouchy as my blood sugar came up a bit. We got a seat on the train from Mannheim to Kaiserslautern, but it was also pretty crowded. I remember one guy in our car was a cop and he seemed like a nice person. When he got off the train, he said “Auf wiedersehen.”

On the third train, a local s-bahn from Kaiserslautern to Landstuhl, we were in a car with a large German family with several kids. Then an American woman with her four kids and mother in tow got on the train. She said, “Ramstein?”

Bill told her she had the right train, so she and her family took a seat and struck up a conversation. They had just gotten back to Germany after a trip to Paris. They’d gone on a military tour, then broke away to take the kids to Euro Disney. The young mother’s husband was posted at Grafenwoehr, which is an Army post in Bavaria. They had parked their car at Ramstein. The trains were apparently a new experience for them. Bill and I explained about how the trains worked, then told them how lucky they were to live in Germany.

Grandma asked us where we were from. I told her I’m from Virginia and Bill is from Texas (more or less). She looked surprised. I told her that we met when I lived in South Carolina and he lived in Kansas. I guess she has never heard of the Internet and how people can meet that way. I said I’d love to move back to Germany and Grandma said, “Yeah, but how do you raise a family there?”

I said, “It’s just us and two dogs.”

Grandma looked utterly shocked that we don’t have kids. I posted this story on my other blog as part of a rant. Here, I will just say that it’s apparently unusual to run into military couples who don’t have kids. Fortunately, our stop at Landstuhl came up before we had time to talk more.

Bill and I got off the train and walked to our hotel. It was obvious that the proprietor had been waiting specifically for us, since the place was pretty much locked up when we arrived. He quickly showed us to our room and beat it. Our very full day of traveling left me ready to relax and wind down, which I proceeded to do. Bill went to a Turkish place and got us a couple of Wiener schnitzels with fries and some beer.

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Nine miles…

That’s about how long we walked today. We walked down to the beach, then to the port and along the hilly road leading up to the high rent district. It was exhausting. We had lunch at a fish restaurant, then had some ice cream at a nearby mall.

Afterwards, we came back to the hotel room and I took a very long nap while Bill finished schoolwork. We’re going to eat a low key dinner in our room tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Frankfurt and determine what the plan is for going home. I’m kind of ready, though I love Europe. I’s time to do laundry and writing. I also have lots of pictures.

We could go out and see more of Nice tonight, but we’re kind of winding down… Besides, pay day isn’t until Friday and cash is getting short. Nice was a good place to end, though. Love this city!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

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