An Italian Welcome to Germany -- Frankfurt, Germany

And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh. 

~Friedrich Nietzsche 

I'm starting this post from the World Café down the street from Danilo's. It's drizzling out. It's been drizzling and mizzling all day. Because of this uncannily Irish weather, I've been hiding in this café for the majority of the day. Like the wimpy tourist I am. I really do adore cafés, though. Every time I enter one, I miss Main Street Bagels. English cafés were charming and homey, French cafés were chic, and Italian cafés ruined me for all other coffee forevermore, but I still pine for Main Street Bagels and my Cuban Cremoso (served with three chocolate covered espresso beans). 

The music is tasteful. I like hearing chatter in German, Japanese, French and English, and the coffee here is really remarkable... but I still want the lumpy blue couch at my local coffee shop. I want to hand over my filled out yellow punch card and play rock/paper/scissors to win a gluten-free peanut butter cookie.

Today marks four months of travel. Four months of travel and seven countries visited (if I count Wales and Monaco, which are technically principalities, but I don't care). My travel boots still feel heavy because they miss walking around Nice, but they're fitting better and better each day. I'm gaining confidence, solidifying plans, and dreaming like I can do this forever. The more I move, the more people I meet, the more opportunities I discover. The more opportunities I discover, the more feasible life as a traveler becomes and the more enthusiastically I write down my dreams. 

Did you know that couchsurfing has a subgroup called couchsailing? I can use this to catch rides around the world. 

My first full day in Frankfurt was spent walking. My host doesn't have internet at his temporary flat, so I wasn't really able to google local attractions. I should have done my research before leaving Nice, but I've become rather spontaneous (which sounds better than lazy) with my planning as of late, and I had just hoped to play it by ear. And to participate in whatever my host enjoys, which is one of the most attractive aspects of couchsurfing. 

Find someone you like in a city you like. Spend your time with the person you like in the city you like doing things that they like. 

Danilo worked in the morning, but he left me the keys to the flat and promised to meet me at 13:00 for lunch at the university. Feeling refreshed and recharged from my coma the night before, I excitedly slipped into my merrells and stepped outside for a walk about Frankfurt. I hoped to accidentally walk into a tourist office, but found myself in a market instead. 

When I walk without maps, I generally try to make as few turns as possible so that when I'm done walking, I can just turn around and walk back the way I came. Easy peasy. This is terribly limiting, but it does save me the hassle and stress of getting lost in strange cities. Which can be tremendously obnoxious and stressful when I know I have to meet someone for lunch in two hours and haven't the faintest notion of how to get myself to lunch. 

So I use straight lines and don't judge myself. 

I was quite satisfied with Friday's straight line. 

Yes, these German tables really are waist - chest high. People purchase their food and then stand to eat. Because they refrain from eating in cars like Americans who purchase fast food.

Fast food menu. Yes please. So much sausage.

Apfelwein! Very popular in Frankfurt. It's a sour, cloudy hard apple cider made primarily from Granny Smith and Bramley apples. In Frankfurt, they add service tree berries to enhance the astringency of the drink. Residents of Frankfurt are so fond of this their fermented apple libation that they throw it a festival every August. I'm sad that I missed it.

The market to which my straight line brought me.

Sausage!

Sausage truck!

I made my way back to Danilo's by 12:00, read a bit of Chekhov (now that I've finished Game of Thrones, I'm making a concerted effort to be productive with my reading) and may or may not have slipped into sleep after reading a single scene. 

Danilo took me to the university for lunch and I happily soaked in the energy of the academic setting. I love desks and books and students with shoulder bags and overstuffed backpacks. I love the rushing from class to class, the chatter in the halls, and the energy created by people who are happy to learn.

God, I love school. If I didn't want to travel forever, I would find a way to be in school forever. 

My lunch was a bratwurst, sauerkraut and roasted vegetables. I'm really good at this whole German thing. 

After putting our empty trays on the cafeteria belt, Danilo took me on a tour of the Goethe University Frankfurt. This prestigious school was established in 1914 and (as I'm sure you've guessed) was named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the famous poet, writer and playwright who was burn in Frankfurt am Main in 1749. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous (complete with Korean style park/garden) and I'm shamed to admit that I didn't take any pictures. I was also amused to find a protestant dormitory and a catholic dormitory right next to each other. In between was neutral zone. An Italian café. 

You have to relax and enjoy life when drinking Italian coffee. No one thinks about god when drinking Italian coffee. If you think about anything but coffee when drinking Italian coffee, you're probably not drinking Italian coffee. You've probably been duped into imbibing a cup of Starbucks.

I returned to Danilo's flat, flicked through a couple more pages of Chekhov, and then decided to retrace my straight line from that morning. This girl can never get too much market.

I stopped at a park to people watch -- 

I want one. Not to have -- just to borrow. And I want her to wear a baggy coat like this kid.

Autumn. I love autumn.

Frankfurt is Germany's business capital and the largest city in the state of Hesse. Actually, it's the largest financial center in continental Europe, which accounts for all this unusual skyscraper business. Frankfurt is famous for its large selection of banks, universities, museums, airport, train station and stock exchange markets.

It's not famous for being architecturally stunning or culturally enticing. It's a business, travel and university city, and it is very good at those things.

"Furt" means "ford" and Main is the river that runs through Frankfurt. The early inhabitants were Franks, so the name translates into ford of the Franks on the Main.

Frankfurt escaped the 30 Years' War, was destroyed by the bubonic plague, and later bombarded and occupied by the French during the Napoleonic Wars. It engaged in its own revolution in 1848 and lost its independence to the Prussians in 1866. The 1920s saw more uprisings by the Germans and occupation by the French. Then WWII came along in 1939 and the entire city was badly bombed. The city's famous medieval center was destroyed and the city Frankfurt was turned into a ground battlefield in 1945. After the war ceased, Frankfurt became a member of Hesse and the city was reconstructed with a very efficient, modern flair.

Which accounts for all the unusual skyscraper business.

I wish I could sleep sitting up. I can sleep on floors, on couches, on random beds, in tents, in cars, but I cannot sleep sitting up.

My host told me that these are ducks from the Nile that escaped from the botanical gardens and started to breed. I enjoy that they look conjoined in this picture.

I slowed down in the city center to listen to street musicians -- 

I halted to take pictures of street art -- 

This seems especially German.

And then I walked back up my line, detouring into one of the nicest yoga studios I've ever seen to inquire about class schedules and whether or not they used sanskrit to lead the routines (I can follow along if the teacher uses sanskrit).  

Danilo took me to a very German restaurant on the Main river where I ate something that translates into "meat cheese" and he ate something that translates into "little ribs". We were both confused by our meals. 

Danilo's "little ribs". We both wondered what the normal sized ribs would look like.

My meat cheese. With sweet mustard, sauerkraut and gherkin.

 I've been enjoying Danilo's company so much. He's remarkably intelligent, has a delightful Italian accent, can talk about anything, is extremely easy-going and generous, and has recently visited Colorado. It felt great to be able to discuss Glenwood Springs, Vail, Aspen, and Durango with someone who had good experiences in those towns. I also appreciate that an Italian is introducing me to Germany -- I feel like this is the best possible transition from Nice to Frankfurt. 

We walked along the Main for a few minutes and then ambled back to a bar near his flat. We drank Reisling (I love all the German food and drink I've had in the last 48 hours), talked for another 30 minutes or so, and then called it a night. 

There's that quote about counting blessings. I know it's hallmark and generally bad writing, but I sometimes feel like counting my blessings would be more difficult than counting the freckles on my face after a particularly sunny summer.