Biking Frankfurt -- Frankfurt, Germany

This means that the mind or spirit is present anywhere, because it is nowhere attached to any particular place. And it can remain present because, even when related to this or that object, it does not cling to it by reflection and thus lose its original mobility. 

~Eugen Herrigel 

I'm starting this post from the living room of Stefan, my second and final couchsurfing host in Frankfurt. The walls are white, but splashed with orange and the playful blue couches with yellow and blue pillows, the camping gear and scattered workout equipment lend the space a lived-in quality. Climbing gear hangs from the wall next to a shelf piled high with books on climbing Thailand, general mountaineering, and photography techniques.

I seem to be attracting a lot of photographers and climbers into my life, as of late. I wonder what the universe is trying to tell me.

My last day with Danilo was quiet. He worked all morning, it rained all morning, so I sat in a café and wrote all morning. My hardworking Italian friend met me at his flat for lunch at 13:00 and we purchased our meal from a wurst stand nearby. As the weather was still comparable to a mediocre day in Ireland, we took our wursts to the university so that we could eat them indoors.

I had ordered a currywurst with spice #4 -- mouthorgasm. It was #4 out of #7, so I assumed it would be slightly more than medium hot. Which is great for me.

This mouthorgasm destroyed me, and after the first bite of FIRE, all I could taste was spice. Which is a waste of a wurst, but I did feel hardcore.

 

Danilo went back to work and I went back to his apartment to read some Chekhov. However, it seemed like such a pity to stay inside even with all the rain (I'm only in Frankfurt five days) that I zipped up my rain jacket, tightened the hood, and set off on another walk.

The city was empty and the outdoor market must have been rained out, but I still managed to veer a bit off my straight line and see parts of Frankfurt that I hadn't seen before.

I left Danilo's at 8:00 yesterday morning, thanking my host profusely for his great company and staggering generosity. I clomped down the EIGHT stairs (which felt fantastic after the five flights in Nice) and lugged my bags through the drizzling rain to the nearest underground.

I won't bother writing out how I got lost, got help, got lost again, got help again, and finally managed to reach the home of my next host (half an hour late -- I think I caught a Mediterranean virus). After a couple of awkward "I'm so sorry I'm late"s and "Don't worry about  it"s, I settled into Stefan's kitchen and drank my damp, confusing morning away with a couple cups of freshly ground coffee.

Stefan is another interesting chap (most couchsurfers tend to be) who has spent a significant portion of his life exploring the mountains of Thailand and Vietnam, and conquering the Alps and the Himalayas. He laughs easily and the way his eyes crinkle convince me that he's laughing for real. We chatted for three hours about climbing, traveling and various German traditions. Then he headed out to "make sport" and I went for a walk.

I'm not quite sure where I ended up, but I found some street art and a few cute gardens. I was mostly just proud of myself for finding my way back. 

I want to hug this car/bicycle like I want to hug cute puppies/marmots

Stefan returned to his apartment at 13:15, just a few minutes after I'd gotten back from my walk. He ate a quick pasta lunch, offered me a chocolate pudding and apologized that I couldn't partake in his glutenous meal. We then set out to explore Frankfurt via bicycle.

Frankfurt via bicycle is the best. My goodness. If you're in Frankfurt, find a way to get yourself on a bike. It would also be beneficial to have a guide as awesome as Stefan, but I doubt you'll be so lucky. ;)

South Korea at the university

The opera house

This has got to be my favorite piece of street art thus far

I love how it's painted over the windows

The river Main

Something in front of the Stadel Museum caught Stefan's eye, so we pulled over to check it out.

We spent the next twenty minutes behaving like children playing in mud puddles. We were so damn enchanted by these simple hanging glass contraptions.

We finished off the outing with hot chocolate by the Main.

Preconceptions: Not all Germans are timely. I was half an hour late to Stefan's and he still wasn't ready for me. ;)

Challenges: None today.