Frankfurt to Wuppertal

Our very first morning in Germany we were surprised at breakfast to be sitting next to a couple of South Aussies who had been cycling around Europe. We exchanged stories about where we were headed along with a summation of what we thought of Europe so far, not that we were able to contribute much at this stage but it was still very interesting. We wished them a great trip and headed out to explore some more of the city.

Like many ancient cities with modern wealth, Frankfurt is mix of old and new architecture, and it carries it very well. In the centre of the city, where you can still see parts of the original walls, is a pedestrian street called Zeil, where you can find an incredible modern building called MyZeil. If you ignore the fact that it is a paradise of consumption (i.e. a shopping mall), it is a beautiful and elegant place; at once a sculptural piece of art and a wonder of engineering. Sadly we were not able to see it when the rain pours down through the funnel!

Our next stop was a bit more traditional, and a bit closer to home— Die Kleinmarkthalle (the little market hall) has a similar flavour to Adelaide Central Market, except I didn't notice any Italian or Greek stall-holders calling out "Apples! Two dollars!". It was the perfect opportunity to sample some traditional Wurst. (or at least Chris thought so). Did I mention? The stereotype is true: there is wurst everywhere. We also sampled some local dried fruity nut ball things with figs and pistacios. I wouldn't write home about it. Oh wait... dammit!

The cathedral is close to Römerberg, the quintessential Frankfurter town square. It is everything you would expect to see in a German square. Seriously. Think of something old and German— yes, that was there. And even a guy playing a piano-accordian— it's debatable whether they're originally from Paris or München (Munich is actually called München, pronounced [ˈmʏnçən], or "myoon-kyen"— where the k is that slightly guttoral sound in "ich", but English speakers struggle with that apparently).

Finally we made our way back and headed to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof to catch our train. The train carriages just seemed to keep on going! We were lucky that we had allowed just enough time to walk past some twenty-something carriages before arriving at our seats.

Chris managed to have a conversation in German with a Polish couple who sat next to us— the husband was on his way to run a marathon in Hamburg. It was our first day in Germany and Chris had managed to have his longest conversation ever in German (about half an hour).

It was lovely to see some of the country side— you take in so much more on the train than when you fly! Most of the train journey followed the Rhine (Rhein) river. Much of the river is lined with farms and vineyards on the very steep south-facing hill sides (making use of the sun as much as possible). If those hills were on an Australian farm they probably wouldn't bother! It was also the first chance we had to see a 'real' castle— and we saw several along the way.

We were greeted at Wuppertal Central station by Matthias and his mother Martha. Martha had a lovely warm smile and we were both so delighted to meet her! It was such an exciting moment, having had Matthias live with us in Australia last year for 3 months, now we would get to see his home town where he grew up!

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