Finding Frankfurt

Tuesday 3 July 2012 - Finding Frankfurt.
RIP Nan hard to believe it has been 12 months since you left us.

Boy are we LAZY. The bed in our room is so comfortable and with the fan going all night to keep us cool we were quite happy to stop denying the start of the morning. At 9.15am we turned on the news and stayed put for a little longer. With breakfast finishing at 11am we dragged our lazy selves out of bed, got dressed and then wandered down to the breakfast room for a quick brecky.
When we returned to the room I rang the campervan rental company to organise our pick up tomorrow. I was pleased when they said we could have it at 12. Yippee. With that sorted we then made our way out into the world with our Lonely Planet guide to follow. Our first stop was the train station to check on the train we need to hop on tomorrow. With a timetable printed out and the platform sorted we continued our walk.

We walked towards the shopping centre district as we did yesterday, but we took a different route today. Checking out the parks, Opera and other interesting buildings. When we reached the centre we walked towards the old quarter again and then on to the Cathedral. In front of this large and intricate building is an archaeological dig unearthing ancient Roman ruins. We sat at this spot for a short while before walking towards the river and over the foot bridge that is covered in padlocks placed there by thousands of lovers.

When we reached the other side we walked aimlessly through the streets of Sachenhausen, taking in the architecture. It was obviously a residential area we had stumbled into. Eventually we located a main street and we found a small bar to have a drink at while sitting in the outdoor bier garten. We took out the Lonely Planet and attempted to orient ourselves to a restaurant known for good food and apple cider or Ebbelwoi as it is known here. With our heads around where we were, we finished up and left in search of Adolf Wagner.
We only had to walk a short while up the main street before we found the German pub. We found ourselves a table and then attempted to navigate the German menu. What a laugh. We knew we were ordering "Handkase mit musik" which means hand cheese with music. The cheese is soaked in oil and served with fried onions, while you provide the music later as it makes it way through you! With an English menu given to us we also ordered schnitzel that came with plenty of potato.
We had our cheese which was almost clear. It was alright but I wouldn't look for it again. The schnitzel was massive and was only surmounted by the number of potatoes. The cider was easy to drink but not as good as Paul's home made stuff.

We enjoyed our lunch and when we were finished we moved on again returning over a different bridge and then returned to our room for our afternoon nap. I did some checking of camping spots for tomorrow and also Mugello. I also checked up on ferry crossings to Croatia. With plenty of info gathered I then read some more of my novel while Paul had a sleep. LAZY DAYS.
By 5 I returned to check the net only to have my password time out so I had to return to reception to collect another one. I updated the GPS and added some extra favourites to it before having a relaxing bath, knowing it will be a while before I get the chance for another soak.
At 8pm we went for a wander again. This time we ended up walking down the sleazy red light area with strip clubs and casinos everywhere. It was quite entertaining checking it out. We stopped for a pizza in a little store with friendly staff. We weren't particularly hungry after having a such a huge lunch, so sharing one pizza was more than enough.
When we were done we completed the walk of our block before returning back to our very stuffy room. Paul immediately opened the windows to let in fresh air, but with that comes the constant noise. We also needed the pedestal fan to help circulate the cooler air.
Together we sorted out where we would head tomorrow once we have collected our van. We decided on a lakeside spot on Lake Constance close to the Swiss and Lichtenstein borders that looks so beautiful.
With our day sorted we relaxed watching TV and reading before lights out.