Mainz

Oh my! What a day! My flight from DC arriving 2 hours late really threw a wrench in my plans. I’d intended to go to Heidelberg today, but I just didn’t have enough time. So, I bought a ticket to go into Frankfurt - but the Germans aren’t big on multi-lingual signage, so I got on the wrong train. I ended up in Mainz, the home of Johannes Gutenberg. I toured the cathedral and the Gutenberg-Museum. With a lot of difficulty in buying a return train ticket (even the Germans were having trouble with the machines!), I made it back to the airport following a train delay. My flight from Frankfurt to Paris boarded on time, but apparently thanks to late arriving luggage we left about 45 minutes late. The AC kept turning off and the plane was full of kids and people with an averse reaction to deodorant. For two hours done kid kicked the back of my seat while others screamed at the top of their lungs. Due to the late arrival, I missed the last train from CDG to Reims. So now I had to find a different method to get to Gare de l’Est and then to Reims. The bus just never came - so I called an Uber - despite the 50€ price tag. We got caught in awful traffic, and it looked like I wouldn’t make my 8:58 pm train. But Uber Steve drove like hell and got me there with 8 minutes to spare. My platform was the next to last, of course. Fortunate, the train (like everything else over the last 2 days!) was delayed, so a bit of breathing room. I’m on my way to Reims now - late, tired, stressed. But I’m going to make it at least! Sipping champagne tomorrowRead more