Mainz

After a leisurely start to the day with casual packing followed by a bit of panic and quick packing we were off. John drove us to Auckland airport and we were there at 3.30 for our flight leaving at 8.30. Maybe Trisha will be a good influence on me? Security was no issue except for Trisha leaving her money belt on and needing to be checked by Hayley who happened to be on duty.

We had booked 2 aisle seats next to each other and it was great for us to have a spare seat each next to us for our first 17 hour flight. Unfortunately the girl 2 seats away was really sick, coughing and looking like death warmed up for all of the flight.

Had 3 hours in Dubai, only enough time to get off plan go to the loo find some stuffed dates and then on plane for the next 6.5 hour flight. Both of us slept a bit on the plane and were feeling quite good and excited when we touched down in Europe - first time for Trisha.

I had made a contact with a lady through a fb group called host a sister and arranged for her to meet us at the airport. She had mixed her days up so wasn’t there, but lived close and we had nowhere else to go so just waited for her. Golly that was such a great plan. Frankfurt airport has been undergoing alterations and my plan of knowing where to catch the train would not have worked well as we had to catch a shuttle bus first. We would have worked it out I’m sure but it was so much easier not having to.

So we took a train into Frankfurt, found our accomodation which is in the city centre. Very basic with 2 beds in a room with shared shower toilets and laundry and a small lounge area. $110 for the night so was perfect.

So dropped bags and put shorts on because we were both really hot. It was about 18 degrees but NZ has been a bit colder than that recently.

We walked around the old town went through a market with yummy fruit and veges, cheese, meat etc. I bought 2 granidilla and was very excited to see them there. Unfortunately 1 wasn’t nice and the other had just the hint of the yummyness of the ones I had tried in South America. There was a bit of a loud drunken crowd in the old square and the police were there on horseback to monitor the situation. We just walked around the other way and by the time we got back they had dispersed.

We went into many bakeries, and chocolate shops just enjoying the great sights and smells. I think both have ideas about what we can eat tomorrow. The last lunch on the plane was very substantial with a main meal as well as profiteroles, cheese and crackers, bread roll, and a quinoa salad. So we didnt think we needed to eat for a while. Walked over the bridge which was pretty cool and then we both hit the wall. I think we had done pretty well though. Had intended to do a walking tour tomorrow but Martina was probably better than that. She is a lovely lady who used to work at the airport and if people were stranded she would offer them a couch in her small apartment. So then went to a ALdi supermarket got some raspberries, blueberries and chocolate - priorities sorted! Then found a really nice salad type place for dinner.

Then back to apartment where we crashed. Didn’t even manage to have a shower. So that was 8pm and I had hoped for a good sleep. Which I did have until 1am. Trisha woke up at 3am so I took iPad out to lounge to type this blog and hopefully will be able to go back for a bit more sleep now. I have been feeling ok, but still coughing a bit.Read more