Day 2

We arrived in Frankfurt sometime in the morning. Customs was easy and everyone was very friendly. We still did not have a place to stay but Lori worked her magic and found us a Marriott for 2 nights near the train station. Thank you Missy for the F&F. Lori has been a little off since we left. I think it was due to her back pain and concern of an 8 hr plane ride. The hotel allowed us early check in which really helped since Lori did not sleep on the plane. I knew she had been sleep deprived because she was trying to watch tv and could not figure out the remote. It turned out to be the cordless phone for the room.

After a needed nap, we decided to walk down by the river which was suggested by the hostess at the front desk. There is something about Europeans and loitering. You find them sitting, smoking and drinking everywhere. We walked to the city center (more loitering) where we found several small shops and a French Festival (in Germany?). We had some wine and ate some Raclette, which was delicious. We must have stood out because people were coming up to us to talk. We met Tim from New Mexico who arrived that morning as well. His wife was still recovering from the flight. About an hour later we met 2 couples from Ottawa Canada. The guys introduced me to Schnapps (pronounced shh-naps). It is a shot of alcohol, prune flavored. I’m not sure how to describe it but it was good. I paid, hoping to rebuild relations between our two countries.

I googled how to spot an American in Europe as I wanted to blend in. It said that we talk loud, lean on things, wear tennis shoes with everything, among other things. I have a lot of changes to make because I do all of those things!!

We ended the night at a park across the street from our hotel. It was a nice relaxing way to end the night. A glass of wine and an apple Schnap.