A view of Frankfurt's "old city" section of town. Ray & I went to the train station early to pay for the Eurail passes with all the money I had collected out of the machine last night. The new people on duty were expecting us and it wasn’t long before we had our passes and reserved seats for our next destination – Frankfurt, Germany. We had had a lot of discussion where our next stop would be and the only consensus (or even some common ground) we found was in making our way to Barcelona, Spain. Paris had been in the talking stages a few days ago but we were warned of tremendous crowds because of Bastille Day and the Tour de France so decided to hold off on France until later in the trip. However, keep in mind that we know we’re ending in Munich and the trip days are flying by…so trying to get to everyone’s top choices would never be possible. At this point most boys seem perfectly satisfied with all of our plans.
We figured out that Bern, Switzerland would be a good stop for two nights before heading to Barcelona. But since it was a Saturday and we had no place to stay, we decided to stop somewhere closer than Bern so we could find a hotel for just one night. Frankfurt looked like a good stop. We did have time before leaving our Amsterdam hotel to scour some Internet sites dedicated to finding group hotel rooms and found one that looked like it might work. Three stars and just a five minute walk from the train station. I wrote down the phone number and called from our high-speed ICE train. Apparently the guy understood me because he had our rooms ready to go when we arrived around 4:30 P.M.
The hotel is a fairly non-descript typical small European hotel with breakfast. I’m not quite sure how it got its three-stars but you could see the look of “fear” in some boys’ eyes as they spied the façade. They had been a bit spoiled by our Amsterdam hotel which had tiny rooms but was more typical of what an American hotel might be. Our Frankfurt Hotel, Hotel Munchner Hof is a little more, let’s say quaint. It’s actually quite adequate and the boys and leaders will manage. It as, after all, an “adventure.” That’s a phrase we use over and over when any little challenge comes our way.
This is really a stopover city and we didn’t have plans for this afternoon or evening. The boys did explore a few blocks of our neighborhood. We walked to an Asian restaurant around the corner and enjoyed dining outside. After that we walked to the “old city” part of town which was a very typical European city center surrounded by quaint buildings and in the shadow of a very tall church steeple. The boys did enjoy the old city but many were more impressed with all the fancy cars that people around here drive. Frankfurt is one of the finance capitals of Europe and is the home to the central bank of the European Union.
We figured out that Bern, Switzerland would be a good stop for two nights before heading to Barcelona. But since it was a Saturday and we had no place to stay, we decided to stop somewhere closer than Bern so we could find a hotel for just one night. Frankfurt looked like a good stop. We did have time before leaving our Amsterdam hotel to scour some Internet sites dedicated to finding group hotel rooms and found one that looked like it might work. Three stars and just a five minute walk from the train station. I wrote down the phone number and called from our high-speed ICE train. Apparently the guy understood me because he had our rooms ready to go when we arrived around 4:30 P.M.
The hotel is a fairly non-descript typical small European hotel with breakfast. I’m not quite sure how it got its three-stars but you could see the look of “fear” in some boys’ eyes as they spied the façade. They had been a bit spoiled by our Amsterdam hotel which had tiny rooms but was more typical of what an American hotel might be. Our Frankfurt Hotel, Hotel Munchner Hof is a little more, let’s say quaint. It’s actually quite adequate and the boys and leaders will manage. It as, after all, an “adventure.” That’s a phrase we use over and over when any little challenge comes our way.
This is really a stopover city and we didn’t have plans for this afternoon or evening. The boys did explore a few blocks of our neighborhood. We walked to an Asian restaurant around the corner and enjoyed dining outside. After that we walked to the “old city” part of town which was a very typical European city center surrounded by quaint buildings and in the shadow of a very tall church steeple. The boys did enjoy the old city but many were more impressed with all the fancy cars that people around here drive. Frankfurt is one of the finance capitals of Europe and is the home to the central bank of the European Union.
This group helped us with the train decisions. A side note, we did take a small group of guys to the train station to let them observe and help with the ticketing process. I think they didn’t believe the leaders that we sometimes had to stand in line for 45 minutes to get to see someone to ask a three second question or to buy a few tickets. In any case, the ticket office in Frankfurt was super efficient and the guys definitely thought Ray & I had exaggerated how hard it is to get tickets for any place since we were at the head of the line in just a few seconds and the ticket agent was being very helpful. The boys helped us get reserved seats for tomorrow’s ride from here to Bern, Switzerland where we’ll stay two nights. And, while we were at it…they made the arrangements to take a night train from Bern to Barcelona, Spain where we’ll arrive on the morning of July 17. I mention this now just because that would mark the “just over the half-way” point of the trip. There’s still a lot of places these kids have mentioned wanting to see…and who knows what will come after Barcelona.
Again, as I write this (offline), Internet service continues to be spotty. So when you do read this, it could be two days or so after the blog was written. And I doubt I’ll be doing any posting from the overnight train…so just know we’re doing well and seeing a lot of wonderful places.
Don't forget to check out the photos.
Again, as I write this (offline), Internet service continues to be spotty. So when you do read this, it could be two days or so after the blog was written. And I doubt I’ll be doing any posting from the overnight train…so just know we’re doing well and seeing a lot of wonderful places.
Don't forget to check out the photos.
The group in the "old city" section of Frankfurt.
RSS Feed