After hardly 2 hours of dozing time we landed at 5.30am Frankfurt time..not knowing how to read or speak any German, I was so so lucky to have Maike pick me up as it would have been quite confusing otherwise!! We went back to her lovely apartment (just a little bit nicer than a hostel :P with a beautiful backyard, indoor pool, sauna and mini theatre room..complete with a dog, 'Cuba' :) ) and caught up (8 years have flown!!). As Maike had to work at 8am, I cycled into the city with her and after some directions we parted ways and I went to the main square of Frankfurt. Funnily enough it was the Mardis Gras parade and hence the square was hectic with preparations! However that didn't take away from the beautiful buildings..I went on a historical walking tour and learnt a lot..saw models of what the city looked like pre war time, it's so sad seeing the history that was lost...however some churches and parts of buildings survived the bombings and they did a great job of rebuilding the city..although just not the same :( after my tour I met back up with Maike and we cycled to her dads rowing club by the river Main where we went swimming in a pool..after dozing in the shade we cycled back home, then cycled to a traditional German restaurant..date night!! I tried apple wine (kind of like cider), green sauce, smelly cheese, blood sausage, schnitzel, and apple sauce mixed with mashed potato..a delicious feast! Then we met up with some of maikes friends and headed to the riverside where we chilled for a bit..at about 10 we headed home and I simply crashed, as I had had max 2 hours sleep in 33hours!!
Next day we got going early as Maike was competing in a team triathlon (impressive!) just outside of Frankfurt..as Maike was awesome and cycled 20kms in 37mins I snoozed via the lake..that afternoon we went to a village on the outskirts of Frankfurt and visited maike's Oma and Opa, who were just lovely! They didn't speak any English at all so poor Maike and her sister did a lot of translating..we ate a delicious pancake like dish followed by cake and waffles,.some traditional Oma cooking in an old style house (with a barn!) in a old style village :) we strolled through a nearby fete and headed back to Frankfurt..a lazy night followed, including a movie in the awesome theatre room Maike's dad had built :P so grateful for having my very own German guide and family..it definitely made my first European experience extra special :)
And now I am sitting in a Starbucks in Mainz, a city just outside of Frankfurt, waiting for Lisa (a friend I met in Kenya in 2009) to finish her Uni exam..yet another beautiful person welcoming me into her home for a couple of days :)
