Dorint Novotel Frankfurt Niederrad

Again it seems to be an escape from the inevitable. But somehow I actually think it's way more than that.<br><br>Why do I think that? I'm sure you are wondering what special thing happened at the end of my last entry in the first world trip ...

It was sooooo cold in Frankfurt, we didn't want to spend much time here since we had no winter clothing. WE got in late, went to our hotel, then back to the airport to get our flight to Bangkok moved up. We though it would be at 8 that night, but they managed to get us on the next flight out, which was pretty much within the hour. Woohooo! I also kept speaking Italian in Germany... so confused with all the languages.

... it. You must pass through another security checkpoint to enter the Lufthansa gates. Then you wait in long lines which are not really lines all all because everyone politely presses forward until it is one giant herd of bodies. Only the determined persevere and move forward. The rest of us schmucks stay put in line as people move ahead until we get the hang of it and we learn to politely push forward. My passport was taken, entered into a ...

... of Sulzbach, which was about twenty minutes outside of Frankfurt. We had a great dinner of warm, German soups and Jagerschnitzel at a local restaurant called Die Linde, and when you have dinner in the state of Hesse in early October, that means one thing &#8211; Apfelwein. Apple wine is a local specialty. It is served pure and cut with either sparkling water or Sprite, and the apfelwein we drank at Die Linde was actually made by a family friend of ...

... to move my entire room elsewhere the week before my departure just so my sisters could finally stop sharing a room. Oy. <br><br>Anyway, adding to my stress was the fact that when I finally finished packing the morning of my flight, my bags were both overweight. Needless to say the thought of the $150/per bag overweight fee did not excite me so my whole family and I went into high gear removing and weighing anything and everything that I could do without. Question: "Is this roll of ...

... reminiscent of the stairs beside Jackson Square (pigeons included). We dined on meat, bread and cheese from Tengelmann's, and enjoyed a donair platter at the bar below out hotel--always accompanied by Schofferhoffer vom fass (on tap). We cannot help but think of the Gesse family! Germans certainly do look German in dress and by their mannerisms. The Polizei are actually scary--very serious. Today, we crossed the river via the Alte Brucke (high ...

... class (this was the one flight we'd never gotten the upgraded seats for) we were overjoyed when they came through!!! For Tim's longest flight ever and a flight that rivaled my longest, we spent 12 hours in comfy recliners watching whatever we wanted... honestly it was like sitting in a recliner in your living room and having people serve you food and drinks while you watched your choice of TV. Amazing! What a great start to the trip :-)

... sitting with us!! Fortunately there was a Lufthansa desk a few feet away so we went to check with them. The girl looked it up on the computer and told us that, yes, it was indeed gate A16 and pointed it out to us. It was again just a few feet away and we turned to leave I made a comment about still having an hour to kill before our flight left. Fortunately the girl at the counter heard me and hollered, "No! No! It is boarding right now ...

... and I collapsed on the couch. After a nap and a shower, we took a walk around the base so I could get an idea of where everything is... the commissary (grocery store), the PX ("wal-mart" type store), a liquor store, a dance hall, some other buildings I'm not remembering, and of course how to get on and off the base. I was very surprised at how easy it was to forget I was in a foreign country; when on the base, it was hard to really see ...