Holiday Inn City South Conference Centre Frankfurt

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.

... agent and encountered my first, stern, mean German official's disgusted look and firm point up the stairs. There are signs in English and arabic numbers but they are not exactly numerous or clear, but I find my way to some signs indicating the way to Gate B 62. On my way, I locate a duty free shop that sells wine and after much effort at trying to find an Australian Syrah, I finally settled on something that might be a cab from Italy ...

... br><br>I arrived in Basel (in Switzerland) and saw the "official" there. He then sent me to the baggage claim. They sent me back to the "official", who then informed me that since I was in Basel, Switzerland and my bags were with the German railroad, that I'd have to go to Basel, Germany (the city is split) and speak with their rail officials. So, I caught a bus back to Germany and saw the officials there. Note I said officials ...

... 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 ...

... br>06 AUG 08:25 Sao Paulo 11:35 Lima<br>02 SEP 09:10 Calama 11:15 Santiago de Chile<br>03 SEP 22:50 Santiago de Chile ===&gt;<br>05 SEP ===&gt; 07:30 Sydney<br>05 SEP 09:30 Sydney 14:30 Auckland<br>19 SEP 13:20 Auckland 21:00 Hong Kong<br>22 SEP 14:25 Hong Kong 16:15 Bangkok<br>30 OCT 17:30 Bangkok 20:35 Delhi<br>27 NOV 03:30 Delhi 07:15 London<br>27 NOV 10:45 London ' 13:30 Frankfurt<br>

... better host. The next day was basically taken up by commuting and flying. The highlight was waking up to our friends & family's emails and texts that told us about the election! How exciting. There is a total air of relief and hope here in Europe about the direction America is expected to take now. I share that and really hope things will be turned around. It was a short time in Germany, but a nice one. I hadn't been sure how much I would like Germany. I don't ...

... able to pay. One thing we learned right off the bat was to ask for the bill right away, especially when eating on the run. So before I continue any further, I wanted to mention that the first half of our trip is a group tour which we booked through Cosmos. Cosmos offers group tours for all ages and even though we were basically the youngest in our group, we still had a great time and liked our tourmates. From Boppard, we continued on to Cologne ...

... dressed or were dressed much like my sister (anyone who has seen her knows that that is a very strange way to dress :p). There was a skinny old woman in tight leopard print paints, a teenage guy in all black with a mohawk, a very well dressed suave looking couple probably just back from a romantic getaway, and occasionally you could spot the lost American tourist who was usually dressed in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and a fanny pack ...