Monday in Darmstadt Central

Trip Start May 08, 2009

Trip End May 18, 2009

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Where I stayed

Christiane's House

(Darmstadt hotels)

Flag of Germany Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
Monday, May 11, 2009

Monday morning was a normal work and school day for the Frohmuth household. Uwe went to work, on his bike, before I woke up, and Fabienne was picked up for school by a classmate's parent. No school buses in Darmstadt. I woke up around 7:30, and Christiane had breakfast for me in the kitchen this time. More delicious whole grain breads with raspberry jam, and Swedish crackers with Nutella, along with espresso coffee and the mineral water, wasser mit gas! Christiane has a nice modern kitchen, and during our breakfast conversation, I found out that in Germany, typically houses do not come with kitchen cabinets or appliances. When someone moves, they move their kitchen with them whether it will fit in the new kitchen or not. Even renters often must supply their own kitchen. Christiane's last home was a rented apartment, and when they moved, they did not want to take the kitchen with them. So they sold it to the new renters. Very different from what I am used to. So after breakfast I had my usual morning shower, and now I must write about the bathrooms in Germany. All of the toilets I used had the low water, which means sometimes nasty little stains are left behind inside. So, always there is a toilet bowl brush nearby. Also, all of the showers in the three places I stayed had bars where you could adjust the height of the shower head. That is a very good idea! Also on the subject of showers. I had read before the trip about how Americans waste water in showers, and Europeans prefer to conserve water. I was very worried about this with staying in someone's house. How to make sure I don't use too much water? The answer: Get wet and turn of the water. Soap and shampoo up. Then turn the water back on to rinse. That is a very unusual way to take a shower!
Christiane and I waited until around 10 to go out, since nothing would be open much earlier anyway. This day we headed to the Luisenplatz in the town center. A monument in the center of this area has a tall pillar, and a man stands on top. This man is Ludwig, of course, and he is a duke or landgrave. He stands because he said when Napoleon came to Darmstadt, he would go to meet him and protect the town. Napoleon never made it that far, but I like the idea behind this Ludwig. We also saw the city church, and the palace, which is a pretty impressive palace for a regional affair. Many more statues around the palace, and they weren't all Ludwig! Near the palace was a nice lion statue that reminded me a bit of the lion statue in Lucerne, on a smaller scale. I really like these brave lion statues. I guess I am just cornily sentimental! Around this area you can see parts of the 13th or 14th century city wall that once went around Darmstadt. Most of it is gone, but small bits are preserved. One preserved part has been incorporated into a modern building in a blend of ancient past and the future. Late in the morning we went on a tour of the palace. A group of 60 people was coming out, but Christiane and I got our own private tour. The tour guide usually gives tours in German, and I was ready to look and hear but not understand. However, when she found out I really can't understand German, she was kind enough to give the tour in English. It was interesting history of the land graves and dukes of Hesse, or the Ludwigs and their wives! In one room they had dresses belonging to several of the ladies. After the palace tour we went to the town square for lunch. It had been raining a bit earlier, but it dried out enough for us to sit outside. I decided to try a traditional German dish, handkaese mit musik (a big hunk of cheese covered in onions and vinegar.) The cheese was good, and I like onions, but this was maybe too much cheese and onions for me. I ate it all, but once was enough. Next we walked to another smaller palace that had a nice garden around it, and inside we visited a porcelain museum. The best things in there were porcelain seats that would be filled with hot water to make a warm seat in cold weather. I am sure those seats were nice to sit on! We walked through a park after this, and found a nice outdoor cafe where we sat and drank some coffee, latte macchiato. Then we drove to see this swimming lake that Christiane had been telling me about. This is a common thing here, a lake with a beach, and a diving board area, and sliding boards into the water. It was scheduled to open for the season the following weekend.
Finally it was time to go back to Christiane's house. I had seen the sights of Darmstadt. I really like that city-clean and neat and calm, and not too crowded. At Christiane's house we lounged on the terrace for awhile, but it was cool that evening, so eventually we came in. Dinner had to be inside that night also. This night we had a swiss dish. There was a special cooker thing with little removable trays for everyone. You put something on the tray, such as bread, or bread and meat, or (my favorite) pineapples, and you cover it with a piece of special, delicious swiss cheese. Then you put the tray on the cooker and the food gets warm and melty. Very good!! For dessert we had an Italian mousse, and then we just sat around the table talking for a long time. The fair that I had visited my first day was ending that day. When it finally got dark, after nine o'clock, there was a fireworks display at the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds are not far from Christiane's house, so we all went out in the backyard to watch. I love fireworks, and these were nice ones, because they were so pretty as fireworks always are, and because I was in Germany, and it was my last night in Darmstadt. It was like a fireworks display just for me!