Friday, Feb. 26
My train left Köln headed for Frankfurt at 5:53 pm. I was already really tired from my long day with Pauline, and my seat reservation wasn't printed on my ticket, so I was really happy that I was able to sit in one of the enclosed cabins with only one other woman. It made for a very comfortable and peaceful train ride.
When I got to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof the first thing that I did was buy a book about the city that came with a pocket sized fold-out map. I learned in Köln that it's very important to have one of these in a new city (although, ironically, I still don't have a map of Köln) and it's always the first thing I get when I go someplace new, especially if I'm by myself.
I made my way to the U-Bahn to go to the Lokalbahnhof, which is the closest station to the hotel we were staying at. In the station I met a girl from Brazil who was going the same direction that I was (which we discovered by looking at my map) so we walked together and had a nice conversation until she had to head in a different direction. She's been living in Frankfurt for a couple years and doesn't speak English, so of course we spoke to each other in German. It was kind of cool.
At the hotel things went really smooth. The guy who checked me in sounded like he had an American accent, so I asked him where he was from. Turns out he's Iranian. It was weird, because when he spoke German it sounded like he had an American accent, but when he spoke English he had an Iranian accent. Anyway, he was a really nice guy, and he told me where I could go just down the street to get something to eat, because it was late and I was starving. I took a long, hot shower (I miss having a sufficient supply of hot water at home) and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater to go get something to eat. The guy was amazed that I didn't have on a jacket or scarf or anything, especially since my hair was still wet, but it was actually pretty nice outside and I wasn't that cold. I'm still amazed at how much people here bundle up when it's cool out. Anyway, I got myself a Döner and a bottle of Coke and took it back to my room to eat before I went to bed.
Saturday, Feb. 27
I got up relatively early in the morning to make sure that I had time to eat breakfast and wake up
before I went to pick up Lee at the airport. I hadn't seen him in 5 months, so I didn't exactly want to meet him half asleep and looking like crap, though I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered to him anyway. The plane had been delayed leaving Houston, and Lee's luggage was literally the last bag off the plane, so it ended up being about an hour later than expected when I finally saw him. It was so nice to have him here to visit me.Lee and I went straight back to the hotel to drop off his luggage and relax a little bit. He's not exactly accustomed to international travel, and that flight is exhausting, so the rest was definitely necessary. After a few hours we walked a few doors down to have a late lunch at this little restaurant. We had some Äpfelwein, which is the regional drink of Frankfurt (kind of like how we drink Kölsch here) and some delicious German food.
After lunch we wandered around the area a little bit just to check it out. I had bitten down on my lip ring while I was eating and the little ball went flying, so we wanted to find a piercing shop or someplace that I could buy a new ring. Lee said he had seen a tattoo place on the way to the hotel from the train station so we went back to go find it. As it turns out, it wasn't a tattoo parlor at all, it was a cosmetology center that did laser tattoo removal. Lee saw the word "Tattoo" and wasn't paying attention to anything else when he saw the sign. So we just got some ice cream instead and went back to the hotel until we heard from Lee's friend Fred. Fred's been living in Germany for a little while longer than I have, working as a civilian contractor at Rammstein, so we made plans to meet up with him while Lee was here.
Fred showed up to the hotel at around 6:30 or so and then we pretty much headed straight to the Hauptbahnhof where we were going to join a pub crawl. We didn't do this with the intention to get wasted, jus
t to hang out with potentially cool people and see some of the local pubs and clubs. We ended up having a blast! We were at the station way before we needed to be, so we just hung out talking to the guy who was running it for a while. We met a lot of really cool people, too. There were 2 guys from London, Russel and Mike, who were a lot of fun to talk to, and this guy from Spain who was really rad. He speaks at least 4 languages fluently (seriously, as if any one of them could be his first language) and he can speak at least 2 more well enough to get by. He's really sharp and witty, too. Plus, he lived in Munich for 3 years, so he gave us a couple tips and suggestions for while we were there. I was able to exchange information with quite a few people, and hopefully I'll be able to hook up with them again while I'm still living here.Sunday, Feb. 28
Trying to get back to Köln from Frankfurt ended up being a huge hassle. Originally Lee and I had intended to store our luggage in a locker at the Hauptbahnhof so we could roam around the city for a while, and then go home in the evening. We weren't able to find any available lockers (we found a bunch of them when we returned to Frankfurt to send Lee home, but that was too late), so we decided to just go home early. I was a little bummed, but it turns out to have worked in our favor. We went to the track where the train we wanted was supposed to be, and there was no train and message on the screen saying what the next train was supposed to be. I found a guy who worked for DB to find out what was going on, because all the trains were delayed. It turns out that there were no trains leaving the Hauptbahnhof for Köln that day, and we had to go to the airport instead. So we went to the airport and had a hell of a time trying to follow the signs to the right trains, and when we found them we were told we had to go back to where we had come from (the regional trains instead of the long-distance ones) because all trains were being rerouted through there. Since none of these trains were supposed to come through this station at all, no one was really able to tell us what track to go to or what time, we just had to pay attention to all the trains and signs until we found a train that would take us to Köln. Luckily we picked the right track and the right time, and were able to hop on and leave almost right away.
We learned that the reason for all of the problems was that there was a huge wind storm, and the winds were so strong that they were affecting trains all over Germany. That's why there were so many delays, and why the trains were being rerouted; they couldn't go to the elevated tracks. We overheard someone explaining that the biggest problem is the trees that fall onto the tracks, which could have been avoided if not for the Green Party pitching a huge fit about cutting the trees down. So the trees stay and the rail system suffers for it. Anyway, when we got to Köln we found out that all trains had been cancelled, so we had to get a taxi to drive us home instead of taking the S-Bahn. It cost almost 30 Euro, which kinda sucked. But if we hadn't left Frankfurt when we did, we wouldn't have been able to leave at all, so it's a good thing we couldn't find a locker.
To welcome Lee, Esther and Olaf made dinner. Olaf made his cutlet, which is absolutely freaking amazing, and we had potatoes and sauteed onions to go with it. It was a nice welcome. Also, we were home early enough that the kids weren't in bed yet, so they got to meet Lee right when we got there. They were both slightly shy and skittish at first, and Pauline was a little reluctant to accept the Minnie Mouse that he brought for her, but I think they were still excited to have him here. Amelie, on the other hand, was all over him from the moment he walked in the door, the way she was when she first saw me. He immediately became her new best friend. After all, as Esther explained, she knows that he's important to me, and that makes him important to her.
Monday, Mar. 1
Monday was pretty uneventful. Lee was feeling sick, probably mostly because of the travel and lack of sleep. He went down into the cellar to relax in bed a little bit and ended up sleeping the whole day. I let him sleep because I knew he'd feel better, and he needed to be OK for his adventure on Tuesday. Lee had intended to go to my language course with me, just to sit and listen, but that obviously didn't happen.
When I picked Pauline up from Maria's that afternoon, Maria told me that Pauline hadn't stopped talking about Lee since she got there in the morning. Apparently she was rambling so much that Maria didn't even understand half of what she was saying, but she was talking about her new Minnie Mouse and the cup that Lee gave her, and how she had a new friend, and how excited she was. Freaking cute.
Tuesday, Mar. 2
As a surprise for Lee, I had planned a big adventure for him on Tuesday. I rented him a car at the Hauptbahnhof and was sending him to the Nürburgring, where I already purchased him a pass that was good for 4 laps around the Nordschleif. A dream come true, for anyone interested in cars or racing, at least.
In the morning while we were all getting dressed Pauline and Gustav both asked me if Lee was still sick. They were worried about him. It was kinda cute. They went downstairs to see him and play with him a little bit before we had to leave to drop them off. Lee came along to deliver everyone to their destinations in the morning, so he got to meet Maria, too. She was excited to be able to meet him, even though they couldn't really talk to each other without me transl
ating. When we told her where Lee was going, she said, "Ahh! Alle Männer lieben Nürburgring!" which is so true.After dropping off Esther and the kids, Lee and I took the train into Köln to pick up the rental car. It was a little Nissan Mikra, nothing special. Luckily it had a navigation system in it, because I've never driven all the way to the Hauptbahnhof before and I couldn't even begin to tell Lee how to get home, let alone give him directions to the Ring. After we got back home, I helped Lee plug in the address for the Ring into his navigation system and sent him on his way.
Early in the afternoon, before I went to pick up the kids, I got a phone call from Esther. Apparently Lee had called her (I gave him my cell phone in case he needed to call me) because the phone card was out of money and the person who helped him dial the pay phone called Esther's cell instead of the house. My phone wasn't out of money, by the way. It still had 13 Euro left on it, which we knew because I had checked it that morning, but unfortunately you get the same message when you are out of money that you get when you try to dial an invalid number. My phone started being picky about which digits should and shouldn't be included when dialing a German phone number, so that's why it wouldn't work. Anyway, Lee was calling to say that . . . the Ring was closed!! I could not believe it. I had contacted the people at the Ring prior to buying Lee's pass to be sure that it would be open, but apparently because of the storm they had to close it. So Lee drove all the way to the Ring, took a picture of the sign, bought a hat and a T-shirt, and then came home. I was so bummed. We just hung out here the rest of the day with the kids, and then we took the car back late at night.
Wednesday, Mar. 3
Olaf had to spend a few days in Spain on business, so I got up at 5:45 in the morning to drive him to the airport. It sucks having to get up that early, but it's not too bad. He always makes me coffee and then drives to the airport so that I have a chance to wake up before I have to drive back.
When I got back Esther was already up making herself some tea, and I double checked with her if it was alright for me to go back to bed and not help with the kids that morning (which is usually the arrangement on days when I have to take Olaf to the airport). She said it was fine, so I went back to bed for a few hours before Lee and I got up to head into Köln.
We didn't necessarily have anything big planned for the day, just to w
ander around a bit and let Lee see some of the city. The first thing we did, since it's the first thing you see when you get off the train, is check out the Dom. Lee was absolutely amazed by it, like I was (and still am). There really are no words to describe its magnificence. After we went inside the Dom we headed toward Altstadt and the Rhein for a little bit. I love this part of town. We went to the Haxenhaus (which is where I went with that bachelor party a few months ago) for lunch before we walked a little way along the river and then headed back home.When we got back to Königsdorf, Lee and I headed straight over to Esther's office to pick up the car so we could go get the kids. Normally I just take the car and go, but luckily this time (largely thanks to Lee) I stopped to tell Esther first. It's a good thing, because Esther had been planning to pick all of the kids up. Some of Gustav's friends were going to be coming over to the house for the afternoon, and she was supposed to bring Jonathan and Domenic with her. So instead Lee and I picked up Pauline and then swung by to get Esther and go home. Esther took the car to get the boys while I vaccuumed the house and got the tea ready and Lee took Amelie for a walk.
It was a lot of fun having all of the kids over. It was the first time I'd seen little Florian since he broke his collarbone, so it was good to see that he's OK and doing better. And Jonathan is too cute in his little sweater vest. The kids all played really well together while Lee, Esther, Christina and I sat around talking and drinking tea. It was a peaceful, pleasant afternoon.
To Be Continued. . .
