Greetings from Germany!

I have spent the day in Germany - we landed at 9:30 AM German time (that´s 2:30 Connecticut time!) to a snow-covered scene. I spent some time trying to get my phone to work, but realized that my battery was depleted and I had no German connector. Sigh - can´t cover alll these bases! I went to an Internet kiosk (GRR..some of the keys are in different spts - hard to type!)

 

I was hoping to meet up with my friends from New Jersey, but I had been required to go OUT through customs, claim my bagat the Continental counter, then recheck in, and dropping my bag at the Lufthansa counter. At that point I was told there was no way I could go  find my friends (wouldn´t be able to get close to them).

 

I sent them an email, and waited an hour, then spotted a USO lounge, where they graciously agreed to charge up my phone for me...yay, USO! What a wonderful organization!  I put on my leggings under my travelin´pants (30 degrees out, not really dressed for northern weather!) and caught the train for Mainz.

 

I had done only a tiny bit of research on Mainz - I thought it was a quaint little town on the Rhine, but it´s actually a bustling small city, 25 mins from the airport. I love to go in old churches, and had my sights set on 2: the cathedral, and the much smaller St. stephens, where there are Chagall windows. I could not find a tourist office, so I set off in the direction of what I perceived to be the old town. Needless to say, I got turned around several times, but I did manage to make it to the cathedral (the "Dom", which is a magnificent structure (no Engglish information available, so didn´t learn much about it). The best part, thouggh, was that it commanded the old part of town, which was typical old German architecture.

 

I wandered around, looked in the shops, took some pictures (can´t upload one at thisi kiosk), and, as it grew colder and darker, made my way back to the train station. Suffice it to say that the route back was not a direct one! I would stop and ask directions, but nobody spoke much English, each person did manage to get me at least part of the way there!

 

I  bought some fish & chips from a kiosk (wieners looked waaay too suspicious, with waaay too much suspicious sauce). I´m now at the airport, where I have met up  with my friends Ken & Karyn. We´re going to get a German beer, and settle in waiting for our 11  PM flight to Cape Town - an 11 hour flight! With all of my exercise today, I should be able to get some decent sleep on thaat plane!

 

Thinking of you all tonight, and thankful for the kindness of the strangers who helped me today.