The bed was very comfortable so that didn't help. We did make it down to reception at 12 noon and checked our bags with hotel reception to hold until we returned much later in the day. We have a plane to catch at 8:10 pm on Air Berlin (Nici) to Vienna, Austria in Terminal 2. Until needing to be back in advance of check-in time, we have the rest of the day to relax. A sunny and warm day again in Frankfurt am Main. We only have Lana's backpack and walked to the train station located underground. We helped a fellow at the Fahrcarte machine get his train ticket to Mainz. We stopped briefly for a quick bite of German style croissants. Not too healthy, but they were delicious!
We decided to get off at a station that was further from our usual stop as it was closer to the Main river according to the map. When we embarked, no sign of the river and the local map of the neighbourhood didn't show the river either. Lana reminds me to use the GPS in my phone and we found the Main river and walked about 5 minutes south and voila the large Main river that runs through Frankfurt am Main.
Again, sunny skies so we decided to go for a long walk along the trail beside this very large river. This city is very good about ensuring public access to the river as lots of land is set aside along the shore for public access. Many bridges across the river for train traffic, vehicle traffic and pedestrian/cyles traffic. It is a large river used by commercial traffic. You won't find anyone swimming in it. Some people laying on the grass taking in the sun and wearing bathing suits. The Germans certainly aren't shy about their bodies...
We got hungry finally around 2:30 and stopped at a floating restaurant/drinking establishment for something light to eat and alcoholic to drink. As you can see from the pic below there is a small island behind it and you eat outside. Grabbed a table in the shade and I ordered a 0.2 litre glass of Deutsch Riesling wine. For a light lunch we had hummus and a pasta salat with buffalo mozzarella. Service was slow, as our drinks took forever to arrive but the food came relatively quickly. Not bad food and it was perfect for our needs. We were still full from the carnivore meal of last night.
More walking on the Main river and crossed a bridge to the other side. Lots of people walking, some joggers, lots of bicycles, many couples holding hands and lots of families with kids. When we crossed to the Frankfurt am Main side it was much busier especially as we approached the Altstadt area. All this walking deserved a dessert so we stopped at a small bakery and indulged in a piece of Bienenstich (bee sting) cake. Very yummy as we sat outside at one of their small tables and people watched the incredible flow of humanity enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon. Good prep for our upcoming time in Paris.
There are very few if any stores open on a Sunday in Deutschland. We thought the pedestrian only shopping zone would be bereft of people, but we were wrong. Not near as many people as usual, but still people wandering and sitting at the various benches. It was more quiet that is for sure. Back down into the subway system and then returned to Frankfurt Flughafen (Airport) to pick up our luggage and my extremely heavy backpack. Hey this Macbook weighs more than you think! ;-)
Pic I took of downtown Frankfurt am Main from one of the bridges
Navigated to Terminal 2 and found gate E25 and a ton of people waiting for the flight on this discount airline. A huge Air Korea taxied in front of us and this plane was gigantic! It dwarfed our plane and anything near it. Lana described it ..."our Air Berlin plane looked like a bathtub toy in comparison." Uneventful 70 minute flight to Vienna. Regrettably, it was already 9:30 pm when we arrived so very dark and could not make out much on the ground. We did get 1/2 a sandwich on the plane and whatever water or juice you wanted to drink. The baggage took forever to arrive, but once we had ours we were walking down to the basement to catch a train into Vienna.
As usual, in advance of our trip I had gone online to check out the best and cheapest transportation methods to get us to our "apartment hotel" located in downtown Vienna (Wien). The total cost for two train tickets was 8 Euro. On this occasion, we might have been better off paying for an expensive taxi ($40 Euro?) as it was quite the long trip by train. It was a long wait for the S7 train and then took a while to get to our train station that we needed to transfer to a U Bahn train. The U Bahn train stopped about 10 times before our station at Westbanhof. Very quick walk to our apartment hotel though from the station. It was already close to 11:30 pm when we arrived at nobody at the reception desk and the door was locked.
Typical for one of these places there was a message on the door to phone a number. We phoned and were given instructions on how to find our key using a special password on a lock box. We have room #17 on the first floor. In Europe the first floor does not mean the ground floor. You will be up one story. Hotel rooms in Vienna located near the Innere Stadt neighbourhood can be very expensive. This place while clean inside, would be about a 3 star rating for 130 Euro per night. Very basic room, no carpet, a decent sized closet, small fridge, no sink or oven. We are right above Mariahilferstrasse. The bed is a typical European style with two separate duvet covers and two mattress pads. No info on the wifi password so I am doing this blog on the Monday morning.
Lights out around 12:35 pm. We are safely in Vienna which is one of the key destinations for this vacation. We are both very excited about being here and can't wait to explore the Innere Stadt and its incredible history. Plus, enjoy the cultural pursuits.
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