In which we see some snow (Frankfurt part III).

The next day's adventure was reminiscent of this glorious day that Jules and I both fondly remember, hiking around Tegernsee back when she lived in Munich. Though, on second thought, "reminiscent of" is a little unfair, as it was wonderful in its own right and will also be fondly remembered by all parties for years to come.

The first "mountain" we had to scale was the one of buttery oat pancakes on the breakfast table.

The second "mountain" took some driving to reach, so I sat back and enjoyed the hazy sunshine on the Hessian countryside, as we tuned our way through the local radio stations.

When we finally reached our destination, we were surprised to find the Vogelsberg forest still covered in a thick layer of snow. A silly thing to be surprised about in February, yes, yet the last few days in Frankfurt had been so deliciously sunny and warm that I'd rather forgotten about the concept of snow in general. So off we went, walking,  slipping, sliding in a winter wonderland, and wishing we had skis.

There were a lot of other people (and just as many dogs bounding through the snow) around, and this little bear in particular was so tuckered out that he'd fallen asleep like this, which was particularly funny seen together with the very awake sibling on the sled next to him. His parents let me take a picture. "Sure, whatever. It's not like you can see his face -- is this going to show up on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow?"

This adventure was partially a quest to find the source of the Nidda, the river near Jules and Imm's apartment in Frankfurt, and in the end we did make it to the proclaimed source. There was a bench and a sign and a trickling stream, though none of the mystical pomp I had secretly been hoping for, except for this one glowing orb sighted through the trees...

On the way home, we stopped in the fachwerky village of Schotten for dinner, quaint and quiet and quite out of the blue.

The sun rose aflame in the neighbor's chimney the next morning, and I had a good deal of laze (and another bowl of Imm's Special Porridge) before packing my things and heading back into the city.

-- We pause this broadcast for a moment of Very Deep Refrigerator Magnet Poetry --

Back in town, the sun played hopscotch on the windows as I walked through Frankfurt West.

There were still a few hours before my train, so I moseyed (yes, apparently that is the past tense of mosey) over to the hotly recommended Palmengarten. First it got a few points for cute literal translation work:

And then a whole boatload of points for being generally spectacular:

All the outdoor gardens in the complex were under construction (see: still February), but the greenhouses were a perfect place to spend a couple quiet, Monday hours before my 5-hour train ride home. 

From what I'd read and been told, Frankfurt am Main has a less than stellar reputation, and in the time spent walking around there, I can see where this comes from. The income disparity between the bankers and homeless population was absolutely visible and even shocking at times, seeing people begging or clearly on drugs against this background of shiny skyscrapers. The city feels like it's in flux, on the move, somehow figuring out a new identity, with a lot of construction work, a sky full of airplanes, and one of the most diverse makeups in Germany. There were different languages and cultures being represented in neighborhoods all over the place, and maybe it was the delirium of sunshine and approaching spring, but it seemed to be working out alright. Frankfurt has a lot to be proud of, and it'll be interesting to see how this new identity takes shape in the next years.

In which we see some city (Frankfurt part II).

My schwesterliebe and long-time roomie Jules, whom I cherish not only for all those midnight wine&baking sessions that resulted in stuff like this (but also because she makes me a better person -- happy birthday again!) moved from Hamburg to Frankfurt in August, and it was thus high time to visit, explore Frankfurt am Main for the first time in the nine or so years I've been in Germany, and see/hear/marvel at Jules performing in her profession as Legit Opera Singer at Oper Frankfurt.

I would not, however, be traveling alone. Accompanying me would be the newly dubbed Stella II, the Nikon D5600 purchased with the help of my family (thank you!) after three months of grieving the sudden lifelessness of Stella I, my Sony α330 and constant companion since June 2009, who traveled with me all over Europe and the US, creating tens of thousands of photos at my every whim and fancy, and who, after not once having complained, ever, took her last picture in the sunny, gypsum paradise of White Sands National Monument on a hot, hot October day in New Mexico, and decided to call it quits. More on that when I get to the US post, but for now the point is that this trip was also a chance for me to try out the new camera and see how we got on together. After a few days of heavy use, I think it was a good choice, though I still have so much to learn about her more intricate functions, and I still have a lot to get used to. Hopefully I'll have plenty of time to get her figured out.

Anyhoo, back to business: I had Friday off from work, so boarded an early train Frankfurt-bound, arrived about 4 hours later, and was soon in Jules & Imm's darling apartment, sitting in a pool of sunshine and eating Imm's Special Porridge (thank you!) and getting caught up on life.

From there I headed back downtown, first wandering around the Main river walk and then having a peek at the excessively touristy "new" Altstadt, then later met up with Jules for a further walk and a tea and a pear-and-custard-stuffed croissant at a French café. 

("it's nothin'")

Later on we ended up back at home, drinking chai while Imm prepared his Special Mushroom Risotto, I was finally introduced to Hannah Gadsby, and we all fell asleep very, very full.

The next morning Jules had to rehearse and deposited me at the Kleine Markthalle, which was not at all unlike the Naschmarkt in Vienna, and where I stocked up on some fresh spices.

From there I followed my nose and the sound of live music to the Wochenmarkt at Konstablerwache, where I was not unsurprised to find large crowds of people drinking gleaming glasses of wine in the sun on a Saturday morning.

From there it was off to lunch at a Japanese place with Jules and then a long, lazy afternoon of sitting in Günthersburgpark and exploring the Bornheim neighborhood. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful area that I could probably never afford to live in (hashtag turbogentrification), with lots of funky shops and cafés and organic supermarkets and more crowds of people outside drinking wine.

Walking back downtown, I took a detour to the river to catch the sunset from the nearest bridge, which was full of tourists and locals with the same idea. The tourists had cameras. The locals had wine. And the view was enjoyed by all.

Then it was off to the Oper, to get misty-eyed while finally seeing Jules living her dream, little by little, on the big stage. Doesn't get much better than that.