Ash and I parted ways as I headed off to Frankfurt from Cologne and Ash went back to Oldenburg. The train ride was long and there was an 18 minute delay thanks to some dude having a panic attack (ON A TRAIN), and I was so worried that I would have missed my connecting train. Thankfully, however, the train was on the same platform as my previous train so I did not miss it.
Once I arrived in Frankfurt I contacted an old flatmate of mine, Ole. But he was working so I decided to wander around Frankfurt by myself. As I was walking the streets I came across a tiny little Farmers Market. I went up to the Veggie/Fruit stand and asked only for one Apple. The man asked me if that was all and I responded yes. He then started to measure the weight of the Apple, stopped, looked at the Apple, then to me, and handed me the Apple saying it was a gift. I tried to refuse and pay him and he insisted. Thanks nice Sir!! Free lunch!!! After that I continued to wander around beautiful Frankfurt before decided I'd go to the US Embassy!
The US Embassy is far out by tram. When I reached the stop it was supposedly at I looked around, guessed a direction and walked in that direction. As I was walking next to this wall I looked across the street and see this huge compound with a fence around it. So I thought "Ok, so I found a prison,... this is awkward." But then I walked past two older gentlemen, both of which I noticed were speaking American English. I shouted "WAIT!!!", they turned around and stared me down. I then said I wanted to see the US Embassy and would like to know where it was. They pointed to the compound and said "You're almost there." Whaaaa??? So I ventured to the Embassy and found a tiny plaque in the front of the compound entrance as to where I could get a photo. As I got a few photos I hear a loud shout behind me "HALLO?!" as I turned around a guard/police officer was yelling at me in German. I quickly responded that I do not know that well of German and that I speak English. He then calmed down and bit and asked me what I was doing. My response? "Taking a picture with MY Embassy!!" He laughed at this and told me that taking photos of the compound was considered terrorism. My jaw just dropped. I quickly handed him my camera and said I only took pictures of me with the sign. He looked through them and said it was alright. We then chatted for a little while before he had to go back to duty and I quickly scooted off. *Whew!*
As I got back into town I get a text from Ole who is now off work and said he was hungry. I was hungry too so we decided to meet up for some good old Doners and Frankfurts special drink: Apple Wine. Both were so good and Ole and I were able to catch up a lot (even though I did most of the talking, lol). Around 8pm I said goodbye to Ole and I started towards my Couch Surfing Host location. These next few days I would be spending with a guy from Wisconsin named Joseph. It was a 40 minute tram ride to the middle of nowhere but I eventually found his place. He welcomed me in and I met his two cats, Desmond and Charlie. Joseph was super friendly and helped me figure out what I was doing for the next day. He gave me some tips and hints and showed me how everything worked around the apartment. Bed time!!
The next day I woke up to go on a Frankfurt on Foot Tour with a few guys from Ohio. It started at 10:30 in the morning and would end around 1,2, or 3. Needless to say I was tired out. But the tour was fantastic, he took us around the majority of the city and explained the history, and quirks, of Frankfurt. Also on the tour was a couple from England, a guy from Australia, and another from Texas. The tour guide was from Ohio, so it mostly was a little America reunion. :p The tour guide was awesome and I really enjoyed the entire time. Especially since Dave, the tour guide, made sure to talk one on one with us and cracked jokes about everything.
After the tour I went with the two guys from Australia and Texas to a local restaurant to try the local dish. It was this "green sauce" that was usually paired with potatoes and shnitzel. It was SO GOOD! The only downside to that restaurant is that I almost had to crawl out the bathroom window because my door had a funny lock system and it seriously took me 5 min to get out of the toilet. Also, the waiter asked us how much we were going to tip him. I wanted to respond "calm your tits dude, we'll tip you what we want and when we want". But I held it in and just gave him a 50 cent tip.
Around 7:30 I met up with Joseph to grab some dinner. Joseph really wanted Chinese food since the Chinese New Year was on Sunday. We found a local Asian restaurant and had really yummy food and good conversation. I learned what it takes to teach English overseas and talked about perhaps joining the Peace Corps. Joesph was full of so much knowledge and information that I was really able to get a grasped on my future potentials.
At 9 I met up with Ole to go to a Jazz bar to listen to a Jazz Jam Session. It was so much fun and so chill. We just sat at the bar and talked while really, REALLY good musicians just jammed out on their respective instruments and were creating the most awesome of music! If I had more time I would definitely have stayed longer to hear the music and spend more time with Ole. But alas, I still had a 40 minute tram ride to Josephs and Ole had to get up early the next day.
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