Frankfurt, Germany Day 1.

Thank goodness for cold hostels and no blankets. I'm pretty sure I burned off the entirety of my wine tasting calorie equivalent from shivering through the entire night. I'm currently on the bus headed to Frankfurt. I've never been so happy for it to be morning and to have a heated bus.

This morning was an adventure, to say the least. Rachel contacted the hostel owners prior to our stay to confirm we could check out at the early time of 6:45am. However, when we came downstairs this morning -linens, money and passports in hand- after mistaking some non English speaking tourists for the owners we quickly discovered no one was to be found at the reception office. Thus, no one to collect our money. After a few minutes of brainstorming we left the linens on the floor of our rooms and emailed the owners to explain that we had to leave to catch our bus and could not pay because no one was there. We offered to send them the money via PayPal which should hopefully suffice. This was a very sticky situation because I could not morally live with the idea of not paying for our stay but also could not risk the possibility of someone else staying at the hostel discovering our money prior to owners. Hopefully the owners get back to our email soon with directions for the money deposit.

This bus ride has flown by. I slept for about half and for the rest my friends and I talked about life. I still have so much to learn about each of them, as we were just acquainted last week. Half way through the ride we realized that the heat of the bus melted a chocolate bar I received on the MUDEC Trier tour yesterday. Using my innovative mind I used the pretzel sticks in my bag to dip them into the melted chocolate. It tasted like a slice of heaven, especially in the middle of a long bus ride. Hands down best breakfast I've had in awhile.

Today was the best example of making the best of what you have. When we arrived in Frankfurt we trekked straight to our hostel to check in and drop off our backpacks. The hostel was absolutely stelar. It is located directly across from the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof central station and takes up four stories of a beautiful antique building on a booming square. The lobby of the hostel is a hub for all travelers to hangout, connect to free wifi, buy a coffee or drink at the bar, and meet new people. The music playing in the lobby perfectly set the tone for its laid back feel with 1970 american rock and throwback rap. Our room had a hardwood floor and 10 bunks, cubbies, and a private bathroom. I would definitely go back to this hostel again and recommend it to anyone else who plans to visit Frankfurt.

After we dropped off our things and met up with our friend Paolo, who got in the night prior, we hit the streets of Frankfurt to explore. Since this would be Paolo's second day in Frankfurt he became our tour guide for the afternoon. He lead us down to the river where we saw amazing views of the Frankfurt skyline. Eventually we got to Justice Fountain in Römerberg square. It began to rain but it did not lower our spirits, we were surrounded by such beauty. However, the only thing that could have made it even better was a quick brew. So we went to the nearest German restaurant and sat at a huge table for lunch and afternoon drinks. I ordered an apple wine, something the region is known for, and ate some of the best sauerkraut I've ever had. Still not as great as my moms, however.

With full bellies we continued our adventure through the city. We went to two more churches and tried to hit the Frankfurt city history museum but when we arrived it was scheduled to closed in fifteen minutes, so we are planning to save that for tomorrow. We also went to the lock bridge where lovers engrave their name on a lock, clip the lock on the bridge, and throw the key in the river. Following that we quickly explored the shopping district and eventually found our way to an all you can eat sushi restaurant. Between the seven of us, the amount of sushi we consumed probably could have fed a family for an entire week. It was the most beautiful yet disgusting thing I've ever seen.

Following this we went back to the hostel to freshen up then explored the Frankfurt nightlife. We discovered a strip of twenty or so bars on the other side of the river, all filled with young people. This area was so fresh, fun and filled with music, I would recommend it to anyone visiting Frankfurt. -Some of the bars even had live music, which made my evening.

#Travel