Thursday 28^th July

How to fill in the day; that is the question? Firstly, you sleep in and don’t get to the dining room for breakfast until 9:30am. We had our usual small breakfast but this time there was no jam to have with toast, just that chocolate / hazelnut spread, liverwurst spread, cream cheese spreads and a jar of vegemite! Then, by the time you’re ready to trot out the door of the hotel it is about 11. David went out looking at a hobby shop while I continued my novel. He returned with a couple of model fire brigade vehicles for his train layout. (We have noticed that any reasonably sized German town has a prominent fire brigade building and to this point David did not have one, or vehicles, for his layout.)

We then set off to wander about the streets basically looking for prices on some items we may buy duty free, if available, at an airport and a 2010 Soccer World Cup shirt for our son. We wandered up to the Eschenheimer Turm, a medieval tower that seems to have survived the war bombing and now houses a restaurant and bar, back through the Zell, where we had lunch, and the Romerplatz. We purchased some chocolates, fruit and some reproduction train plaques as we wandered back to our hotel along the riverbank. It is a pleasant spot.

After an afternoon rest, we took off determined to eat dinner somewhere else, just for a change. We discarded an Italian restaurant overlooking the river as too expensive. They wanted 35E plus for mains, which we think is ridiculous especially for Italian food. The menu at the Intercontinental didn’t inspire and was only fractionally cheaper. Over the road is the second Intercontinental building and it had a more reasonably priced Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, they served bread and warmed basic pizza pieces with a bowl of marinated cherry tomatoes, fetta and green olives. This was washed down with an oversized glass of apple juice that neither of us could finish. So we had begun to feel full before our meal arrived. It was ok but not nearly hot enough. However, they did serve a large platter of vegetables with it so we were satisfied. When we got our bill, we were informed that,” It doesn’t contain a tip but you can leave one at your discretion.” Now, that is rude. We didn’t.

We have been surprised by the number of Muslims and beggars we have seen this time; they were absent in April. I guess then it was too cold for beggars. As for the Muslims, they seem to like this hotel and the foyer often has them seated about. I feel for the women. The men are dressed in short sleeved polo shirts and modern slacks and the women are burdened with hot, drab, unfashionable and heavy clothes leaving only their faces to feel the cool air. They never seem to smile much.

The remainder of the evening was spent organising the packing. Whilst we are taking a few extras home (gifts / souvenirs), and considering what we posted, we still find that there’s more kilos than expected. We may need a reassessment in the morning.