I was able to successfully wrap up all loose ends in Napa before departure day and finally took off for Germany. I had a two day layover in Frankfurt before continuing on to Istanbul. I decided to go to Mainz instead, which is a small college town 30 minutes west of Frankfurt.
I had read about this interesting place to stay but the journey getting there became extremely frustrating. After spending a couple of hours looking for it while lugging my backpack around I waived down a taxi. This did not necessarily help much as the driver did not speak a word of English and proceeded to drive me around town for an hour looking for the place, which was apparently listed incorrectly in my guide book. After finally finding the place and getting a room I headed out for something to eat.
Being that it was Sunday and all the businesses were closed I finally found a Kebab place which I washed down with a cold wheat beer.
My second day was much easier as I figured out the local bus system and explored the city. I enjoyed walking through the cobblestone backstreets which are full of old German style houses. Coming from the States, it was interesting seeing the differences in things. The cars are small, everyone rides bikes, food portions are smaller, the people thinner and the place much cleaner and more organized.
I was quite surprised how much trouble I had communicating to people in English though and it was interesting how everything closed down on Sundays.
I really enjoyed my layover in Mainz but considering that it took me a full day to figure the city out I could have really enjoyed a couple more days to explore the area more in depth.
After a bus to the train station, a train to the airport and a plane to Istanbul, I was finally waiting for Gaby at the ´arrivals´ area of the airport.
Steve
I had read about this interesting place to stay but the journey getting there became extremely frustrating. After spending a couple of hours looking for it while lugging my backpack around I waived down a taxi. This did not necessarily help much as the driver did not speak a word of English and proceeded to drive me around town for an hour looking for the place, which was apparently listed incorrectly in my guide book. After finally finding the place and getting a room I headed out for something to eat.
Being that it was Sunday and all the businesses were closed I finally found a Kebab place which I washed down with a cold wheat beer.
My second day was much easier as I figured out the local bus system and explored the city. I enjoyed walking through the cobblestone backstreets which are full of old German style houses. Coming from the States, it was interesting seeing the differences in things. The cars are small, everyone rides bikes, food portions are smaller, the people thinner and the place much cleaner and more organized.
I was quite surprised how much trouble I had communicating to people in English though and it was interesting how everything closed down on Sundays.
I really enjoyed my layover in Mainz but considering that it took me a full day to figure the city out I could have really enjoyed a couple more days to explore the area more in depth.
After a bus to the train station, a train to the airport and a plane to Istanbul, I was finally waiting for Gaby at the ´arrivals´ area of the airport.
Steve
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