The Homestretch

Well I am sitting here in Frankfurt Airport writing about our last week in Germany. We didn't really do all that much so this should be a short one.

After leaving the hustle and bustle of Berlin we dropped in to Hamburg for two nights. We stayed at a Stellplatz right in the city with a railway line going overhead and a McDonalds so close we could hear the attendants at the drive through asking "möchten Sie fries dazu?".

We spent a cold Thursday navigating the city, with its many canals and bridges, by bike. It was to be our last bike ride of the trip. We checked out the harbour area, which reminds me a lot of Honeysuckle with new buildings popping up everywhere, and the thriving main square with its town hall.

We then slowly made our way south to Frankfurt stopping overnight on Friday in Hannover in an empty caravan park (I triple checked the doors were locked that night) and Saturday night in Kassel in a cheap €7 Stellplatz. We didn't really do all that much as the weather was pretty terrible.

We then spent 5 nights in Frankfurt am Main (pronouced mine) in order to see the city, clean the van and pack our bags.

Monday we spent in the city. Of all the cities we have seen in four months, this one reminded me the most of our cities back home - tall skyscrapers and not too many old buildings. We started with a trip up to the observation deck of the Main Tower which revealed a very foggy view of the city. Luckily the sun was shining through some of the clouds which kept the temperature pleasent. We then had a great lunch in the city's main mall (pronounced main) and tried Ebbelwei, the Frankfurt dialect for Apfelwein (Apple Cider). After the initial shock of the odd after taste I grew accustomed to it and downed three glasses. Matt stuck to his new favourite drink - Weißbier.

On Tuesday we caught a tram to a nearby shopping centre and hung out there for a while just observing life.
Germany has been wonderful for that.

I must admit, I have a very soft spot for this country. It might be the language thing, but I find things easier here. I'm going to try and keep up my German so I don't go another six years before speaking it again. Lonely Planet has created a list of the top 25 things to do in Germany. We have managed to do 12 of them. These are their titles, not mine.
1: Bewitched by Berlin
3: Mad for Neuschwanstein
5: Bike Cruising in Hamburg
6: Romance the Rhine River
9: Floored by a Wall (the Berlin Wall)
10: Dresden's artistic alchemy
11: Dark moments in Dachau
13: Quaffing in Frankfurt (try the Ebbelwei - apple cider)
21: Versed in Wurst (try the sausages)
23: Prost! (drinks and traditional food at a beer garden)
24: Rambling through Regensburg
25: Happy at the Hofbräuhaus

Anyway, Wednesday and Thursday we stayed at home but this time there was no rest and relaxation in sight. We had to empty the van of stuff we didn't need, clean it and pack our bags. It may not sound like much but it was a big job! We amazingly ended up filling an entire wheelie bin with stuff we threw out. We had to clean out the waste water tank, the toilet cassette, fridge, all the cupboards (of which there were a lot), the kitchen, all our cooking things, the front mat and the floor. Fun times all around.

On Thursday night we headed into the city to celebrate our last night and found an awesome area of town to eat in. It reminded us a lot of Soho in New York where my cousin lives. It's crazy we were there exactly a year ago. After a wonderful dinner we headed home for our last sleep in our beloved home.

And that brings us to today. We successfully dropped off our van in Friedberg this morning and, to top off our trip, were driven to the airport by the same man who had taken us there 116 days earlier. He still drove incredibly fast while talking on his phone and writing in his diary. Some things never change.

Unfortunately our flight isn't until 7pm (we got to the airport at 12) but there's nothing we could do about that- we had to drop the van off in the morning. Now we're just killing time in the airport before the epic journey home. Sydney, we'll see you on Sunday morning!!