FGHart

Today was a great day, despite extreme sleep deprivation. Or maybe because of the sleep deprivation.

On my first night here I woke in the middle of the night to do a few hours of e-mail (don’t ask). In the middle of that fun I fired off a note to my beloved (Mr. H) asking him to look up things to do while in Frankfurt. I was not at all interested in spending the weekend in my hotel room. By the time I awoke Mr. H had provided a list of suggestions and relevant nuggets about things to do and places to see. On Friday, Michael (the head of European Marketing) spent about an hour telling us about things to do while in the Frankfurt area. Mr. H earned gold stars for already covering most of what the locals considered worthy of adventure. But you may already know he’s a champ at this so I’ll get on with the story.

We left the hotel at 9am, taking the shuttle to the airport. At the airport, we caught the train to downtown Frankfurt, exiting at the “S”. From there we made our way east down Zeil (a road which is very similar to the Domain in Austin – lots of shops & boutiques for the trendy urbanites).

While interesting, the appeal lasted about 30 seconds for me, non-shopper that I am. We were in search of Romer (aka Romerberg) which should have an umlaut over the “o” and is pronounced “rumor”. On our way south to Romer we stumbled upon the “St. Bartholomäus Dom” referred to by the locals as simply “the Dom”. I recognized it immediately from Mr. H’s list (this was not on the list reviewed with Michael). This building was one of the few that survived the destruction of WWII. It was remarkable in many respects and well worth the time we spent there.

The Dom

After leaving the Dom, I steered my companions toward a steeple I could see over the top of other buildings. This turned out to be St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche) – on Michael’s list, but not Mr. H’s. This was also a very worthwhile visit to a historical site. I won’t bore you with the details.

We had lunch at a quaint cafe which was effectively a selection of al fresco seating amongst a sea of al fresco seating served by a number of cafes. I had tuna on toast and enjoyed people watching. The ratio of English-speaking natives was drastically lower in this part of town. It seems that downtown Frankfurt is a very popular place for the regional locals (people of surrounding area) to visit on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Here’s the view of Paulskirche from our table, and the view of the cafe from our table.

St. Paul's

Al fresco dining

This was also a great spot for people watching. Here’s a shot of a passing beer bike (apparently a group can hire the rig for a roving party).

After lunch we puttered around the square checking out the tourist center and the souvenir shops.

It was a great way to kill time while waiting for the Applewine Express Tour bus, which arrived promptly as scheduled at a few minutes past 1pm. One thing we did not expect was the mass of folks who were on the same wavelength as us. An important lesson learned was that it is probably worth waiting until the third or fourth bus to come along instead of cramming into the first bus/tram. But we’re newbies, so cram we did. We ended up standing for the duration of the ride. It might be worth noting that we were the only 3 standing.

Below I’ve included a photo of me standing by the open door of the trolley car. The door was actually closed for a while as we were drinking our apple wine (it comes in a “beer” bottle, with a plastic cup). Apparently the lady in charge of our car was concerned I was going to fall out, not because of the wine but because I didn’t have a free hand to hold onto anything, which left my perch somewhat precarious.

Of note, there were 3 regional locals from outside of Frankfurt who’d come to town for the day. Their English was quite good so we visited for a while. They’re the ones who explained why the woman-in-charge had closed our door, which compelled me to finish my wine quickly because it was sweltering (no air conditioning). Once my wine was gone I implored the woman-in-charge to open the door, which she did. Oh, and…applewine is basically like apple cider that’s been left too long in the cupboard. I was not all that impressed. I’m glad to have tried it, but will leave it for the locals.

On the Applewine Express tour.

Once we’d made our circuit of the city we returned to Romer. We took off on foot following the same route the tram had taken to check out some of the souvenir shops further away from the crowds of tourists. The prices were no better so we headed north to check out the old Opera house. Here’s a link to google maps, hopefully showing the route we took.

Once at the opera house (Alte Oper) the three of us split up, as one of our travelers was foot-weary and wanting to shop in Romer. I headed to Palmengarten (a few km north west – a 50 acre botanical garden) with the remaining adventurer. We spent about 2 hours enjoying the gardens, then headed back to Romer. If you have any doubt, you should know I took about 500 pictures today. At least a third of those are pictures of flowers.

Now, here’s the crazy part: as we were making our way from the gardens back to Romer, we passed back by the Opera House. There’s a huge shindig getting set up there because tomorrow a big bicycle race will finish there and apparently the partying will commence soon after. As we were passing through, we ran into the same 3 locals that had shared our applewine tour. Not at a distance across the courtyard – I mean literally we walked right by them. We stopped and chatted a minute then went on our way.

Once we regrouped in Romer, we had a lovely dinner at the Romerberg town center, then returned via train/shuttle to the hotel.

It’s almost midnight so I bid you well and safe adventures of your own. I can’t wait to hear how E’s travels are going.

Love,
Fran

You might recall my adventure on Day 1 that required me to change rooms because of the construction noise. I’m not sure if I adequately conveyed the time pressure that I was under for that move. When I got to my new room I’d barely unzipped my suitcase to start unpacking when my colleagues called to let me know they were in the lobby and ready for me to join them. On that first evening I quickly unpacked in between getting back to the room after spending time in the office and before dinner.

Last night as I was changing for bed and thinking about what I’d be wearing for today’s adventures, I realized I couldn’t find my socks. That seemed strange and I realized I must have left them in the 1st room. I actually went back to the first room with my access card and tried to get into that room. I should mention it was about 1am. I hope the room was unoccupied, just in case. I suppose they’d have assumed I was inebriated if I was discovered. I wasn’t, although I was definitely exhausted. I headed for the lobby, planning to ask at the desk, however I convinced myself that since I was wearing clean socks that I’d donned that morning, surely I must have the socks somewhere in my room. I went back to my room without getting off the elevator, although I was joined by someone who was, in fact, inebriated so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

Back in my room I found my stash of socks tucked in the back pocket of the suitcase. I chided myself and went to bed.

In unrelated news I could not sleep. You would think exhaustion should lead to sleep, but this is often not the case. At close to 2am I realized that it was not missing socks I should be worried about but missing shirts. I called the front desk and they made note of my claim, asked me to call back after 6:30am when housekeeping would be in attendance and wished me a good night. Really all quite politely, as if they were often faced with such queries.

Eventually I did sleep and at 7am I sprang (or limped) from bed and called housekeeping. They did have my shirts (and 2 pairs of socks as a bonus)! Fortunately this means I can wear a clean shirt today (& not one of the dressier shirts I brought for the office).

It seems another good reason not to pack at midnight on the eve of a trip is so that I have a better handle on what’s come with me. If I went so far as to make a list of things to pack, I’d have that as a form of inventory on those bleary nights when I’m wondering where on earth my clothes have gotten off to. Especially if the journey involved unpacking, packing and unpacking again at the drop of a hammer or the turn of an electric drill.

Now I must shower, dress in clean clothes, have breakfast and begin today’s adventures, including a wine tour of the city. Although technically, I suppose today’s adventures are already well underway, at least you haven’t missed out on the more domestic of my adventures. Tonight I’ll be free to report on tales that involve foreign sights/sites I’ve seen. Assuming, that is, I don’t get back to the room too soused on apple wine (aka apfelwein, aka ebbelwoi, aka ebbelwei) to type.

Love,
Fran

If I didn’t have to work while I was over here I could spend more time having adventures and writing about my adventures.

Tonight we had dinner on the Main River (pronounced “Mine” river) at a trendy little restaurant called Hemingway’s. We took the airport shuttle from the hotel to the airport, then we took the train from the airport to downtown Frankfurt. We walked for what may or may not have been a mile. I navigated using the handy map from the concierge. We only had to stop once to ask a local if we were on the right track, which is okay because at one point a local stopped us to ask us…something. When I smiled and said “English” he smiled and went on his merry way.

Oh, and I should mention: the lady who said the people here don’t smile must not have been doing it right. Or my smile is just contagious. I don’t seem to be having any trouble with the locals. Other than I don’t speak German.

Tomorrow we are planning on having a very busy day in Frankfurt. Sunday we’re planning on doing a tour of the Rhine river. It’s well past midnight so I’m going to sign off without further ado.

Love,
Fran

What might be the one thing that could make this entire trip worthwhile? Knowing that my time and energy spent smiling at unhappy German customers will result in a complete and satisfying turn-around: no less than delighted European customers.

Or, I could get over here and discover the key sales person was on vacation last week and Germany was effectively shut down for Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. And that this week is a slow week when many European Dell folks and their customers take vacation. It would be great to know that no meetings have been set up with any customers, neither those that are happy, sad, mad, nor hostile…none. La, la, la! I’m in Europe and no one seems to be aware or care.

That, my dear family and friends, will soon change. If I’m coming all the way over here, by golly, these guys WILL BE HAPPY by the time I leave. Even if they don’t know why. They will certainly never appreciate what hit them.

Meanwhile I’ve been up for more hours than I can count. That hour of Ambien-induced dozing-slumber was inadequate. I’m going to take a bath and hit the hay.

For your viewing pleasure, 3 pictures: the hotel room’s do-it-yourself bedding (sure, at $150/night I’ll make my own bed), the first room’s bathroom (no bathtub, just a teeny shower) and the 2nd room’s bathroom. Oh, and – you’ll see on the counter my Kindle, fully charged and ready for me to pick up where I left off with the good detective Spenser.

Love,
Fran

My companions are supposed to pick me up at noon. I figured with 3 hours to spare (well, 2.5 hrs after I fiddle-farted around) I could catch a quick nap, then shower and get ready to go visit customers this afternoon. I was not prepared for the onslaught of construction noises. Drilling and hammering commenced as soon as I lay down, or at least I began to notice the sounds. I put in my headphones and turned up my iPod and was able to drown out the noise, but I was afraid I’d not hear the wake-up call so I had to turn down the volume and bear some of the intrusive noises during my fitful rest.

Later, after my shower, my phone rang. Could it be my companions, earlier than expected? No, it was the hotel calling to say, “Gee, it occurred to us it might not be a good idea to have you in a room right above a room that’s being renovated. Care to move?”

So now I’m repacking and changing rooms. I don’t know that I’ll get internet working up there before I get picked up and I didn’t want you to miss this exciting episode of my adventures in Europe, so I’m jotting this off to you before I depart from room 210 in search of room 746.

Love,
Fran

Every time I fly I think “I need to lose weight”. Clearly thin people have more space available to them, relatively speaking, than that which is afforded to larger people.

I’m 2 hours into this 9.5ish hour flight and I’m finding myself completely challenged by technology. It’s not that I’ve run into
technical problems per se, it’s just that technology requires power and somehow I’ve been outwitted by the gerbils that operate my machinery.

Let’s start with the misguided packing of my computer’s power cord in my suitcase (rather than in my carry-on). The situation (draining rather than charging of my notebook’s battery) was compounded by my affinity for the internet. We (the Harts) have invested in Time Warner’s broadband which means I can connect to the internet anywhere. Well, mostly anywhere, but that’s a different story. The drawback of the wonderful wireless is its audacious use of power. It literally
sucked the life out of my notebook as I merrily checked e-mail at the DFW airport during my multi-hour layover.

At some point (over a glass of Cabernet) I decided to close my notebook to save power. Unfortunately I neglected to unplug the wireless device so unbeknownst to me the booger continued to keep my system “alive” and it continued to draw power. In fact it seemed to draw extra power, maybe out of frustration. When I switched locations from the wine shop to the gate I deftly stowed my notebook in my backpack not realizing it was awake and busy contemplating the world
at large. My computer overheated in my backpack, working the fan at full speed, further draining my battery.

The result – my battery was 75% depleted by the time I boarded the plane.

I shrugged it off since I rarely spend a lot of time on my notebook during these long flights, in part because it’s very awkward to work on the computer while jammed into a too-small seat with the person in front of me inevitably reclined into my space.

Once I was situated on the plane I brought out my kindle and immersed myself in a good story by Robert Parker (thanks E! or the reading team which somehow sponsored this book’s availability). I know my Kindle was fully charged at the start of this trip because I charged it last night. I read for about an hour and a half, which brought me well into the story. At this point I was interrupted for dinner. I tucked the kindle beside me while my meal was served, spent a few minutes breaking through the sanitary/safety seals on the plasticware and dishes, then pulled my kindle out so I could continue reading. Imagine my horror when my kindle wouldn’t turn on. Dead. No response, no pulse, nothing.

Fortunately I brought the USB cable which acts as a power cord between the notebook and the kindle. After finishing my dinner I got out my notebook computer, connected the kindle, powered up and began typing this e-mail. Interestingly (maybe just for me, because I am, after all, a geek) I couldn’t get Word to open so I’m forced to type this in an email. Just another twist of the technology knife.

Meanwhile I hope you can picture me with the notebook not-fully open perched on the too-small meal tray, blocked from fully opening by the seat reclined in front of me. If I spin a little sideways I can open the notebook further but the post-dinner line for the bathroom has formed and everyone keeps bumping into me so that’s not working.

For added drama, my notebook is now warning me that it’s at a critical battery level (less than 10% remaining) and I should connect to power or shut down. And my Kindle does not seem to be charging. So now I’m facing about 6 more hours of journey with the one paper book I brought with me (self-editing for fiction writers). Apparently I was meant to
focus on self-editing and not any of this other mamby-pamby stuff.

I’ll find a way to mail this after I get to the hotel. I hope you’re having better luck with technology than I am today.

Love, Fran

(Written at the hotel)
Postscript: I made it safely to Frankfurt. I’m at the hotel. I had to pay 11 Euros (about $22) for a converter gizmo (of which I have one already in my office closet at home) so I could plug into the wall outlet and charge up. My notebook computer is merrily charging but my Kindle is not. I’m not sure what to make of that. I’m only a few pages shy of finishing the self-editing book so I’ll need to get creative after that.

On a different note (still whining but a slight change in subject) I took an Ambien on the trip to help me sleep, for which I should be eternally grateful. Without it I assume I would not have gotten even the hour or so I dozed. This is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell.

It’s about 8:20 a.m. now. I’m going to be picked up in a few hours to go meet with customers. Hopefully I’m marginally coherent.

Oh, and…everything here is expensive. Nothing’s gratis. The first (and only, so far) Americans I ran into were leaving the hotel and they warned me that no one in Germany smiles. Whoooboy! I have my work cut out for me if I’m going to be winning over unhappy customers.

Post-postscript: After another round of challenges that I won’t bother to tell you about I’ve got the internet working in my room. I googled “Kindle won’t power on” and found a solution. Alleluia!!! My Kindle is now charging.