A Taste of Frankfurt

Hola!

I'm going through our pictures, and it is a little overwhelming...with 4 shutterbugs in the family going on vacation, we have multiple cameras clicking, phone cameras with selfies, plus video clips being taken!  We have an embarrassing number of photos.  But well, they bring me joy, and digital photos don't take up much space.  So it can't be ALL bad, right :)

I have posted some Dubai photos on facebook, and I'm doing a little bit of journaling in the blog about each activity.  So there will be Dubai photos in the next post in a few days, or tomorrow, or something.

Kara & Teresa in front of a vineyard

FRANKFURT LAYOVER.  But we also had a neat long layover on the way to Dubai, in Frankfurt, Germany.  We were there for about 6 hours, in the early morning on a Saturday.  Frank arranged a driver for us, to take us for a driving tour around Frankfurt.  We visited vineyards and monasteries, and tried German sausages in an authentic German farmers' market.  My internal body clock wasn't sure which time zone we were in at that point, so my eyes were pretty heavy for most of it!  It was still interesting.

WINE GRAPES. It is winter, so of course the vineyards were not lush and green, and ready to harvest!  But we still saw the huge fields and grids of grapevines, dormant but symmetrical to the sides of roads and beside the monasteries.  The grapes will grow this spring and summer, behind Teresa and Kara in the above picture.

ARCHITECTURE.  There were also pretty cathedrals and unique structures in the downtown areas of even the smaller towns.

TAX COLLECTOR IN A CASTLE. Another bit of local history lies in the castles along the "Main River..."

castle along the river

These waterways were the only way to get goods from point A to point B throughout the country.  So anyone transporting goods had to use that river.  They had to pay taxes at each castle, and there were dozens of castles!  It must have been quite expensive to use the river that way.

corner building that housed this
mineral water "Fountain of Youth"

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.  Germany has many natural springs, bubbling with water loaded with minerals.  This water is supposed to be cleansing and purifying, very good for your body and will cure what ails you!  So very often, even in the middle of small towns, there will be a fountain of natural springwater.  People go there daily to drink, or to fill pots or pitchers with the water so they can drink a little every day.

Our tour guide brought us little cups
to try the water...some said it
tasted like sulphur

FARMERS' MARKET.  It was quite cold, early in the morning and even after the sun came up!  But that did not deter the vendors and those coming to shop at the Farmers' Market.  We tried some German sausage at one booth, bought fruit from another, and stood in line for breakfast pastries to round out the meal.

colorful flowers to buy at the Farmers' Market
(even though it was about 30 degrees outside)

Farmers' Market