June 2005 · Middle East Trip
David & Noel Coory's Journey to Frankfurt Germany
A travel diary documenting the first leg of an epic Middle East
adventure — Egypt to Frankfurt Germany
First Look
Overall Impressions of Frankfurt Germany
- Quiet reserved people.
- Very clean city.
- Orderly, law abiding people.
- Clean modern cars.
- Huge railway station, 34 lines.
- Local men mostly tallish and sandy haired.
- Friendly helpful German women (Fraulein's).
- Food displays exceptionally attractive.
- Shop window displays of a high standard.
- Expensive, the NZ dollar's worth only half a Euro.
A FINAL MORNING IN FRANKFURT
Reflections Before The Flight To Hong Kong
I didn’t sleep well last night. Kept waking up due to a hard pillow. Noel seems to have slept OK. Fortunately we are only staying one night in this room (we fly out later this afternoon to Hong Kong). The bathroom has no ventilation at all and smells horrible, like an old sewer drain. It even smells like that on the footpath outside the hotel.
Looking back on our hotel rooms, the most satisfying room we had was the one in Becharre, Lebanon. The Singapore one was quite nice too, but that was an upgrade from a previously booked hotel and cost us NZ$70 more for the night.
It‘s probably worth paying a little bit more for better quality hotels in the future. There is a wide selection of food for breakfast. I have a delicate, flavoured pink yogurt.
“It‘s probably worth paying a little bit more for better quality hotels in the future.”
EXPLORING DOWNTOWN FRANKFURT
A City Of Order, Cleanliness And Culture
We plan to spend the whole morning, from about 8.30 am, walking the streets and downtown of Frankfurt. The day is clear and sunny with a gentle breeze. Very comfortable to start with, but gets a little warm by mid-morning
As we walk we are again impressed with this orderly, planned city. There are cycle tracks on the sides of the main roads and tram lines down the middle. There is also an underground rail system. All the streets are spotlessly clean.
The local people seem happy enough but rather reserved. Noel again blends in perfectly with many German men his age who have his straight, sandy coloured hair. Many of the people running the small stores in this city however are olive skinned, Mediterranean types.
Another German Fraulein comes to our aide when she sees us studying our map. She is the third women to offer her help since landing in Germany.
What perhaps impresses us most are the beautiful food displays in the shop windows. Just about every conceivable variety of food is beautifully presented. Look at the way the fish is laid out in the picture below. There are endless varieties of meat available. And breads galore
Many of the buildings look sleek and modern, with a lot of reflective glass. Quite a few bicycles around. This one here appears to have all the options. We see a currency conversion board outside a bank and notice that they spelt New Zealand, ‘Neuseeland’. Our NZ dollar is only worth half a euro.
In the centre of the city there are traffic-free malls that were obviously once roads. Very pleasant in the summer. We are surprised to come across a 1 euro shop. It is exactly along the lines of our $2 shops.
“As we walk we are again impressed with this orderly, planned city.”
GERMAN CRAFTSMANSHIP
Quality, Elegance And Attention To Detail
Noel wants to have a look in a furniture shop. We are pleased we did, the furniture is just beautiful, very elegant indeed and finely finished. Look at the chairs below. The finish is perfect everywhere you see. No flat or plain finish on the backs. The tables are beautiful also.
This fine oak cabinet below was priced at €1496 euros, about $3000 NZ dollars. There are also some elegant old buildings I think this one is the courthouse.
Typical of German cleanliness is this church steeple which is being renovated. They have covered the entire top part with a sacking material to keep the renovation dust and debris inside.
“The furniture is just beautiful, very elegant indeed and finely finished.”
ALONG THE RIVER MAIN
Barges, Bridges And River Life
We also walk along the well developed banks of the River Main. We see freight barges continually going up and down the river, also young people in rowing skiffs. There is a bridge about every half kilometre across this river
The water of the river is a bit discoloured. It appears that few countries have clean, clear rivers like New Zealand.
“We see freight barges continually going up and down the river, also young people in rowing skiffs.”
FRANKFURT AIRPORT
A Grand Farewell To Germany
We make our way back to the hotel about mid-day, pack our bags and head down to the railway station. At the station we have something to eat. We also come across this highly elaborate shoe shine machine (see photo below). It strikes me as massive overkill, especially compared to your average shoe shine boy in Egypt with just a plastic bag containing a brush and a bottle of ‘creama’. But it is certainly eye catching.
We have a little difficulty finding the right train to take us out to the airport. This is because there are twice as many platforms than we first realised. There is another whole under ground level to the railway station below us. We actually count 34 different platforms and railway lines leading out of the station. Incredible, even for a city of 4 million people.
We finally get to the airport. Frankfurt Airport is also on a large scale. The terminal building covers probably a whole square kilometre. Although the Cairo, Egypt airport exterior ground area would be clearly the biggest we have ever come across. No doubt because desert land is so cheap.
While waiting at the airport, we see an unusually large number of very tall, fair headed German men, all around the 6ft 5” mark. This is taller than Noel’s son Andrew, who is 6ft 3”. Many of the men are wearing suits. We see one of Schumacher’s racing cars on display at the airport. Quite a colourful display in the cockpit.
While waiting at the airport, we see an unusually large number of very tall, fair headed German men, all around the 6ft 5” mark. This is taller than Noel’s son Andrew, who is 6ft 3”. Many of the men are wearing suits. We see one of Schumacher’s racing cars on display at the airport. Quite a colourful display in the cockpit. An impressive looking Range Rover is also on display at the airport.
“We actually count 34 different platforms and railway lines leading out of the station. Incredible, even for a city of 4 million people.”
FLYING TO HONG KONG
An Overnight Journey Across Asia
Our flight to Hong Kong is a long one, 10 hours, 10 minutes and is an ‘over-nighter.’ In other words we sleep on the plane overnight. The plane is a four engine jumbo jet.
The last jumbo jet we were on was very noisy, but as we take off, this one seems much quieter. Probably because we are sitting in the middle, away from the windows. The seats are 3 – 4 – 3 across. It is a packed plane. Lots of Chinese onboard. As usual we have another good German meal. Lufthansa do this quite well.
“The plane is a four engine jumbo jet.”
David & Noel Coory · Middle East Trip
June 2005 · Tauranga, New Zealand to Singapore and beyond Redesigned with care · Original travel diary preserved