Blog #104: Frankfurt

Today I was lucky enough to spend the day in Frankfurt with the one and only Sarah Adams. After saying goodbye to Rebecca, we were the only two left together, and even though it took us about an hour and a half to find our train (which we rightfully attribute to culture shock and exhaustion), we had one of the most wonderful days in Frankfurt.

We talked in weird southern accents about 70% of the time for some reason (truly!), and found ourselves pretty funny. We ate pasta and pizza and drank beer and San Pellegrino, and we walked allllll around the city to work it off. When we spotted grass on our after-lunch walk, our immediate reaction was to run and lay in it, which was frankly amazing. I’m being totally honest in saying that was the first time I’ve touched grass in about four months, and it literally almost brought me to tears. I laid in it, danced in it, rolled in it, and smelled it. I’m serious… this was one of the best parts of our day.

Using a paper map we navigated, sans cell phones, finding our way to the main shopping district, the river, and our necessary train stations. (Actually Sarah did most of the map work, but I’d like to think I helped at least a little). We sang music from the Wizard of Oz, took a ton of LifeProof videos (if you know, you know), and, I repeat, laid on the grass in the sunshine. 

Along with this, we had a lot of moments of pure shock. First of all, we couldn’t figure out where all the people were. Bangalore is exploding at the seams, but on some streets in Frankfurt, we were the only souls around. Secondly, we were shocked at the little traffic present, paired by the people waiting patiently for the signal to cross the street when they easily could have just gone and avoided the cars. We were slightly shocked by the price of everything, by the cleanliness, the amount of white people around us, the different type of dress, and most everything in between. The city, at times, can be a lot to take in regardless, but paired with the fact that we just lived in India for four months, we could not wrap our heads around anything it seemed like. Perhaps the worst realization? Nobody head wobbled back at us.

It was a weird day adjusting from an Indian to German lifestyle, but I was happy to have my trusted adventure partner Sarah by my side, because we ended up having a day filled to the brim in the most perfect way.