Yes, I know, I said I would post over the weekend about our Europe trip and here it is Wednesday. I've been a very busy lady. Forgive me!
So, we started our 2 week long trip in Frankfurt and we ended our trip in Frankfurt. Our flight was about 9 hours long...phew!! And with a 16 month old, every minute that passed without tears or fussing was a victory. E did very well on the flight to Frankfurt. She napped, snacked, and nursed mainly. We brought toys and a coloring book for her to play with but she really wasn't interested. She was more interested in waving at the other passengers seated around us.
Once we arrived in Frankfurt since it was a Sunday (though we left on Saturday), we were told by our apartment host that all shops would be closed and we should by food at the airport grocery store, then head to our place.
That was a bit of a task. We had to first get our luggage,
find the grocery store-we asked around, then board our train to downtown Frankfurt, then catch the tram to our flat. We were all exhausted and hungry by the time we got there, as you can see from the picture in the train station. (We used airbnb.com to book our lodging, which was WONDERFUL! We booked entire flats in both locations, but at one point had a last minute changed and shared a flat with other guests, which was no big deal.)
B and I LOVED the food in Germany. During our first visit there we bought food and made meals from the grocery store, ate street food, and had milkkaffe and little tapas at a local cafe. We visited Romer Square our first and second day there and fell in love. We walked over their version of the love bridge, lined with tons of locks. We loved the ease of commuting in Frankfurt. Public transportation could take you anywhere, for just a couple bucks. Everywhere was also very stroller friendly. We can't really recall anywhere in Frankfurt where it was not stroller accessible. We used a combination of my
rebozo purchased on Etsy, our Ergo, and our SUPER light and compact
QuickSmart backpack stroller. (This stroller is small enough to fit on your lap in a taxi, an overhead bin, and can be folded in about 5 seconds flat...no lie!!) We saw families all over when we were in Frankfurt. Even on Sundays, when most shops are closed, families are still walking around watching musicians play, snacking on street food, window shopping (the mall is open but all of the stores are closed, funny huh?), and just socializing. Everyone stays up very late as well, the sun didn't go down until about 9pm in Germany...and 10pm in Paris!!
Here are some pics of the first leg of our trip...Enjoy!!
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| E playing as we wait to board for Germany. |
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| After our 9+hr flight |
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| After finally getting groceries and waiting for the train. |
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| Frankfurt's love bridge. |
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| B and E exhausted. |
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| Eating dinner in our flat. |
After 1 1/2 days in Frankfurt, we headed to Paris for 10 days. We took the DB Bahn bullet train. The DB Bahn (RER) station had this AMAZING food court. Not like any American food court I have ever seen. Everything was freshly made. They had a German, Thai, Japanese, Italian (they made the food in front of you), and Scandinavian restaurant. There were multiple little bakeries and a frozen yogurt shop. They even had a juicing restaurant stocked full of fresh fruits and veggies. All in a food court!...I think that place needed to be called something else. Food court doesn't do it justice. They were also eco-friendly. Their were no plastic utensils, just metal or wooden. And they used recycling bins.
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| We found these all fruit smoothies everywhere. |
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| Eating delicious German food at the RER station. |
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| German food |
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| German food again |
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| More German food...See those potatoes, back left...YUM! |
We were able to book the private family cabin for our ride, no extra charge. It was such a blessing. It's sound proof and gave E plenty of room to run around. It was just us 3 and this great guy we met named Gregor. B and him chatted the WHOLE way to France, about everything from politics, the World Cup, socialism, his French girlfriend, to American vs. German vs. French health care.. He was also nice enough to let us use his phone when we got to Paris to call our host. Thanks Gregor!
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| Our private family cabin on the train. |
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| Au revoir Frankfurt! |
Until next time!
-Anjelica
