Frankfurt, Germany

*** Better late than never, right?!

 On Friday May 4th to the 6th, we headed out of Italy to Frankfurt, Germany. There were two major reasons for this trip. The first was that our good friends Justin and Marisa have been living there for years and we've wanted to visit them for quite some time. And second, I've always wanted to check out Germany for many reasons, but also to see where my dad spent years in his childhood as a military brat. My dad actually lived in Frankfurt, so it was very cool to imagine him there at a young age, stealing coins from fountains ("Hey a kid has to get money somehow," he'd say).

We had a VERY early wake up Friday morning, but made it to Frankfurt without a problem. After checking into our hotel we took the recommendation of Marisa and walked down the river towards the center of town to check things out and waste time until Justin and Marisa got off work. We didn't totally luck out with great weather on our trip, but Friday was gorgeous! All along the river are grassy parks and playgrounds. Landon didn't mind stopping to play, at all:

Landon and I heading to town with the skyline in the background (Are you sick of seeing us in the same clothes?? Cause we're sick of wearing the same clothes!):

We walked to the part of town called Dom/Romer. Their churches are called Doms, not too far from the Italian version, Duomo:

It was a cute part of town, definitely big with the tourists:

The fountain in the middle of the square

We had a delicious lunch in the square. Landon was a fan of German goulash:

We also found our store! If you're wondering, it was like a Euro Crate and Barrel. If I had the ability to bring a lot of stuff home with me, I'd probably would have done some damage:

Another suggestion that Marisa gave was to check out Kleinmarkt halle, her favorite indoor market. It was awesome! I loved it and could definitely see myself shopping for fresh foods and produce there. After Italy and Germany, I don't think I'll ever look at American produce the same way, unfortunately:

After our big walk, we rested back at our hotel. Soon it was time to head to Marisa and Justin's for what they told me, would be the best schnitzel of our lives.  As Justin put it, we definitely got "schnitzel-faced."

After a heavy dinner and a long day, we called it a night to rest up for Saturday. We were exhausted!!

Saturday morning, after a yummy pastry breakfast (Euros LOVE their pastries), we met up with Marisa and Justin for our tour of Frankfurt. They started off by showing us the town's only real Holocaust site. It was a Jewish cemetery in the old Jewish ghetto, where the Nazis had gone through and removed all the headstones. If you look in picture you see them all towards the back, still in the cemetery, although, lost from their owners:

The wall surrounding the cemetery held plaques which named victims of the Holocaust who had been from Frankfurt:

You may recognize this one:

After, we headed to the more financial district of Frankfurt. Germany is far more westernized than Italy (especially Naples, in particular). It was almost shocking to see big name stores and...... Starbucks! I'll tell you what, after drinking the little espressos and cappuccinos here, a grande decaf latte at Starbucks felt like chugging a gallon-size drink. A pic of the best tour guides ever, Justin and Marisa:

Outside the Frankfurt stock exchange. Bear, Bull, Butlers:

And what's a trip without stopping by "Occupy Frankfurt." Nate's favorite part of the trip... j/k:

Stopping at another market for some brats. Now, I don't eat sausage or cured meats when I'm pregnant (and rarely when I'm not), but this had to be one of the most satisfying "cheats" ever. I mean, come on, "When in Germany..." or something like that ;)

The last stop of the day was to check out my dad's old apartment on Wolfsgangstasse:

My dad's street. His building is just after the house under construction on the right:

His old place. His family lived on both the first and third floor.... but isn't it an awesome building! I loved it. There was a birthday party happening on the third floor and now the first floor is a law office. Occupants have changed, but my dad tells me it still looks the same :)

Sunday was a rainy day filled with brunch, soccer, more eating, and no picture taking (obviously). In all, I loved our trip to Frankfurt. Germany is a VERY clean, well-kept place. The citizens are rule-followers to the core (so different from the people of Naples) and their transportation system was the most efficient I've seen, making it easy for this prego to get around. All in all, I'd love to check out more of Germany in the future!

Special thanks to Justin and Marisa, aka the best tour guides ever!! We can't wait to hear about your new adventures in Hong Kong!