Frankfurt, Germany

I have stayed in the city of Frankfurt for the past two days and have finally gotten over the jet-lag. I flew through the night and got to the airport around noon, German time. Although the rest of my first day here was rough because of how tired I was, we made the best of it!

When my family and I checked into our hotel, we realized that we were a little farther outside the city center than we thought we were, but we ended up finding dinner at a great authentic German restaurant called Sachsenhauser Warte, pictured below. 

I think it looks like Rapunzel's tower. It is also a guest house. 

Inside, there were beautiful flowers and places to sit for dinner or drinks. We tried a local cider-like drink called apfelwein (like "apple wine"). When the waitress brought it to us, she brought a pitcher for us to share as well as a huge glass bottle of seltzer water. She had to explain to us that we fill our glasses for the most part with the apfelwein in the pitcher, and then dilute it a bit with the seltzer. Although it was not very sweet (like other ciders I have had), I enjoyed it and I really liked trying something local. 

During our second day in the city, we decided to visit the Botanical Gardens, which were about a 15 minute bus ride away from center city. Although it cost about 7 euros per person to go into the Conservatory, the outdoor gardens were free. 

They were mostly made up of wildflowers, and there was also a huge pond with loud frogs. 

I have no idea what this sign says.

We traveled by subway back into the center city and explored on foot. The Cathedral was super tall and towered over the entire city.

We stopped for lunch along the Main, which is one of two rivers that run through Frankfurt. The other is the Rhine. People have started putting love locks on the bridge that we crossed, and I have found that this now happens with just about any old bridge in Europe. The original love lock bridge is in Paris and it is a complete tourist trap. 

Anyways, this bridge had a lot of locks and even more pigeons, and it also offered a great view of the river, which was very active. We saw all kinds of boats and barges along the river and there are also many museums nearby.   

My experience in Germany so far has been very different from other trips to Europe, especially because of the langauge barrier. I speak both English and Spanish, and although English is very widely spoken in just about any country, I have noticed that I have had a harder time here than in places like Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. The languages in these countries at least have similar roots and sounds as Spanish, which always make getting around easier. 

Having absolutely no background in the language makes even ordering at a restaurant a lot more difficult. 

At least we have the basics down: Hallo, Nein, Bitte, and Danka.

Tomorrow we will be making our way to Berlin! 

Taking in Toronto, Canada

My first stop on this post-grad adventure lays just a three hour drive away from my hometown in New York. Tomorrow, we will flying out of Toronto to head to Frankfurt, Germany, so we decided to add a few days in Toronto to our trip. I have not visited the city since I was little, so it was great to get to know it again. 

Since it is summer, naturally, I packed summery clothes for our trip... Although I did bring a cardigan, a light jacket, a light sweater, and a rain jacket with me (I still consider this "packing light"), these were not enough to repel the classic Canadian cold... especially the winds of the streets of Toronto. We stopped by the Eaton Centre, pictured above, to see if I could find a heavier sweater and perhaps a scarf. 

Although we did not find anything affordable there, it was nice to window shop. I also really loved the art installation of Canadian Geese.

Later on, we visited Loblaws, a huge grocery store chain, which had a clothing store called Joe Fresh. There I found both a warm, comfy sweatshirt and a scarf for great prices!

We have found some really great breakfasty places on our short stay in Toronto. Pictured above is a glorious mixed berry and goat cheese waffle that I had at the Pickle Barrel, on Yonge Street, just before we went to see the play, Once. Although it was huge, I ate the whole thing, as well as all of the fruit that came with it. I recommend stopping by, and I also recommend seeing a play while in the city, since it is full of great theatres. It reminded me a lot of London. 

Just this afternoon, we went to Figs for lunch (http://www.figsbreakfastlunch.com/) and I had a delicious Greek omelet. I think I have turned into Ron Swanson with all the breakfast foods I have had in these few short days. 

(photo courtesy of https://cammimola.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/tumblr_ng9zpxqwan1qz5q5oo2_500.jpg)

Another stop that we made was to the Aga Khan Museum, (http://www.agakhanmuseum.org) which houses art and artifacts from the Middle East. It opened relatively recently, and they are currently doing the landscaping. 

One of our last stops in Toronto was the St. Lawrence Market, pictured below! At the market, you can find local foods such as meat, fish, bread, legumes by the pound, ethnic foods (like pierogis) and lots of olives and Mediterranean bars. There was so much to see. If I lived in Toronto, I would definitely frequent this market, though the prices are a little higher than regular grocery stores. 

That is about it for my stay in Toronto... but I have really enjoyed the feel of the city. It has a lot of different little areas, which I would have loved to explore more, and it was almost like a taste of Europe in North America! I really cannot wait to come back!

Next stop, Frankfurt!

Do you know of any other places that are worth visiting in Frankfurt?