From Africa To Russia

Head out in the morning on the metro into Frankfurt, once again nicer than expectations, a la Madrid. Whenever a lot of people talk a place down, I am almost always subsequently impressed. The Romerburg is a charming little square, as are the buildings and churches that surround it. A little brass band plays a tune as I walk through. Earlier in the day, I had stopped to grab a sausage (the Europeans often eat on the street standing around tall tables). A little kid rushes by with a pack on his back, and gets a strap caught in a truck door. I have to disentangle him before he is on his way again. It is a humorous little episode. I walk up and see the Eschenheimer tower (cool, but out of place there rising up out of the road), walk down the Zeil and see the shops and touristy stuff. I get another dizzy spell where my head swims and I have to sit down and rest. I have a little cup of beer and some potatoes at a stand and get scammed once again on the euros. Walk back along the river, and then up to the train station, on one particular street the girls come out of doorways, “Want a massage?” Across the river on the metro, then back to the motel to rest and recharge, watch a little World Cup (for a change). Am reading my way through ‘Big Sur’ now – Kerouac was goddamn brilliant. His hunger for life inspires me. Walking back, I pass the ‘shanty town’ again from last night. A kid is pruning the hedge, I ask him about it. He tells me it is actually a vacation spot of sorts, where people come to live simply for a while, plant gardens and relax.

Wake up, pack up, head to the train station, catch the train to Frankfurt (with a transfer at Basel). The fellow selling beer and sandwiches on the train is annoyed when I try to pay him in Swiss francs. No shit sherlock, I don’t want them either, stop giving them to me in the first place and I’ll stop giving them back to you people. When I get to Frankfurt, I take the metro to Niederrad, and then hike it in a bit to the motel. As with all the other stops in Germany, because of the World Cup I was unable to get a hostel here and have booked a motel instead. It is a couple of miles from the city proper, south across the river. My map is a bit faulty, and I have to ask directions a couple of times before I find it. But when I do find it and my room, I find air-conditioning. Blessed cool air. A note on European windows: they are very cool. You can open them normally sideways, or you can turn the handle a ratchet further and just have the top lean down. I rest for a bit, then go out and get some sushi, a bit pricey as usual. I meet a Californian named Vaheed, who is originally from Iran. He joins me at my table. He has been to many unusual countries, Paraguay, Bosnia, here and there. He was mugged by the frogs in Nice, had his nose broken. I tell him about the knife fight. Vaheed is a horny devil, keeps talking about the beautiful broads in Eastern Europe, as well as an ‘underwear party’ he has been to recently. We eat and drink, then back to the hotel he is staying at for a nightcap. Walking back, I insist on trying to prove that my faulty map was actually correct, stubbornly march across some train tracks and get lost. I wander through some sort of European-style shanty town (little wooden shacks surrounded by gardens and swing sets), then climb a fence to get back to the motel.

Wake up early to the sound of the alarm. Actually it doesn't involve much 'waking up', as I have been lying away the whole night in the ninety degree heat listening to the impossibly deafening din of the traffic passing ... [Continue reading this entry]

Wake up, pack up and head for the train to Zurich. Get to station, bathed in sweat (is warm), sit down and get a beer. The waitress is extremely friendly, looks glad to see me. I drink a bit, and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Next morning, get up and go out to explore Munich, baby steps. See the Marienplatz again, walk towards the big gate. There are lions everywhere in Munich, stone lions, of all different colors. I eat some raspberries at a stand, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Day two of sitting around, the room is hot, I am sweating and bored. I am feeling a little better, but perhaps simply because I am not moving. Tomorrow I will venture out into Munich to test my stamina. If ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lay in bed all day, taking my medicine and waiting for improvement. Have no energy, if I get up for five minutes I have to lay back down again. Rained last night, only the second time on the trip. I ... [Continue reading this entry]

But in the morning, I feel a bit better, and head out on the train to Munich. At the station, a nice polite man in a uniform comes over and directs me to the proper counter. The man at the ... [Continue reading this entry]

I wake up feeling worse than the night before, I can barely get out of bed. I lay there until about noon, and then painfully drag myself through a shower and out into the street. I am hurting, but I'll ... [Continue reading this entry]

In the morning, take the boat once again, sit top deck, enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the breeze. Gaze out across the water into the mist. Somewhere out there is Algeria and Libya and the whole mysterious mammoth girth ... [Continue reading this entry]