John Wise – Page 221 – Dreams, Moments, Travels

Frankfurt To Bad Soden

April 10, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

The day starts like our previous ones, up early with a cold gray sky peeking through the windows; when does winter end here? This will be the second time we’ve used our rather expensive rental car, although it was the cheapest we could find. A bit of warning to travelers to Europe: be sure you bring proof of international insurance coverage, add it to your policy, or just take the trains because it will cost you about $600 when you show up to pick up the car. As has been our routine, we go to see Jutta, but we’ll only visit once this day as we have a dinner date later in the day.

Having been away for so long, we have lost our ability to judge distances, and our memories tell us that Bad Soden is quite far away. Turns out that it’s really close. So close, in fact, that we arrive in town more than an hour early. No problem for us, we’ll just take a tour of the city center. Driving around to look for a starting point, we pass the old Badehaus (Bath House), and Caroline nearly yells for me to stop. Great, there’s a parking place right here in front of the park. The baths themselves appear to be gone, having been replaced with galleries. I say apparently because that half of the building is undergoing renovation, the other side is a library now. No matter, the grounds and buildings are beautiful. Not so nice is a fountain that offers some of the famous waters noted for their life-affirming qualities. Maybe others have a taste for heavily sulfured water, but my brain was having nothing to do with this idea of swallowing my small handful. Instead, instinct kicked in, forcing my mouth to disgorge the fetid-smelling, wretched-tasting stuff. I required a concerted effort to describe this without relying on vulgarities.

As we walked around, we noticed a trail going up a hillside, hoping for a view overlooking the town or even Frankfurt in the distance; we started the short hike upwards. At the top, there is an old brick tower, not of much purpose other than as a kind of monument, but to what we couldn’t figure out. We are also surrounded by trees, so there is no view to be had. Back down the hill, we passed the Badehaus on our way to the downtown area.

We never made it downtown. On the way, Caroline spots a sign pointing to a small castle. Turns out not to be much of a castle at all, but more a large home, though not without bragging rights. A sign on the building lets us know that König Wilhelm I. Von Württenberg slept here in 1852; a König is a King. Not very impressed, as we’ve both seen real castles, we head back across the park. Along the way, nearly fully surrounded by trees, I spot a small monument with a soldier on top that notes the men who died during World War I and II who had come from Bad Soden. Having spent enough time wandering about, it was time to make our date.

On the way into town, we passed the street Helga lives on, and within just a few minutes, we’re back at that corner and parking the car. Caroline’s godmother lives on the fifth floor in a building without an elevator, and she’s in her early 70’s. I was surprised how, after the first 20 minutes the conversation and rapport started to work, and the time between visits started being erased. Helga is a fiercely independent, very interesting, strong-minded woman. Back when Caroline was 16 she had told her godmother how she never wanted to be a workaholic like Helga. Almost 30 years later Caroline can easily consider this woman as one of the single greatest influences on her own life. Helga never married, but that wasn’t due to a lack of interest in this successful woman, she was busy with her career and seeing the world, which she is currently still actively doing. Our meeting had to be sooner than later, as this weekend she is heading to Spain for a week away from it all, and then in July, she’s off to Rome. Over a fantastic dinner of roast duck breast with mixed veggies and potatoes, we toasted our reunion and talked until it was close to midnight. During the night, we learned much about Helga we didn’t know, such as her 40th birthday, where she rented an entire riverboat, invited 150 of her closest friends, hired a band, and cruised the Main River as she danced into the beginnings of her 40s. With recommendations of which art exhibits to pay attention to during our visit to Frankfurt and her request that we try and meet another time before we return to the States, we wished each other good night. Walking down the five flights of stairs, Caroline and I were all smiles as we felt that Helga could still be a great role model and mentor to not only her goddaughter but to me, too.

No Rest For The Determined

April 9, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Jutta is on the move from hospital to rehabilitation – yeah. We left early to meet her at the hospital before she was transferred but missed her by minutes. Knowing she’d need time to get situated, Caroline and I headed over to Jutta’s apartment so Caroline could make some phone calls. First up, she called her father, who lives in Karlsruhe. Still a busy man, we managed to get a Thursday afternoon date with him. Next up was Caroline’s godmother, Helga. It took a while to get a hold of this sprightly 70-something-year-old woman; her line was busy for some time. Once on the phone, she, too has a full schedule, as she’ll be leaving for Spain shortly. Wednesday evening would work and so tomorrow night we are off to Bad Soden. While Caroline was on the phone, I took some photos of Jutta’s apartment as reminders for us and for a view of what an “average” German apartment looks like.

We had to take a series of trains to reach Jutta’s new home away from home. Her new place is just around the corner from the Blood Donors Service where she worked most of her life. The room she’s in is quite large, and she’s happily surprised at how nice the facility is. She’s especially happy that she’s in Frankfurt instead of a rehabilitation center somewhere outside the city she’s so comfortable in. We don’t get to stay long this afternoon as Caroline feels she is falling behind in her work obligations; plus, we are super tired after only four hours of sleep the night before and six last night. So it’s back onto the trains for the ride out to Stephanie and Klaus’s. Once at their place, Caroline squeaks through a couple of hours of work before needing a nap. An hour later, she’s back to work. A short pause for some Thai food delivered by a local restaurant, and the grindstone calls. Unsympathetically, I have to call it a night at 10:30; she’s right after me at 11:15.

Angel Hearts

April 8, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Oh my, this morning came on fast. Everyone was awake by 5:00 a.m., as Katharina had to be at school by 5:30 for a 6:00 departure for the 12 to 14-hour drive across Germany and France before getting on a ferry for the trip between Calais and Dover across the North Sea. Later today, she’ll be settling in with her host family in Eastbourne in the south of England.

Spent the better part of the day with family, the first half with Jutta. Stephanie was able to join us today, as Mondays are her day to work for family needs. First up, though, we had to go to Jutta’s apartment to collect some clean clothes and pick up her laundry that needed washing. The reason for the fresh change is that Jutta is moving to a rehabilitation facility tomorrow morning. But before Caroline and I joined Stephanie for chores, we went over to Bergerstrasse to a small meat market (Metzgerei Zeiss) where, a couple of days prior, I had discovered the tasty joy of the Schweinebauch Brot (pork belly sandwich) and I needed another. Back at the apartment, we sorted some things we were considering bringing back to the States with us and then helped Stephanie fill Jutta’s bags. When the three of us finally arrived at the hospital, one could see that Jutta’s smile was reaching new heights of happiness. It has been more than 18 years since Jutta has seen her two girls together, and this is the first photo of the three of them together since her daughters were little girls.

After spending some hours with my mother-in-law, it was time to go visit Stephanie’s mother-in-law. Christa is Stephanie’s husband, Klaus’s mother; she is in hospice. Christa has heard much about Caroline and me from Jutta due to all of her adventures with us in the United States and wanted to meet us. In celebration of being in hospice, Christa has thrown away caution and embraced some old bad habits that are making this life transition a little easier, so we brought cigarettes. A small bottle of wine was sitting by the door to her balcony. I loved this woman’s smile and her attitude that lets her have a bit of smoke and drink, followed by a shot of oxygen. We didn’t get to spend much time with Christa, but I’m happy to have had to opportunity to meet my brother-in-law’s mother.

After this visit, it was back to Bürger Hospital to see Jutta once more. By dinner time, we asked for a restaurant recommendation, and Jutta suggested Zum Gemalten Haus – The Painted House. We drove over to Sachsenhausen to find the place closed on Mondays; bummer. Just a few doors down was another restaurant, and it was offering Apfelwein (Apple Wine). This is usually a good sign that the place will be serving traditional German fare. We checked out the menu that, like all German restaurants, is posted outside and thought the menu looked appealing enough that we decided on eating at Adolf Wagner’s seemed like it would be a good choice. Sure enough, it was. Time to get back to Stephanie’s place to let Caroline try and get some work done before going to sleep far too late.

Another Day In Germany

April 7, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Meet Katharina Engelhardt, our niece. Last night was our first time meeting her face-to-face; she wasn’t here when we arrived, as Klaus and Katharina had been in Fulda for the past week, so she could go horseback riding. Katharina is in love with horses, seriously in love. Stephanie had stayed back to be able to deal with Jutta being in the hospital, her mother-in-law is in hospice, and our arrival. Katharina is now 12, with a little over a month until she reaches her teens. Getting this photo was no easy task; the girl is shy. Hopefully, we’ll have more time getting to know her after she returns from her week-long trip to England.

While family Engelhardt gets ready for Katharina’s trip and spends some time together today, Caroline and I head out to visit Jutta. With deep blue skies and the day warming quickly, it starts to feel like springtime. We even see some buds sprouting on trees and bushes. As is typical in Germany, we are taking a walk to fetch the car. It’s not uncommon to have to park relatively far away; available parking is at a premium here, and the later one hunts for a spot, the further away they’ll be.

We spent a good part of the morning into the afternoon with Jutta, with the highlight being that Jutta was getting around so well that we took her for a treat. While Jutta has made steady progress going from walking to her room door to down the hall and two days ago took her first steps on stairs, we thought she might be doing well enough to take her up two floors to the cafeteria. On the 8th floor of the hospital, we are offered a great, nearly 180-degree view of Frankfurt, and with the weather cooperating, the view is spectacular. But the best view is right here at our table, Jutta getting around and the three of us sharing a slice of warm apple strudel with ice cream on a Sunday. In some ways, it feels like we were never away from Germany.

Official frog crossing sign announcing that every year between February 14 and March 31 this path through the forest becomes an amphibian highway. We are asked to respect the frog’s walk in the woods, just as they respect ours the rest of the year. We ended up out here in the forest after driving randomly through Frankfurt with the idea of looking around for other familiar sights.

The road we wandered down is a narrow one that connects the town of Neu-Isenberg with Frankfurt. The last time I was on this stretch was about 26 years ago, after my daughter Jessica was born. Her mom and I took our first apartment in Neu-Isenberg, and this was how we would travel to Frankfurt. Caroline’s last time here was ten years before that when she went to Oberschweinstiege. This 130-year-old restaurant sits on the edge of the Jacobi pond in the Frankfurt City Forest. Caroline ate with her grandfather Christian Engelhardt some Saturday or Sunday afternoon when she was just ten years old. We make a note to return here before going back to America.

This is Henninger Turm, an old tower that will start to be torn down tomorrow. It’s a landmark for the Henninger beer maker that has been an icon on the Frankfurt skyline for decades. Sadly it is too old and would be too expensive to renovate, so down it will come. The tower is on the edge of Sachsenhausen, soon to be “was” there.

Klaus made us a special dinner tonight, homemade Grüne Sosse. Somehow, Katharina doesn’t like this Frankfurt tradition and will instead simply have a couple of eggs for dinner. Lucky for us, that means there is more for Steph, Caroline, Klaus, and me. While I now have first-hand knowledge about making Grüne Sosse, the ingredients are nearly impossible to come by in the States. Our stay with the Engelhardt family is turning out to be a great one; they have made their home ours for our stay.

Pilgrimage To Pfaffenhofen and The Temple of Yarn

April 6, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Got an early start today as we have a long drive ahead of us – nearly to Munich. The estimated autobahn driving time is 3.5 hours, maybe if I drive really fast, we can get there in under three. On the day we landed, I was quite happy to be hitting a quick 100mph on a 2-lane highway. Now, out here on one of the fastest roads in the world, the A3 autobahn, I’m struggling to get past 120mph. This car is just too underpowered; I’ve got BMWs passing me at what must be between 180 and 200mph. They roar by after coming up blindingly fast. This little VW feels like an ancient putt-putt that scoots along at a pedestrian pace. Instead of flying the entire distance to our destination of Pfaffenhofen, we detour through Ingolstadt to a small village just north of where we’re going. Any ideas what it was that might have brought us here?

There is one downside to speeding down the autobahn, and that is that it is like flying. In the clouds at 35,000 feet above the earth, you see little but vast areas of nearly nondescript land, sky, and clouds. There is a similarity to that when down here on an autobahn, villages lie in the distance but are quickly out of sight, not that you can look at anything when such concentration is required to maneuver in traffic where some people are driving at 80 mph and on occasion there are those who are gliding just above the surface at over 240mph. So when I get the opportunity to leave the race track, it’s nice to slow down to check out the local area. Most of what is here between Ingolstadt and Pfaffenhofen is farmland, with many fields dedicated to growing hops. We are, after all, in Bavaria; beer plays a big part in life down here.

Schnecke und Maus – Snail and Mouse. These are the nicknames given to Caroline and Stephanie by Jutta; they also happen to be two of the creatures made of yarn on display at Wollmeise Yarn Store in Pfaffenhofen, Germany. This store is a Mecca for Fiber Junkies. Wollmeise is famous worldwide. To be here, one has reached the Holy Temple of Fiber. I think I used all the superlatives I can find for the moment.

While the women are drooling over yarn and ‘colorways,’ I’m in need of the restroom. You must know that yarn stores are primarily women’s places, a man-free zone for the most part. So, to find a restroom covered in graffiti, you know you are somewhere very different. From all over the world, visitors to Wollmeise have left their mark high and low and side-to-side in this small uni-sex bathroom. I must have spent 10 minutes in here reading where people have come from and how much this place means to them. Some of them have seemingly taken mortgages out to afford to leave with pounds of this beautifully dyed wool. As I finally emerge from the ‘klo,’ Caroline and her sister are still working on choosing their first skeins. It will be two hours before their shopping bags weigh enough that they start to feel satisfied. I even chose some yarn for myself, Caroline will be making me a new hat and a pair of socks with my choice.

That’s right, it’s a bag full of Wollmeise yarn. Ask someone who knows this stuff, and they’ll tell you that Caroline has scored the equivalent of a box of treasure. Looks like we’ve got an early start to needing to buy an extra suitcase for the trip home.

We spent the majority of the day on this excursion. By the time we got back home, Klaus and Katharina were back from their horseback riding trip in Fulda, Germany. We won’t get to spend much time with Katharina yet, as she’s going to South England on Monday for a week-long trip as part of her studies. For as tired as everyone was, we all went to sleep too late, others even later than that.

Frankfurters

April 5, 2013 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

It’s colder today than yesterday so it’s a good thing I brought my handmade psychedelic wool beany and multi-color photographers gloves Caroline made me! With almost everyone else wearing the drab grays and blacks of a European winter, I’m walking around looking like Mr. Lollipop Head. I do believe I have made my fashion statement out here by the German stock market as I gleefully welcome the onset of spring – which is yet to arrive. From there, we light the way over to the Alte Oper, the old opera house. Only the shell remained after World War II, and while Caroline was growing up, she got to visit this historic opera house after renovations came to a conclusion. After its grand reopening, Caroline had the opportunity to perform in the Mozart Hall of the Opera while she was in the choir. Later, she watched Itzhak Perlman conduct, and, following that caught Madness, Ultravox, and a few others over the years.

From Alta Oper, we walked through Taunus Anlage, a large park in the downtown Frankfurt area, on our way to the Hauptbahnhof. As we strolled under the new highrises under construction, we came upon a sight neither of us thought we’d ever see again: the old-style telephone booth that used to dot the city.

While much of Frankfurt feels smaller to me today than it did two decades ago, the Hauptbahnhof, or main train station, seems much larger. Over 20 main tracks enter the main building; more are underground. This icon was built in 1888 and today serves about 350,000 people a day, making it the third busiest train station on Earth, behind two stations in Japan. While this place sees its share of junkies and homeless people, they are barely seen by most of the throngs of people who are pouring through here. Across the street is Kaiserstrasse and the red light district, but there are also many nice boutiques, restaurants, and even a Little India residing in a side passage.

As we reminisce and talk about Caroline’s job across the street, no, not in the red light district, she worked as a sales clerk at a computer store that focused on the Commodore line called GTI; we dipped into a rather large magazine shop, a really large magazine shop. What struck us the most was the rack that offered scientific magazines; they probably feature more scientific publications than the average American bookstore has, featuring magazines on guns, hunting, and muscle building combined! We’re talking serious geekdom on this shelf. We leave impressed, if not a little sad too, that typically, we only find two to five science publications on offer, and in U.S. airports, we are lucky if we see one.

Back down in the underground, we once again board the U5 for our short ride to the National Library stop on the line where we walk around the corner to the hospital. Between the cleaning of her room, physical therapy, and lunch, we didn’t have much time to visit before we headed out to get our own lunch and visit Jutta’s apartment to take care of a few things. On the way to Saalburgstrasse, we stopped at a small shop to share a Döner Kebab; think of it as a gyros sandwich to make it easy on yourself. Sadly, our reunification with this Turkish staple was only mediocre, we’ll have to find better.

Walking into Jutta’s apartment was like walking into a museum. Books from the late 1700s to drawings and sculptures from her two daughters when they were in grade school, to the artifacts and souvenirs she has collected on the many trips to the U.S. she has made since 1997 when we invited her over the first time for a short two week holiday that brought her up the coast of California and over to the Grand Canyon. Jutta’s life is on display in every corner, but it’s a bit sad and cold in here without her presence. We washed the dishes and straightened up what we could, as there were a few things left undone due to her fall. With things in order and our own fill of nostalgia starting to overwhelm us, it was time to get back on Burgerstrasse to catch another train for a return visit with Jutta.

After one more visit to see Jutta in the hospital and following her dinner, we are again at Konstablerwache before heading over to Hauptwache for the train ride back to Stephanie and Klaus’s. Instead of taking the train all the way through, we left the underground to walk up Zeil again. Good thing we did, as it gave us this perfect moment to grab a photo of two Frankfurters in one amazing photo while on our walk.