Frankfurt.

Frankfurt was the first stop on our 9 day vacation. To be honest, Frankfurt is a bit too Metropolitan for me. I don't prefer it over Prague or Krakow or any of those more preserved cities, but unfortunately, the majority of Frankfurt was blown to smithereens during WWII. All of their Old Town is rebuilt except for this one building:

The one and only original building left in Frankfurt's Old Town.

Regardless of the lack of atmosphere, we still had a grand ol' time in Frankfurt. We ate at one of my favourite European restaurants called Vapiano. The pizza pasta & salad bar that I love so much. I had Carbonara pasta which was made to exquisite taste :) Very creamy, cheesy and Bacon-y. 

After lunch, Saffron, Katie & I went back to the hostel to shower and nap. We had left on our flight that morning at 3AM to head to the airport. I didn't sleep a wink that night. I ended up staying up all night with Saffron talking in our kitchen. So a nap was much needed. After we napped, we went out to the Old Town square. 

Their Old Town buildings are very charming. They remind me of what I might see if I were to be sucked into the "Beauty & the Beast" cartoon :) Saffron & I climbed up to the DOM cathedral to check out the view. 

It was quite misty, so it looked really magical from up there. My camera doesn't take very nice photos at dusk but it sure was beautiful. 

We found a fun little jazz band performing for these people on a boat cruise, and the band was playing the King Louie jam from The Jungle Book. It was so fun! 

Before we headed back, we stopped and listened to this street performer in the square. He had a piano that can fold up into a suitcase that he carries around. It was so interesting. The night was misty and cold and he was filling up the square with this soft, beautiful piano music. I wish I could explain it to you. He played "River flows in you" which really, is like the most beautiful song ever written. It was so magical, that I just sobbed right there listening to him. 

We headed back to the hostel and got a free pasta dinner! Free food is always a plus at a hostel!

The next morning we also got a free breakfast, and I was able to make a grilled cheese on their panini press. Boy, do I miss Grilled Cheeses. We weren't sure what we would do with our second day in Frankfurt since we already felt like we had seen everything on the first day. And also, with the time change, it was now getting dark at 4:30 PM. We decided to join this free alternative walking tour. I learned a lot of interesting things on this walking tour. Apparently during WWII, American soldiers couldn't afford to pay prostitutes, so they would offer them tobacco and gum. They didn't have tobacco or gum in Germany until then! Also, we got to see one of the most popular Brothels in Frankfurt. Outside, obviously. This brothel brings in 5 Million dollars per year. So crazy! It was such a strange feeling seeing how all of that is legal there. And also, drugs are legal. We saw people shooting up Heroin in the street right before our eyes. They even have these places called "Safe Consumer Houses" that are quite a new thing in Frankfurt. It is a place where drug users can go to get fresh, clean needles to shoot up their Heroin. It is their way of trying to keep people from getting AIDS by using dirty needles. It's just so nuts to me!! They also offer them therapy and rehabilitation if they'd like it. In a weird way, I think it's almost a good idea. I mean, if you can't stop people from using drugs, at least offer to help them keep it clean, I guess.
Our tour guide showed us a lot of cool things. He then offered to show us somewhere to eat after the tour. We found a place in the square and ended up joining a Canadian couple from the tour. They were so hilarious and lovely and they were on their honeymoon. It was a really great dinner and I just really loved the Canadian couple!

The Frankfurt marathon was in town!

There were 7 or 8 Spider mans hiding around the city.

If you'd like to see my little video I made of Frankfurt, go here.

Next stop, Prague!