It is hot mind you…. Germany is not a land of cool forests and song birds, it is hot and muggy about like Portland during the summer. Anyway I wrestled Godzilla to the MAC terminal at Rhein Main (boy was that shuttle driver a grump!) found a huge line of civilians with little children, all trying to get space available spots on one plane. And everyone had to go through security and to get in the terminal, that meant Godzilla too; I just wanted to check the flights coming in from Qatar!!!!!!!!!!!! I kept hoping I'd see Pat standing around outside, but no, not there……… I'm tired by now, and kept expecting the caption of "Trip to Hell by Hironymous Bosch" to pop up as an explanation for this nightmare.

Upstairs is the USO which is full of children watching cartoons, as well as a cafeteria that no one is in (food must be scary). AND glory be!!!!!!!!!!!!! Computer terminals! I park Godzilla, and the nice USO ladies say I can sign in, so I do, check my email. Pat says he won't be there for at least another day, he is stuck in Doha waiting for a flight! BOOOO!!!!!! I scribbled a confused note for Pat and left…….

Godzilla trundles after me, as to the curb we go. I get some Euros somewhere, out of the ATM as the fee is 3.50 E to exchange my Greenbacks at the exchange counter in the airport. The ATMs were great for getting money. Travelers' checks are totally obsolete…… don't bother with them! After roaming the base for about an hour, I get it through my thick head it's Saturday and there are no shuttles. Somehow I got lucky and caught a private one, and made it back to the airport.

Germany is a civilized country and the rails come right to the airport. You just follow the signs, into the catacombs, and there is an agent who sells me a ticket. EGAD 52 EUROS!!!! This is not going to be the way to go!!!!! Anyway, I have a room reserved in Koln, so I get a ticket going there, it's a air conditioned hour ride through nice countryside. Not too bad.

The train disgorged me into a shopping mall, and I wander out of it….. dragging Godzilla. I come out………… and my eyes travel up in SHOCK the most incredible building I've ever had my soul assaulted by. This is the Dom. I think it's actually the Notre Dame cathedral (Dom in German) but of course, a smaller one than the one in Paris. And older and very very Gothic, rococo, gargoyles, steeples… what a by-God shock to come upon that when you are not expecting it. I came back the next day and was able to get inside (I think they were allowing worship, it was Sunday) it was really fabulous. After a while all the Gothic churches started looking alike, but I will never forget the impact of seeing this one for the first time.

Where was my room?????? The booking agent lied it was NOT close to the rail station, it turned out to be a 20 min walk to the South, and I pulled Godzilla (following a very weird map) down the cobbled middle of a crowded mall, full of Germans on holiday, the mall full of luxury item shops (I saw Levis for 130 Euros and up!) I passed a pair of women, who looked at me funny, one said something in German which ended in "vher's yor husband?" hehe I caught that much. I must have looked awful. Found my hotel, didn't even ask about the rate, staggered to my room, and COLLAPSED.

I managed to stagger out for food eventually, found beer and nibblings at the gas station near the hotel. I slept until I heard the roll of dark thunder, got up, the wind was cool, the Dom I could see out my window, and it was beautiful, lit up in the night. The lightening bolts split the sky over head……… what a wonderful sight to awake to! Am I really here or is it a dream?

Once I came to, I told the folks at the desk I needed the room for another night, and went out to explore. (I was looking for a grocery store, never found one, but I got some dips and chips at the gas station, and found a Burger King, so I got by). I found the Rhine river was a stone throw from the hotel, and a nice cobbled walkway ran along side it (people were biking on it!) so that was nice, strolling along the Rhine. Things were far too expensive to buy though, and it was Sunday morning so much was not open. One place I did find open, at 9 am, was a dark Bistro full of very hep looking youngsters, apparently had been going all night. An adult toy store was right next to it and the window display was quite shocking. Saw a gang of gypsies under an old bridge. Gypsies really weren't much of a problem, they mostly lurked at the church doors, and otherwise made themselves scarce. I don't think the police let them roost around much anymore.

The rates were high, and I kept hoping Pat would rescue me and come knocking on the door; then I found a Internet café (reasonable too, 1 E for 20 min) Pat mournfully tells me via email that his flight is delayed again. I went back to the room and read a book! (The Loop very good actually). I needed the rest, it was ok. But the rate was not good, and my anxiety jumped right through the roof wondering what to do. Another night with thunder-lightening, a spectacular sky line and people roaming the streets at all hours! Early the next morning I again check the email, and Pat is going to be another day getting there!

I dashed back to the room, packed Godzilla up, and checked out. This time I knew the city better, and got back to the rail station by 11 am. It was crowded, took me quite a while in the heat to get another ticket, and get on the rail, BACK to Frankfort. The USO had given me a good tip on a cheap room in the area, so once I got to the airport again via rail, I emailed Pat the latest change in rooms from the airport USO, found a taxi, bribed him hugely and drove to the Walldorf Hotel, for a room about half the price of the one in Koln. After I read all the plaintive emails, it looks like Pat won't get there until the morning of the 11th, and this is only the 9th!!!! POOOooP!!!

The Hotel Walldorf is run by a nice Asian lady, whom I suspect was actually Korean, possibly Chinese. This would prove out in the next week when Asian business men showed up for a workshop, and were speaking GERMAN. I had all sorts of weird thoughts go through my head, like the North Koreans ganging up with the Germans for nefarious purposes. Some were just tourist tho, complete with tour buses parked in back, and they were noisy going out mornings! The good news is breakfast included Yaka soba, so I thought I had died and gone to Himmel. The rates were about half the NH hotel in Koln where I had been, so I didn't gripe.