Frankfurt,Germany!

Travelling to Europe from Guangzhou is tough. Its a 9 1/2 hrs flight and across the vast expanse of China/Russia and cutting through Northern Europe as Lufthansa's navigation system lets passegers know isn't a very pleasant experience. Cold and old airhostesses! Very German! So was the food! At 5.25 AM , Fraport (Thats what they call Frankfurt Airport!) is cold and dry.Very German again. Why do I get this association that all things German are cold and dry. I just remembered the Fuhrer briefly when I saw the cold airport interiors with the unfriendly looking huge German co-travellers in long wintercoats walking to the numerous passenger bays with some expression of boredom!It must be the winter! Or is it German to be that way!

Anyways...stepped out of Fraport on to the road and was stung by the cold. The leather glove that I used in Manali last year to protect me from the cold wasnt good enough. I ran back in and enquired at the 'enquiry' how to get to the city centre hoping I would get a cold German answer. I was pleasantly surprised, the lady answered in perfect English with a beatiful smile and recommended me to buy an all day ticket via train to anywhere inside Frankfurt and save money instead of buying a ticket each time I travel from any point to any point! I just realised, the western world is different from Asia. In GZ & India I would have been cheated into buying something I didnt want! Went to the platform, and found cold platforms, with a cold 'funtional ' looking train. Boarded in and invited some 'looks' from some Caucasians; was surprised to see many Chinese though. Gotoff the train at Wachtkopf, the city centre. It was 7 .30 a.m and dark like the night. I walked around the city under the street lights, in the cold, drinking up the sights of the city before the first few Frankfurters started their day. A few coffee shops that were open all night were still open. Everthing else was closed. I remembered my hometown in India! 7.30 a.m is the most busiest part of the day there! Thats India! I walked through city streets..

Author - Pallassana Vadassery Vinod Kumar
Email - vinodvadassery@gmail.com