Frankfurt Diary---- Day 5---- 22^nd Jun 2012

It’s 7.10 PM as I sit down to write this blog. There is bright sunshine outside. The Euro Cup match between Germany and Greece is about to start at 8.45 PM. There is excitement in the air and a sense of anticipation.

One of my German colleagues presented a bottle of Grauer Burgunder--- a 2009 vintage white wine to my boss and he very kindly handed it over to me before leaving for Chennai today.So I’ve got this for company along with some potato chips and some tapioca chips that I bought at the local grocery store as I’m writing this blog.

My colleague Ramesh is still here with me. As usual, after breakfast----- fruits and cornflakes---- God, I’m sick of fruits---- I think I’m going to stay off them for a month when I get back to India----we took the Crane 8.30 AM bus to Messe Frankfurt.I met a friend of mine whom I’ve know for over 35 years.We spent some time together and then I discussed some business with my German and USA colleagues who were manning the Crane pavilion. At 12 Noon, we decided to call it a day. I b ought some knick-knacks for Madhura and Greeshma and then we decided to take a taxi to Frankfurt Haupt Bahnhof ( Main Railway Station). We got off there and wandered around in Kaiserstrasse which is a downtown area. I bought a small something for Sudha there and then we found ourselves near Café Swagat where we had dinner on 18^th Jun. We had plain rice with Tadka Dal and then took a taxi back to the hotel by around 1.30 PM.

I finished my packing( we’re leaving tomorrow morning) and had a good afternoon nap. At 5 PM, I got up, got dressed and went back to Haupt Bahnhof. People were already getting ready to have fun while watching the football match. The roadside cafes were getting occupied and people were settling down in front of the large TV screens. A group of boys were practicing their cheerleading.

European Railway Stations are always nice and Frankfurt was no exception. There was a group of young girl dancers performing on stage in the concourse and a small crowd was watching them. As I mentioned earlier, there is excitement in the air. The weather is lovely and many people are driving around with the top ( car top, I mean) down and loud music blaring out.

I took a taxi back and went to the local grocery store near the hotel and bought some pistachios, chocolate etc and here I am.

Some photos attached.

 Binding Brewery near Holiday Inn.Note the gleaming Copper Vats.

Figures put up by a Gym near Holiday Inn

 Me, in front of Haupt Bahnhof

A group of young girls dancing on a stage in the concourse of Frankfurt Haupt Bahnhof

A view of the concourse of Frankfurt Haupt Bahnhof

Frankfurt Diary----Day 3 ( Part) and Day 4 ( 20^th and 21^st Jun 2012)

I had mentioned that we would be going to dinner again at Taj Tandoori on 20th.That was our intention as we boarded the taxi. However, on the way , we saw another restaurant called The Taj Palace and asked the taxi driver to stop.

This was also a fine dining restaurant. We went in, sat down and opened the menu card. Lo and behold!!! This was exactly identical to the one at Taj Tandoori---- the same old Aloo Palak, Shahi Paneer Kurma, Baingan  Bhartha et al. I had a Pina Colada and then all of the above. The food was good and we ate to our heart’s content.Later we learnt that both restaurants were owned by the same person and he had saved money by printing one menu for both restaurants.

It was mildly raining and the weather was chilly---- I was glad that I had taken a sweater along. After dinner, it was back to the hotel and then hitting the bed.

On 21^st ( today), I got up at 5 AM and finished my e-mails. Breakfast at 7.30AM ( assorted fruits, cornflakes, orange juice and coffee) and then caught the Crane bus to Messe Frankfurt. Then I made another round of visits to various stalls. A couple of discussions at the Crane stall, lunch at the restaurant ( Caesar Salad and Orange Juice) and my feet were aching by 4 PM with all the walking. I took a taxi and came back to the hotel, dumped my laptop and then took another walk outside the hotel. Fortunately, there were some pedestrians around and there was some activity. I went to a supermarket and bought some chips and chocolate.

Sandeep, you can send this photo to your friend Matthew Perry.

Back to the hotel by 6.30PM and then we took a taxi to another Indian restaurant—Maharajah Palace--- for Dinner. A glass of Chardonnay along with some Dum Aloo, Mixed Vegetable curry, and Aloo Plaak rounded off with some yoghurt. Heaven!!!The time was 8 PM and the sun was shining as brightly as it would at 4.30 PM in India. It felt a bit funny eating dinner in bright sunshine.

Back to the hotel and now writing this blog at 9.30 PM. Y—a—w—n. G’night and I’m off to bed.

Frankfurt Visit ( Days 1,2 and 3)--- 18th to 20th Jun 2012

This is an update of Days 1 ,2 and 3 in Frankfurt. Not much to tell since  I’ve been busy  but here goes.

The trip started on 17^th Jun Sunday.Check –in at Gulf Air was smooth.I told the check-in person that this was my first flight in Gulf Air and he gave me Seat 1A on both legs of the journey---- Chennai-Bahrain and Bahrain-Frankfurt. My colleague Ramesh was travelling with me.

We settled in at the Gulf Air Lounge after check-in and Immigration and relaxed there with a drink while going through the papers. The Gulf Air representative called us for Security Check when the boarding was announced.

The flight took off on time at 9.30 PM and I settled in with a glass of champagne to watch Dumb and Dumber( with John Carrie of “The Mask” fame) and I came to the conclusion that I was the dumbest person to watch this movie.Lovely dinner of Rice with Vegetables and a short nap before we reached Bahrain at around 11.30 PM ( local time).The lights of Bahrain were burning bright in the Arabian desert as we came down for the landing.

We settled in the Gulf Air lounge as we waited for the 1.30 AM departure for Frankfurt. Bahrain Airport is nothing great when compared to our newer airports like Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

I was grateful for the flat bed seat when I boarded the aircraft again and asked for a hot chocolate as a nightcap. Good, refreshing sleep and I was up by 5.30 AM bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.After a brush and face wash , I was ready for breakfast---- cornflakes, fruits and hot chocolate. Landing at Frankfurt was on schedule at 6.30AM but the sun was already up by that time.

This was my first stay in Frankfurt even though I’ve transited many times. We walked out and tried to get the hotel shuttle bus to Holiday Inn at Frankfurt City South.There are 4 Holiday Inns in Frankfurt and 3 of them had shuttle buses except the one we were staying at.We finally took a taxi and showed him the address and he said OK, no problem. He dropped us off at a Holiday Inn which was totally isolated and I thought “Oh God, how are we going to move around from here?”.After paying Euro 20, we went in only to be told that this was not the Holiday Inn where we had booked. The receptionist called for another taxi and we finally arrived in Holiday Inn, Frankfurt City South at Mailander Strasse.This was closer to the city centre and I breathed easier.

Crane Co had booked around 100 rooms at this hotel for their employees who were attending a global sales conference and also attending the Achema Exhibition. They had also arranged for a bus to leave at 8.30AM, but we came down only at 8.45 AM after freshening up and so had to catch a taxi to Messe Frankfurt where the Achema Exhibition was held.

The exhibition centre was MASSIVE. It  was 3 Km long end to end and people used travellators to move from Hall to Hall. Crane Stand was in Hall 8 and , as I write this, I’ve seen only Halls 8 and 9.

It was good to see my Crane friends from USA, Germany, France, Japan, China, India and Australia. Crane is a major exhibitor and they had hired space which included a  counter for dispensing food and drinks, locker space for keeping personal belongings, a small meeting room, tables for sitting down and discussing etc, etc. All major exhibitors had similar stalls.

I walked around the stalls and was pleasantly surprised to meet friends from India who were both exhibiting and visiting.

I met an ex-colleague of mine at the exhibition and we decided to leave early. We went to downtown Frankfurt. By the way, you must know that there are two Frankfurts in Germany. One is Frankfurt am Main, which means Frankfurt on Main --- Main is a river which joins the Rhine.This is the city where we were. The other Frankfurt is in the eastern part of Germany.We went to Steinberger Hotel which is situated just opposite Frankfurt Railway Station. We had a couple of margharitas there and then moved on to Café Swagat on Kaiserstrasse where we enjoyed a delicious meal of Roti, Dal and Bhindi do pyaaza. We were sitting on the sidewalk and it was difficult to believe that it was already 8 PM since the sun was still shining brightly.

Ramesh and I came back to the hotel and hit the bed promptly. This was Day 1 on 18^th.This was also the day when my mobile was not working.

On Day 2 ( Tue 19^th), I got up early and caught up with my mails. Then we finished breakfast in the hotel and caught the Crane Bus at 8.30AM to the exhibition along with my Crane colleagues.Day 2 was again a day of visiting various stalls in the exhibition and my feet were complaining. Some more of my office colleagues from India had joined in.We came back to the hotel at 5 PM and went out again at 6.30 PM to another Indian Restaurant “ Tandoori Taj”.It was a fine dining restaurant and we had a delicious meal of rotis, shahi kurma, bhindi do pyaaza( again!!) and palak panneer along with masala papad and rounded off with ice cream with mango pulp( Heaven!!).

We came back at around 9 PM and I surfed the channels. For a moment , I was wondering whether I was in India--- there was the same old Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, How I met your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Castle etc etc What was missing was Kya Hua Tera Vaada, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Pavitra Rishta etc etc.

That was the end of Day 2.

I’m nearing the end of Day 3 ( Wed 20^th).We had a series of meetings with our USA colleagues in the hotel itself and it got over at 3.30 PM today. We’ve decided to have our dinner at the hotel itself today and watch the Euro football.

This has given me enough time to complete this blog.I have two more days to go and I think I’ll get some time to go around the city and do some shopping.

After 2 days of sunshine, it's been raining today and here's a photograph of a cemetery opposite my hotel.I've taken this photo from my hotel balcony.I went there on 19th Jun and it's very nice and beautiful and quiet inside.There are vaults where members of the same family are buried ( from 1700s till recently).