The End of Germany (for now): Eurotrip Part 3

Here I am sitting in a funky little hostel in Vienna! After surviving a seven-hour train trip, I've decided to wind down and record the next saga of Eurotrip 2009!



After one relaxing but quick day in Bonn, Shayla and I took an hour train ride to Frankfurt where we met Steph and Julie. The hostel we stayed in (the Frankfurt Hostel) was quite nice, although it was huge. It was also conveniently located in the sketchier part of town, with an abundance of hookers, sex shops and other shady looking people and places.

To be honest, I didn't become a huge fan of Frankfurt. I'm really glad we made the decision to only stay one night and then move on. It was stifling hot that day, and the smog in the air only made it worse. I was sweating bullets after being outside for five minutes, and I found that after walking around for a few hours we were all totally drained - props to Steph for battling jet lag and coming with us!

Because Frankfurt is one of the world's corporate capitals, many of the buildings are huge skyscrapers, giving off that intimidating, big-city feel. However, it felt like any generic big city. There was much less culture in Frankfurt than Bonn or Cologne. The only thing we could think of to do was walk to the Old City, and even then the shopping was expensive. 4€ for a shot glass? Come on! Perhaps if I had more dough to blow I would have had a better time in Frankfurt. I know that there are much worse places in the world that I could have ended up, but if I may give my honest opinion, I would suggest backpackers in Germany give Frankfurt a miss - or stay one night at most!

Heidelberg - where we found ourselves next - was the complete opposite to the hustle and stress of Frankfurt. With a reputation of being one of Germany's more romantic cities, it had a very laid-back, welcoming atmosphere, much like Bonn. Although Heidelberg isn't the home of hundreds of amazing tourist attractions, just walking around the cobblestone streets and seeing all the charming buildings in the Old Town is pretty satisfying! The shopping is quite reasonably priced, and the people are all so friendly. For example, one of the staff at Steffis hostel (which was unfortunately booked up when we arrived) phoned around and landed us a room at another youth hostel. She really went out of her way, and I know we were all VERY grateful!

Anyone visting Heidelberg should definitely make a point of visiting the Schloss, a castle on a hill overlooking the city. Not only is it a small €1.50 when you flash your handy dandy student card, but it has the most unbelievable view of the city - from up there you can see everything! Besides viewpoints you can find gift shops, a pharmacy museum, picturesque courtyards, and a wine cellar with the most gigantic kegs I've ever seen inside the castle. Because it is a bit of a climb (over 300 steps) to get there, I would definitely suggest going in the evening if the day is a scorcher.

We moved on from Heidelberg the next day and stayed in Freiburg for a night. Freiburg is another cute, traditional German town in the heart of the world-famous Black Forest. Although stories of sorcerers, witches and werewolves (think Hansel and Gretel) surround the Black Forest, I can honestly say that I LOVED it - but that could be because I managed to avoid a nasty encounter with a werewolf or witch. I was surprised to find that the Black Forest was less evergreen-y, and much more comparable to the rainforests on Vancouver Island - ferns and all. The humidity everywhere I've been so far is unreal - and it's doing crazy things to my hair!


We did see bakeries selling delicious-looking Black Forest cake all over Freiburg, but we made the tragic mistake of going hiking first, and when we ventured back into town, the cake was sold out - everywhere! I'll probably never live that down.

The weather in the Black Forest set the perfect mood that day - it was pretty dark (although not cold), and there was distant thunder. Althought there was a huge downpour earlier in the day, the rain stopped long enough for us to go for a good hike. Flocks of crows kept flying over us, and quite a few times we saw forks of lightning that can really only be described as "badass". I can see where the stories come f
rom. All in all, the Black Forest exceeded the expectations I had!

Now, here I sit in Vienna. We had to wake up at 6:00 am to catch a train back to Frankfurt (joy), and from there, we rode to Vienna. It hurts me to think that the train ride was only an hour shorter than the flight from Calgary to Glasgow. However, I have no doubt that Vienna will be worth it!

We're spending three days in Vienna, one in Salzburg (where the hills are alive), backtracking to Munich and Dachau, and then heading to Prague...and from there who knows? I can't believe that I've been here a week! It feels like it's been both longer and shorter.

Happy belated birthday, Mom! For now, I think I'm going to retire back to my room in the Wombat's hostel. I need my beauty sleep!

Questions? Comments? Criticisms? I'd love to hear them all!
the-wanderingjew@hotmail.com