I am going to be in Frankfurt for HOW long?

Back when I was booking the Christmas Surprise trip I was discussing options and deals with Ashton and she actually found the one I ended up booking. She said, "On the way here you will fly from Zürich to Toronto, then to Atlanta with a 3 hour and 45 minute layover." "Fine." I said. Then she continued, "On the way back you fly from Atlanta to Frankfurt with a 9 1/2 hour layover and then on to Zürich."


Woah. Woah. WOAH!


"I am going to be in Frankfurt for HOW long?"


9 1/2 hours. That is a long layover but it was the cheapest option to be able to wish my loved ones Merry Christmas, complete with a hug. So I did it.

Proof.

So, I decided to embrace it. So what did I do during those nine and half hours in Frankfurt?


This:


Leave the airport and go explore the Altstadt...immediately after buying an umbrella.

Before this little trip I really had pretty negative feelings toward Frankfurt as a place for a tourist. Businessy and Boring, I thought.

Wrong. I had a great time.

Look at how photogenic Frankfurt is DESPITE the rain!

What else did I do?

1. Saw that Christmas was still alive and well a week after New Year's. 

 2. Enjoyed the square in the Old Town with half-timbered buildings galore.

 3. Visited the Dom and see Nativity scenes and Jesus and Mary statues.

Isn't this a weird little cow?

 4. Visited Paulskirche, which as it turns out has a very important history, and enjoyed the free little museum. 

Love this.

The actual church part with really sweet light fixtures.

 5. Walked through these whomping willows.

 6. Enjoyed the juxtaposition of old and new.

 7. Browsed through people's old Chanel, Prada, and Dolce and Gabbana goods at [Cinderella's] Second Hand Shop.

Then, I headed back to the airport.

I preceded then to take two long naps in two different locations. (I was awoken by a vacuuming cleaning lady the first time.)

I wandered around for a while to find something delicious for dinner.

Which I found in something like this:

However, I also made a new friend over dinner. After mistaking him for a German and asking him a question in the language, my new friend Will and I discovered that we were two Americans from the South stranded in Frankfurt on layovers from Christmas travel. He lives in Sweden. I live in Austria. So we chatted for a while about everything from life as an American in Europe, to gun control, to struggles of learning new languages, and even about favorite episodes of Friends. 

After dinner we sat around until it was time for me to hop on a little puddle jumper plane to Zürich where I finally caught a train home.

In the end, I am glad I had such a long layover. Gave me a chance to relax, sight-see, and make new friends in the midst of a big travel day.

Lesson learned: Don't ever rule out an itinerary because of a long layover!

Stuck in Colder Weather

Pretty, huh?

One of my favorite and least favorite things about Austria is how different the weather is from home.

It's my least favorite because it requires me to wear leggings under my regular pants literally 100% of the time and means my nose is always red, cold, and runny. Oh, throw my eyes in there too! They water constantly. However, that happens regardless of weather. Anywho...

It is my favorite because of the proximity to beautiful mountains begging me to fly down them with skis strapped to my feet. I have been skiing more than a couple times here now and each time I love it more and more!

MONTAFON

BÖDELE

My friend Sean who put up with me saying "Look how Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty!!!" a lot.

But seriously, look how preeeeeeeetty!

Bus ride home

LATERNS

Mid-ski day Alpine refreshment: Almdudler, which is kind of like apple juice mixed with ginger ale. Not exactly, but that's the best description I've got. By the way, isn't my new ski hat fun?

 The weather could have been better.

 Ski Poles are made to be glove holders, right?

 My friends Aaron and Alex

 Happy little ski family

 My Favorite Picture

Gosh, how have I never lived near the mountains before? It rocks.