One week back from Germany ... / Wiesbaden (first day)

and back into the grind. It was good, but not easy, heading off to Germany for the weekend.

I left Lyon on Friday afternoon after finishing classes in the morning at the school. From there I skipped over to the airport by bus, checked in early using the self-service check-in terminals, headed through the gates and into the boarding areas (Lyon has a very small duty-free shop with only one employee, poor thing).

Arrived in Frankfurt Terminal 1 (main terminal into and out of which Lufthansa flies) and headed to the basement to catch the local trains (S-bahn) to Wiebsbaden. I chose to stay in Wiesbaden for one night because the rates in Frankfurt were extremely high because of a Messe or trade fair. 120 EUR in Frankfurt for a small hotel room or 49 EUR for a room at the Best Western Hotel Hansa in Wiesbaden.

I actually enjoyed Wiesbaden because it was a walkable city, compact, yet had its own boulevard full of shops and markets. It was there that I had a great kebab sandwich (I know you guys are cringing, but really, it was delicious and cheaper than Lyon at 3,30 EUR each), with sliced meat, tomato, pickled cabbage, onions and tzaziki yogurt sauce and chili peppers. A meal in itself. It was either eat there, pay too much for sausages at the Christmas market, or buy noodles from a take-out Thai restaurant with no customers there. The kebab won out. (Next time you come to Germany, do try one with an open mind.)

In Wiesbaden, there was only one square, the marketplace, where the Christmas market was on, but there were ornaments and hot wine and even guest choirs singing old standards and pop songs, perhaps from the US military base nearby.

The mug cups were great and I even found some marzipan stollen in a discount store called Schlecker, which I took back and hope to share with some of my colleagues.

By 9:30 pm I was bushed and back in my room. After two mugs of hot wine I was also drowsy and fell asleep on the comfortable bed with the TV on.