It’s been really strange this weekend being just a few miles from one of the world’s largest airports and not hearing a thing. I guess we’ve gotten used to the noise pollution and now that it’s gone, it’s REALLY silent. We heard some planes at about 8:30 last night and got all excited and even ran to the windows to look. Turns out they were just testing the airspace but it still got us hopeful. Travis’ flight is supposed to be in five days and mine in just over a week, so we’ve started trying to think of what our Plan B is if this stays messed up for awhile.

I guess first things first: If you haven’t heard the news, airspace is closed over much of Europe including good ol’ Frankfurt due to volcanic ash. Our friends from Berlin didn’t come down (and it’s a good thing because if they had, they probably would be stuck here still). And in spite of our disappointment of not being able to host them, it was probably better off as we had a pretty exciting weekend of packing, panting, and cleaning with a few flashes of fun thrown in the mix.

The first flash of fun was Friday night when we went to the Frankfurt Luminale, an art show put on by “light artists” every two years. We didn’t really know where to go, so just followed the crowds. We walked around for a few hours and saw some interesting lights. Here are a few pictures, although they’re not great because we didn’t have a tripod.

We decided to spend some time at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the world’s largest car show. It’s the one where you always see the wacky concept cars that are pictured in newspapers.

We saw plenty of wacky concept cars, but we also saw some really cool cars as well. Here are some pictures.

There were lots of other things going on as well. We rode with this lady as she demonstrated the Mercedes Park Assist feature, for those that have trouble parallel parking:

It was a really fun way to spend our Saturday, but we were exhausted after 8 hours at the show!

This weekend marks Museuemsuferfest, our favorite festival (of the MANY) in Frankfurt. It goes on for three days with fireworks on the last day. We’ll be going tonight and tomorrow for sure.

I can’t say anything more about it that Jo didn’t already cover at the link above. Last year, we went and had so much fun, and we’ve been looking forward to this one ever since!

Well, we finally did it! We found a Mexican restaurant that is not too far away. Sure, we wish Mexico Lindo was in Frankfurt, because the hour+ commute is tricky. But, it’s well worth it.

Mexico Lindo is about a 10 minute walk from the main train station in Mainz. Although they don’t have any outdoor seating, the windows open wide enough to get a good feel of the outside.

We started with chips and salsa. Homemade chips! And they weren’t chewy like so many of our other Ger-Mex experiences. The salsa was good, but not too hot as well.

We got an appetizer plate which consisted of quesadillas, taquitos, and nachos. Everything was good and used real shredded cheese, not “nacho” cheese from a jar.

For the main course, I had a beef burrito and Travis got the carne asada based on recommendations from our friends (one of whom happens to work at Mexico Lindo - conveniently enough :)).  My beef had a little spice to it and was great. But Travis’ meal really took the prize. The steak strips were grilled with a great flavor. I could have eaten every last bite! Both of our friends’ meals looked equally delicious as well.

The portions seemed small at first, but we didn’t come anywhere near finishing our meals after the big appetizer plate. My burrito was stuffed full of meat - there was definitely no disguising it with “fillers” like beans and lettuce.

All in all, this was the best Mexican we’ve had so far in Europe. It was probably even better than a Mexican places back home! Now they just need some outdoor seating… and maybe a second location in Frankfurt.

On Saturday, after our baseball experience, we continued on to the town of Marburg, a town that’s been on my must-see list based on a book recommendation. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the insides of the town’s famous churches because we timed our visit PERFECTLY with Saturday evening services. Lesson learned. But the walk through town was still delightful.

We started with a walk UP - why does stuff in Europe always involve some level of UP? - and then up some more. There is a castle in Marburg at the top of an impressive hill, and even though it was early evening, it was still quite a warm day and a bit of a climb.

We didn’t take the castle tour, just enjoyed the view… and the breeze!

The road back down from the castle wasn’t a whole lot better, as the cobblestone road was rough, uneven, and steep, but the scenery was quite interesting.

We came full circle and ended up back at the Marktplatz, or market place.

Marburg is a cute little town and an easy day - or even just afternoon - trip from Frankfurt.

Wow, it’s been busy around here. I’ve been a little lazy on my vacation and I have to thank my mom for stepping in and guest writing for me. She wants to get her hands on one more entry before she leaves tomorrow, and what kind of daughter would I be if I didn’t let that happen? A VERY BAD DAUGHTER. So, I will let her write today or tomorrow.

A quick update though… after Paris, mom took Travis and I to the cute town of Rothenburg in Germany, a medieval, walled town about an hour and a half from Frankfurt that was postcard-perfect cute.

We had a great time exploring the town, which is just OOZING with adorableness.

Today I go back to work and mom is going out and about on her own, which is a pretty daring adventure for the woman who thinks houses and buildings cross the street when she turns 180-degrees. I hope this ends well, it would sure be awful to lose her on her last day here!

This weekend we went to the woods where there was a celebration of a tower. Why? Because it was there.

There was live music and food, drinking and dancing, and, of course, the tower. It is these little things that I will miss when we leave the country. Why do you need a holiday to celebrate anyway?

The festival was a lot smaller than some of the other random festivals we’ve gone to, but still was fun to sit out in the woods and listen to some music. Sadly, we didn’t think to take our video or digital cameras.

On Sunday, the weather in Frankfurt was absolutely perfect - about 75 and sunny - so after our ritual of cleaning, we headed down to the riverside with a picnic. We were joined by a good portion of the population of Germany, or so it seemed, and we hung out on a blanket in the sun, eating and people watching.

After awhile, we decided to walk over and check out the river cruises that depart from Frankfurt hourly. One was just taking off, and we hopped on for a 100 minute cruise. It was beautiful, and we even learned some things!

After dinner at the “American” bar nearby, we returned home - a Sunday full of vitamin D. I’m so glad it’s almost summer again!

Once a year, there’s an event in Frankfurt called Nacht der Museen, or Night of the Museums. For 12 euros, you gain access to many of Frankfurt’s famous museums, including the zoo. So Travis and I decided to go check it out over the weekend.

Our bus stopped right outside the Jewish museum, where there was a long line, and we decided that we’d buy our tickets here and start. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes (and talking to some nice American women who work at the consulate), we get inside only to realize we have no cash. The guy working tells us they’ll take credit cards just as soon as his colleague gets back. “Five minutes.” We wait for at least 15 and are contemplating leaving when the colleague comes back and shurgs. “Sorry, no credit cards.” Alllllrighty.

At this point, Travis is ready to throw in the towel, but I push on. After finding a cash machine, we go to the Carricactura Museum - I’m thinking this is caricatures. We wait in line to be admitted to a small, hot building filled with cartoons. Which might be funny, but they were all in German.

In the end, we tried five museums, including Modern Art (big, blank, white walls), History (the best of the lot - not saying much), Photography (videos? and no photography?), and Icon (I wasn’t sure what to expect here but not THAT) museums.

So instead of staying out til 2 a.m. and being cultural, we were home by 10:30, exhausted and sweaty from the crowds. I think we learned our lesson here.

A few weeks ago, our friend Andrea went to a castle called Burg Eltz and highly recommended we check it out sometime. She said it would be a great place for a picnic, so we packed a lunch, grabbed a blanket and hit the road on Saturday.

We’d loaned our GPS and our map of Germany to Krissi and company for their trip to Munich, so we had to do this the old fashioned way. With seven pages of printed directions in hand, we hit the road.

The first part of the directions were easy, but then the roads stopped having names (”what do you mean, turn left on K119? There IS NO K119!!”) and we kind of headed in the direction we thought might be right. At that same time, we noticed signs pointing us to Burg Eltz, which was quite handy and proved to be great timing.

There is a 1.3 km walk from the parking lot to the castle, so we got a great view as we approached.

It was very impressive!

We hiked around for a bit looking for a picnic spot, but all of the good areas were behind barbed wire fences. Finally, we picked a spot that MAY or MAY NOT have been forbidden, but we didn’t face the wrath of any angry Germans so we figured it was ok.

We did a castle tour (in English!) and also viewed the family’s treasury, which was really cool. Ah, yes, the family. Did I mention this castle is owned by a private family? No offense, mom and dad, but couldn’t I have been born in THAT family tree?

The German countryside this time of year is just stunning with fields and fields of yellow somethings. As we drove home, we pulled over for a few pictures.