1st stop - Frankfurt

The holiday is off to a flying start (and not just literally). We're enjoying the friendly, beautiful and very cosmopolitan (though rather Edinburgh-esque in that is has rather windy weather) city of Frankfurt am Main. Our hotel is full of friendly staff and is within walking distance of all the sights. Everything is an exciting mix of the very traditional (think huge tankards of weissbier which we can tell you are very good indeed, and reams of German sausages, which as pesco-vegetarians we'll just have to assume are good) and the very modern (think the European central bank, huge spires of glass and metal, and an international food market which was impressive in its scope, freshness and friendliness).

Indeed friendliness seems to be at the heart of Frankfurt culture - even the bmw drivers stop to let you cross the road! Another part of the culture which we've enjoyed in the odd burst of sunshine is the cafe culture - every bar and restaurant has some kind of outdoor space, and some even have just ourside space... which the native frankenfurters seem to take advantage of despite the rather dreich weather. [I'm inside in the warm, though, typing this...]

Perhaps the most interesting sight is the Goethe-Haus which, as you can gues from the name, is not only the place where the giant of German literature grew up but also a museum dedicated to his life, works and followers. [Now, this is the first substantive post to this blog so apologies if the photo upload doesn't work, but I'll try adding a few photos of the haus and the other sights to give you an impression of this good city.]

Chris