Hallo!

This is Jenny and myself (Thomas) bringing you our first travel update from Frankfurt, Germany. Right now, Jenny and I are in Kevin Kiser's dorm room. He is my best friend from Waukesha and is studying abroad in Frankfurt. We chose to come to Frankfurt to visit Kevin, but we never expected him to be so hospitable and helpful. We have taken a day trip to Rothenburg, one of the oldest cities in Germany. On the train ride there we got a good feeling of what the countryside was like and got accustomed to the rail system here in Frankfurt.

The countryside was beautiful with vineyards covering the hills, and small town houses with beautiful gardens along the way. In Rothenburg we also had an authentic meal of wienerschnitzel and an assortment of German beer all of which tasted great! Yesterday we visited some of the sights here in Frankfurt. We saw The Dome which is an extravagant church in the middle of town dating back to the Roman times. We also saw the old opera house and walked down the main shopping district.

Finally, we walked through the town hall center where we saw some of the oldest buildings in Frankfurt, cozy cafes and small souvenir shops. Today we walked to Alt (old) Sachsenhausen which was
basically a bunch of pubs in a very old part of town...very cultured.

We went in the morning and everything was pretty much closed but it looks like it would be neat at night. On the way home we found that the road in front of our hotel was closed off for a small food festival/market. There we tried some Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) and traditional Bratwurst. We were amazed at how good all the food has been here. We've managed to stay active and enjoyed running along the Fluss (river) and through Kevin's university. I also got a chance to play soccer with some of the locals. I didn't realize how much communication in soccer means until you play and can't talk with your teammates, but it was a great time! Kevin has been here for a couple months and improved his soccer game greatly! It was really fun to play with him. Tomorrow Kevin plans to take us to Mainz, a nearby town, for a little touring and wine tasting. Thursday we are off to Spain. You will get another email from us there! I would like to again thank everyone who has helped Jenny and I take this trip, including our friends, family, and, of course, STA Travel. All in all we are having a fantastic time and can't wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us. Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen!

Thomas and Jenny