I awoke early that morning to a scene similar to the day before, a landscape of naked British guys sleeping on the floor. Tip toeing my way through them I took a shower; the day was already hot so I didn’t mind that there was no hot water. After cooling down I dressed and went to find breakfast. Down the street and around the corner is a McDonalds where I got water and the cheapest breakfast sandwich I could. After eating I walked across the street to a piazza and sat on a bench. It was a great spot to sit because the piazza got a lot of foot-traffic. While people watching is fun, watching people fall is even more so. About 5 feet away from my seat was a lump then a big dip in the pavement, nearly invisible to see unless you were staring at your feet, I didn’t notice it until an elderly woman caught her foot on the lump then stumbled and feel. She was ok, but during the next hour I saw no less than 5 people bit it. I of course warned all the little old people, but all the young healthy ones, especially British travelers got no warning from me. Seriously, why would I ruin the fun? Besides I wasn’t the only one, the old guy sitting next to me would nudge me whenever some one was headed right for it. I think he has sat on that bench every day for years enjoying the tripping and falling. The best was a guy on a bike who unexpectedly hit the bump and dip combo and racked himself on his seat. As one group of guys approached and I readied to see if one of them fell I recognized them as the Kiwis from the night before. They informed me that there was a rugby game between the kiwis and the Aussies that was about to start and they were headed to a bar to watch it. I joined them and we walked of to find it. We walked towards the medieval part of the town and for the first time in several days I actually was being touristy and seeing the town, though I didn’t take any photos.
At a bar we ordered some beers just as the game started. Some jerk-off Brits showed up and set next to us and they hashed it out with my buddies. My friends also taught me the basic rules to rugby, it wasn’t bad and the All Black won the match. I put all the drinks on my credit card and had the guys pay me so that I could have some cash. As we headed back to the hostel we stopped by a grocery store and the guys stocked up on beer and liquor for the evening, and I grabbed a rare hard to find Dr. Pepper and drank it for dinner. After a few minutes lounging in the basement I said my goodbyes and full of the anxiety that had been building up over the last few days of doing nothing, I made my way out to the trolley stop. I took the trolley back to the station then got a bus to the airport. From the bus I got a decent idea of the town, some parts were like south Wichita, in other words, not great, and others were real nice. At the airport I found myself in the smallest terminal I had ever seen, about a football field or so long was all the bigger it was. Finally I checked into my 9:30 flight then proceeded upstairs to the staging area. I was thirsty but after counting every coin I had I discovered I didn’t have enough for a bottle of water, so I got a drink out of the sink in the bathroom.
As my plane came into land over Frankfurt in the dark, I looked down at the runway lights, something was wrong, this was supposed to be a major international airport, and yet I only counted 2 runways. Worried, I grabbed my bags and started asking around. Since it was nearly midnight, there were no staff working any counters and the building was empty except for the few people who were on my flight. Outside, I found no city lights, just trees and darkness in all directions. Where the hell am I? I thought. I found someone who spoke English and they told me that I was in the right place, so to speak. Come to find out, the reason my flight was so cheap was because it flew into Frankfurt-Hahn airport. Now, Frankfurt-Hahn is not in Frankfurt, in fact, unless Hahn is just a town consisting of maybe a house, a barn, and an airport, I don’t even think its in the town of Hahn. I discovered that I was still an hour or two from Frankfurt by bus. And of course, the bus isn’t complimentary. Standing with everyone else, the bus showed up, it was the last bus of the night and it cost 10 euros, I only had 25 so I gave the man damn near all my money in the world and got the very last seat on the bus. I would hate to think what I would have had to do that night if the bus was full. On the bus I fell asleep, waking every thirty minutes or so when the bus made a stop at little towns and stations along the way.
Eventually the bus came to the end of the line, and I found myself in a parking lot besides Frankfurt Hauptbahnhoff in the middle of the night. My guidebook said that the area of town around the station was the worst, and they weren’t kidding. Trying to find my hostel I avoided all the lowlife hanging around, including the bums, gypsies, vagrants, and drunks. I found my hostel, it was directly across from the front of the station, nestled in-between an adult theater and a greasy chicken joint. I walked up to the 3rd floor and checked in at the front desk. Even thought the hostel required a 5-dollar key deposit, the night manager let me forgo the fee as I only had 5 euros. I found my room, found a top bunk, took another shower, and slept well.
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