This is where we encountered our first drama of this trip. We purchased at one of the automated ticket machines what we thought was a two-way ticket to Mainz and got on the train. Part way through our trip, we had our tickets checked by a rail line employee, and much to our chagrin, he informed us that we did not have the correct ticket. A second employee joined the conversation and a local was also trying to help, but he told us it would be 60 Euro fine for violating the law (not sure if that was per person). In either case, things got a little emotional, but we managed to talk the guy into simply allowing us to purchase the correct ticket from him for a little less than 30 Euro, avoiding the fine entirely. Crisis averted. What this incident taught me was that no matter how experienced a traveler you are, you can still make mistakes.
On to Mainz, this town more than made up for the dramatic morning. We stopped at Adam and Eden, a breakfast spot near the railway station and had a relaxing breakfast. We arrived at the restaurant at 10:15 and realized they stopped serving breakfast at 10:00, but luckily, the hostess was kind to us and let us get the buffet. Jenny and I are not huge fans of buffets, but it was nice to sit and relax.
Then, we moved on to the explore the town. We stopped by an interesting fountain on our way to St. Stephan’s Church. It was was designed to celebrate the Carnival Season and is “comprised of 200+ whimsical bronze figures.” Europeans love their fountains, and I must say, I throughly enjoyed this one too.
Our next stop was St. Stephan’s church. We’ve visited a number of churches over the years, but both Jenny and I agreed that besides Notre Dame this church had to be the coolest church we’d been to. What makes this church unique is the interesting blend of traditional and modern design. Parts of the church are fairly old while more contemporary flourishes like the stained glass windows, designed by the artist Marc Chagall in 1983, created one of the more unique atmospheres in a church setting. This is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Mainz is the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, and so we had had to visit the Gutenberg Museum. This was a fascinating museum that had numerous exhibits about the history of the printing press as well as one of the famous Gutenberg Bibles. We could not take pictures inside the museum, but it was worth the 5 Euro admission cost to see the ingenuity of not only Gutenberg, but the human race.
The trip to the museum was followed by a walk through the old town and a visit to Mainz Cathedral. The old town was charming, and even though the cathedral was undergoing renovations, it was still an architectural marvel.
After an eventful and enjoyable day in Mainz, we returned to Frankfurt for several additional experiences. First, we went to the observation deck on the 56th floor of the Main Tower. This provided a 360 degree view of all of Frankfurt. It was interesting to see all of the sights we had visited the day before from a bird’s-eye view. Then, we went to an amazing restaurant called Bidlabu where we proceeded to have an exquisite four-course meal over the next two hours. The food was unique and absolutely delicious. While on our way to the restaurant, we ran into a lively street party with a huge crowd and DJ’s playing music. While not entirely our type of scene, it was cool to see, and the excitement was infectious. We thought it odd that so many people would be partying on a Wednesday night, but we later learned that the Ascension holiday is celebrated in Germany on Thursday, and it’s a national holiday. Anyway, I’m going to post some finals pictures and cut this short. We went to Heidelberg today, Day 3, and I’d like to create a post about that experience if I still have the energy. It’s fairly late local time.
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