Day 1 - Darmstadt & Frankfurt

February 14 -

My flight arrived at 6am-ish, thankfully, on time. I managed the S-Bahn until I got to the Konstablerwache stop. I read the hotel's directions as getting off at that particular stop and going through the subway - in the European sense. I didn't know the directions were actually catering to the American understanding of subway, which would mean transferring to the U-Bahn. After some frenzied help in the bowels of the station by some incredibly helpful station workers, I was able to figure out that I needed to cross the platform and take the U-Bahn to the Zoo stop.

We stayed at the Hotel Imperial, which was clean, in a quiet neighborhood, and had such a friendly and helpful staff. Since it was so early, my room wasn't ready. To fuel up, I indulged in the buffet breakfast offered by the hotel. It was nice for a cold breakfast. The coffee was fantastic. I washed up in the hotel restroom and headed out to the town of Darmstadt. Now knowing the trains a bit better, I was much more confident about my travels. I arrived in Darmstadt, hopped the city bus, taking the scenic route across town to the Mathildenhoehe artist's colony section of town using a crappy map I printed off the Internet.

The artist's colony was in part, a labor of love by the late Grand Duke of Hesse, Ernst Ludwig. It still thrives today. Something I'm sure would've pleased him. Light snow blanketed the ground and it was a magnificent backdrop against the art nouveau buildings. I read somewhere that this area of Darmstadt has the Grand Duke's imprint all over it and that you can still feel his presence here. I thought this a fitting statement as I half expected to bump into him taking a walk. Luckily, so much was left untouched in that area after WWII, and this allowed his vision to carry forth into the continuing decades.

Another must see for me was the Russian church that was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II. His wife, Alexandra, was Ernst's sister. She was also a princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. What was special were the banners in the church that were sewn by Alexandra herself. They are framed, but you can get up close and touch the glass protecting them (it's an Orthodox relic thing). I purchased a small book about the chapel and even got to try out some basic Russian on the babushka working in the church.

There wasn't time to visit Rosenhohe, the Hesse family crypt, but what I saw was enough in my short day. Hopefully, I'll get to visit another time.

I walked back into town, reaching the Schlossplatz market square in front of the Ducal Palace. There, I watched some street musicians, and took in the scene all around me. Darmstadt is a much more staid town, not a lot of tourists, so I felt I got to see a more realistic picture of every day life here. I walked the main shopping street and stumbled upon an old classic red British phone booth. I caught the bus at Luisenplatz to the train station and resorted to ordering fish and chips at one of the shops there. It was at Nordsee which I've seen around Europe, so I trusted them, despite Darmstadt's landlocked position in the country.

Once back at the hotel, I showered and changed, ready to meet up with my friend, who was so kind to visit me from the UK. We headed out walking Zeil, the main street in the old section of Frankfurt, until we came upon a beer garden. I suggested the apple wine, which is a Frankfurt "thing" and we were surprised at how bitter it tasted. The crowd was impressively genteel, especially since everyone was drinking out of glasses in the middle of the open square. If this had been NYC or the UK, you can be sure those things would've been smashed to bits by night's end. To complement the atmosphere, the bells began ringing from St. Katherine's church across the way, and it was lovely. We found a place to eat, had a sub-par dinner, and I with my jet lag, called it an early night.