mahlon.r.haunschild@xxxxxx wrote:
>
> Well, fellow OM'ers, Those Who Make Such Decisions are talking about
> sending me to Frankfurt for the month of January. Germany, that is.
Hi Mahlon,
my sincere condolences! If anything, it's going to be cold (today, FFM is
slightly below zero deg.C with a little snowfall). If you're lucky, it will stay
cold, otherwise you might find it to be drizzling or even raining at a few
degrees above zero. You couldn't by any chance convince 'Those Who Make Such
Decisions' to send you in spring, summer or autumn, could you?
> [...] At any rate, do you folks have any tips as to places to go
> for weekends (and how to get there), etc.?
Sorry, I have no intimate knowledge of the area as I live some 6 hours north of
FFM. But a short primer anyway: The city itself is far from beautiful, though it
has some nice corners. For a somebody from northern Germany, the local dialect
is a real problem. Come to think of it, English might be the way to go! There
are several, partly very good, museums and galleries in town and the surrounding
countryside certainly has its highlights with wooded 'mountain'-ranges like
Taunus, Odenwald and Spessart close by on the one hand and the 'classical' part
of the Rhine and Mosel not far away on the other (if there should be one
advantage of coming in January, it will be the lack of mass-tourism!). Ok, you
might see Heidelberg, once you're here, many have! The same applies to Cologne
and its cathedral. These places too are not far from Frankfurt. And, as Susan
pointed out, certain areas of Bavaria are a tourist-honeypot...
As for transport, I'd recommend the train for visiting other cities. In contrast
to some places in the US (I just assumed, you come from there), the stations are
mostly dead-on in downtown. For the countryside itself, a rented car would be
the way to go.
> Should I pack my own film, or buy it there?
You'll get any sort of film in FFM, though you might discover that - in spite of
the popularity of slide film with the common European - Kodakchrome is rarely
found and not easily developed over here. No problem at all with E6 though
(Ektachrome, Elite, Velvia, Sensia etc.).
Depending on the shop, brand and speed, slide films (135-36) go for between DM6
and DM15 including development (unmounted) within two or three days.
> Constructive thoughts (for a never-been-across-the-Atlantic
> to a non-native-English-speaking country traveler) would be appreciated.
If you have any specific question, please feel free to ask ('there isn't such a
thing as a silly question, only silly answers'), possibly OL, in case it's OT.
Hope this helps a little and welcome to the winter.
Soenke, Hamburg
PS: Oh, and BTW, the subject line you chose might lead to 'funny' reactions with
some Frankfurters...
Remember: History is a minefield and "Pssst, don't mention the war"
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