I arrived in Frankfurt from Addis Ababa and had a brief layover – 7 hours or so – but it was long enough to leave the airport and go for a walk in the city. Frankfurt was kind of a perfect place to have such a layover. I have never been interested in going there and it lacks ‘must-see’ sights, so i could wander without feeling any pressure to do or see anything in particular. I did do some planning and determined ahead of time where the best/most scenic places would be to go (the less time in a place, the more planning required).
I passed by the disinterested customs/immigration officials and caught the easy and efficient train to central Frankfurt.
After my weeks in Ethiopia, and most recently Addis, the air felt so cool and fresh. I arrived early in the morning and it was a Monday so the streets were mostly quiet and then filled with suits off to work and a few buses of tourists, waving a plethora of selfie sticks.
The city was…nice. Attractive and clean, with some pretty, historic and very German buildings, some public art, waterways and bicycles. It wasn’t remarkable or amazing, but it was nice. Sort of like a German version of Vancouver.
I had a great coffee and bread and cheese for breakfast from a cafe on a pretty square. My first non-Ethiopian food in a while, which made it especially delicious.
The best thing about my hours in Frankfurt was that no one spoke to me unless i spoke to them first. No one said hello or smiled. No one asked me where i was from or what my name was, how old i was, if i had children, etc. I think i dealt fine with the constant barrage of attention from locals on the street in Ethiopia, and it is nice, i suppose, to have connections and interactions with strangers, but at my heart i like to walk down the street and have no one care or pretend to care. That urban, western disinterest felt so welcome and comfortable on that morning and was probably my favourite thing about Frankfurt.
Back to the airport, i flew to Vancouver, another trip concluded.
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