Beginnings and Endings

Hi everyone

I left you with a cliff-hanger about what was happening when we trying to get back to Germany, but first I have BIG NEWS!!!!!

Last night (Monday night), Norbert took me out to a really posh restaurant here in Frankfurt supposedly to celebrate the end of our wonderful trip.....but he produced a ring and asked me to marry him!!!!!!!!!! [wide eyes] Oh, and I said YES, of course. [grin] Here is a photo of the special night, and the ring. A funny twist is that apparently I brought the ring with me! He had been planning this all along but in the mad panic to leave Adelaide, forgot to pack the ring. Eeek! But in his usual "I'll work it out" way, he asked me to bring over a small package of shell casings which apparently were unique to Australia and he said he wanted to show them to his new mates at the shooting club in Fulda. Of course I didn't think anything of that as it is just the sort of thing he would do, and I happily brought them with me. Well, apparently the ring was taped to the bottom of the box!. [laugh] Very conniving, isn't he! ...Heh, heh...

And then he was planning the 'big event' for a night on the ship, under the midnight sun. Well the clouds prevented a clear night and then of course he got sick....so he planned it for our final night. I'm so excited!!!! [spins in a circle] No definite date for a wedding yet but plenty of time to think about it when we get home.

And speaking of coming home...today is the day! [big grin] (When I left you last, a small drama was evolving with the weight of our suitcases, and it got even funnier as the day went on.

Sunday, 29/6 - Getting to Frankfurt
Well, we had FINALLY gotten to the right airport...luckily with time to spare thanks to finding out early enough....and then we check in to find we are STILL more than 2kg over on each suitcase and Ryan Air don't have any tolerance levels....we got charged for the extra weight which added up to more than than another full-fare ticket! Grrrr....... Anyway, the flight was uneventful and we arrived safely in Frankfurt....at Hahn airport which is an hour and 45mins away from Frankfurt! [sigh] Lugged the suitcases and various bits of hand-luggage onto the shuttle bus and sat in the bus for longer than the flight to Germany. [grin]

And does the saga stop there? Hmmm....no....wait for it..... Arrived at the main train station in Frankfurt (which was the final stop for the bus), and the hotel was about a kilometre away. So we dragged the suitcases up stairs, across cobbled streets and over roads with high kerbs for about a kilometre, until we realised that the street we were looking for didn't seem to be where we thought it might be. So...picture this....we are standing on a corner of a street with 2 big suitcases and a multitude of handluggage strewn around, and the laptop open and balanced on top of one of the suitcases. Norbert had saved a map onto the laptop (in retrospect would have been more convenient on the PDA) but it revealed the ugly truth. We were going in the wrong direction! [pained laugh] So....turn around and walk the other direction until we finally found the hotel. Whew!

But does it stop there? Not quite. We checked in and were directed to a building out the back for our room....and discovered that the building has no lift! So Norbert had to lug the suitcases up a twisting flight of stairs. Thank goodness we weren't on the top floor! [laugh] But all's well that ends well, and after a late tea of take-away Thai, we tried out the comfy beds and slept solidly until morning.

Monday, 30/6 - Final day in Germany
One day to take in Frankfurt so we wandered around the old part of the city first and then headed for the river to indulge in one of my favourite ways of getting acquainted with a city....from a boat. Spent a relaxing couple of hours cruising up and down the River Main, getting slowly sunburnt and relaxed. No energy for much when we got back so sat at a little cafe in the main square and enjoyed icecream before walking back to the hotel. The weather here is lovely and warm....about 29-30degrees at a guess.....and I'm soaking it all up in preparation for the cold Adelaide winter to come.

The evening I have already described so I won't go into that again except to say that it was a magic night in the balmy evening air. We sat out on the balcony of the restaurant and drank champagne and toasted our future life together.

Tuesday, 1/7 - Home, James....and don't spare the horses
Final words on this blog before we head to the airport, and thanks to everyone who has valiantly hung in there and coped with my inability to write short blog postings. [grin] I've got an avalanche of clothing and other stuff which I have to get into my suitcase so I must go.

See you in Australia!