At the risk of sounding completely dorky, the Frankfurt Buchmesse is fun. Some people who’ve been going for ages will disagree, and I can see why. It’s the same people every year, doing the same thing at the end of the day. But this is also the time of year when all the people with clever glasses, quirky shoes, and outlandish stockings all gather to chat books. As much as it’s a boring trade show on one hand, on the other hand, it’s nerd heaven. Where else do you get to see books from 1470?
Posts Tagged: Frankfurt
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Jul 08
The End of Vacation Bliss
Today is the last day of my vacation, and the first day of attempting to get back to normal after a whirlwind trip to Germany. The jet lag has finally subsided, and my routine is beginning to normalize. No more do I wonder at 10 AM (6 PM German time) why I’ve not yet had meat or a beer.
As internet access during the trip was intentionally sporadic, I didn’t have much of an opportunity to write. So the plan is to cover the happenings of each day retrospectively. At first I wasn’t sure that was the way to do it—there are so many things I’ll miss, little details that will be omitted. But the advantage is that I’ve had some time to recover and gain a little insight.
So here goes…
June 26 – Day 1, Leg 1 of the Journey
I spent the morning getting ready, taking the dog to the kennel, packing, then repacking, and fantasizing about the trip. But then, I’d already been doing that for weeks. It took hours to get all the errands done, between making sure everything here was covered, and that I had everything I needed for my brief time in Europe. I had phone numbers, addresses, directions to the church at which I was attended a wedding. I felt too ready.
And rightly so. The one thing I needed when arriving at the airport, I didn’t have. The confirmation numbers for the flight. On the inside, I had a complete meltdown. On the outside, I was somewhat upset. But all worked out alright when I remembered that my upstairs neighbor was home. It was one of those moments during which I was so grateful that I have a knack for remembering exactly where things are when I need them, even if they’re in random locales.
With tickets in hand, we bolted to the gate where we hoped to board a flight to Frankfurt. The flight was full, so we were unable to get seats. The next flight we tried, however, had some room for us, and soon we were on a flight to… Amsterdam?