Steve Mueller's Digital Scrapbook

Europe 2002

Saturday May 25
Frankfurt, Germany

The Final Day This would be the last full day of our trip. Early the next morning, we would take a taxi to the airport and the past seventeen days and nights would become a memory. It was hard to accept that fact that the trip for which we had eagerly counted the months, then the weeks, and finally the days until our departure, was nearly over. Europe is a land where a century is regarded as a relatively brief period of time. It is also a land where a 2 ½ week vacation can feel like a three-day weekend. By now, the circle was nearly complete. Rüdesheim is about 40 km from Frankfurt, and, at moderate Autobahn speeds, we covered the distance in less than 30 minutes. I had no problems locating the AutoEurope office, which was attended by the same man that handled the paperwork when I rented the car more than two weeks earlier. He remembered me and did not seem the least bit concerned about the flat tire. He didn't even ask to see the car. We completed the paperwork and he called for a taxi. While waiting for the taxi to arrive, we discussed the fact that Mueller was a German name and that many Americans are of German ancestry. I have often noticed that Europeans are at least as interested in America as Americans are in Europe. The taxi delivered us to a familiar place. The Hotel Savoy Frankfurt, which is where we spent the first night of the trip. I recognized most of the staff attending the reception desk because they were there the morning we left for Bamberg. I felt as if we had traveled backward in time. Unlike our previous visit, however, a room was not immediately available because it was only 10:30 am. We stashed the bulk of our luggage in their storage room and took the subway to the Zeil shopping district in search of an early lunch. We ate at that great German institution Pizza Hut, where we sat next to a group of NFL Europe fans. Pizza Hut and real football. Things were already beginning to feel like America. After lunch, we returned to the hotel and were given a room. We spent the next hour packing, sorting and rearranging our luggage. When this task was complete, we walked to the river and took a 90-minute cruise on the Main. Afterwards, I bought an apple wine pitcher, which is a traditional Frankfurt souvenir. Another visit to the Römerberg, a few more pictures of the Fountain of Justice, and the daylight, along with the remaining precious hours of our trip, began to fade. We could have continued to wander the streets of Frankfurt after dark, as we have often done in other European cities, but the sparkle was gone. At least for now. The air was a little too heavy with the feeling that we no longer belonged here. It was time to say goodbye to Germany and to Europe. It was time to start thinking about home. So much had happened since that chilly morning we left Colorado. On the return flight, we reminisced as we inspected our collection of tickets stubs, brochures and booklets. Sometimes the most inconsequential things can hold the most powerful memories. We depleted a set of batteries reviewing the images stored on my digital camera. We talked about everything we did and everything we saw. And then we did the only logical thing. We began planning our next trip to Europe. France 2003! We can hardly wait.
Previous Day
More Images of Frankfurt