Sundays in Frankfurt are very sleepy, partly because no one is around and partly because of the misty, cloudy weather, especially at this time of year.  Apparently they don't call sky scrapers sky scrapers in Frankfurt, they call them cloud scrapers because of the low hanging clouds.

Our day began with our favorite chef preparing eggs and breakfast, along with strong coffee to get us going.  We spent the morning wandering the empty streets of central Frankfurt, with our goal being to arrive at St Bartholemew Cathedral in time for a service.  Naturally we meandered in the wrong direction, first passing St Katharine's Lutheran church, where Goethe was baptized, before finding the remains of World War 2 rubble symbolically left at the entrance to St Bartholomew's.  The cathedral was completely destroyed during the bombing raids and then completely rebuilt.  The tail end of the service we joined included some lovely organ music.  From there we strolled through parks to get to the Stadel Museum that housed an unremarkable collection of middle ages and German and Dutch artists.  The lighting was grey, the collection rather dark and the overall impression through the jet lag was one of a certain grimness.  So we retreated for more coffee in the cafe and eyed but did not taste the German cakes on display.

Then it was back to the hotel for a swim in the outdoor pool (heated) and a massage.  Tonight we are heading to the Opera House to hear mezzosoprano Cecilia Bartoli.  Throughout the twenty years I have been coming to Frankfurt I have not been to the Opera House, so this is a real treat.

This is Kirsty looking at her Blackberry.

This is Kate reading the newspaper.

This is Kirsty in the woods.

Kempinski Hotel, Frankfurt Germany

I arrived at Frankfurt airport at 7am after a long flight from Toronto.  It was foggy and misty as the taxi drove along the freeway at top speed as we made our way to the Kempinski Hotel Gravenbuch.  The hotel is reminiscent of the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley with its grandeur and spacious grounds.  It has a lovely indoor swimming pool, spa and clay tennis courts.  For breakfast I dined at the buffet that served all sorts of fruits, yogurt, breads, meats and eggs cooked on request.  The scrambled eggs were delicious!  The coffee kept me awake as I was feeling quite jetlagged. When I could no longer keep my eyes open I took a short nap and after my colleague Kate arrived, we went for a long walk in the forest adjacent to the hotel.  Many of the locals were taking strolls or riding their bikes through the leafy paths and trees which were starting to change color. It was a lovely autumnal afternoon.  We retired to the hotel for more coffee to keep us going, then dined at the restaurant on shrimp, veal and chocolate mousse.  Dessert was accompanied by fireworks in honor of the German masters golf competition.

Welcome to the GRAND OPENING to "Travels with K."

It will be 2 weeks or so before some photos and posts start coming up.

K