Day 1: 26 June 2010-27 June 2010

And we’re off!  After nearly a year of planning, our big trip is finally here!  As usual, we’re heading off on vacation on just a few hours of sleep having stayed up late to pack and take care of lots of last minute things. 

Took a 6:20PM Aer Lingus flight from Boston to Dublin.  Although we were hesitant ton fly an Airbus 330 following several recent accidents, our flight was as smooth as it gets.  The two year old A330-300 had personal flat screens on every seat with plenty of movies and shows to watch.  The only downside was that we had middle seats so we couldn’t get up very easily. Arrived in Dublin around 5AM, which gave us about 1.5hrs before walking out on the tarmac to board our second flight to Frankfurt.  We’ve decided that when possible, we’re going to try to stop in Ireland or London en route to mainland Europe b/c it breaks up the flights nicely. Great first experience on Aer Lingus for us! Our only minor travel glitch came at the Frankfurt airport.  Our original rental car was too big, but we were able to trade it for a black Mercedes A180.
 

Our roadtrip begins…in Frankfurt.  After parking quickly at the Grand Central Station of Germany, we did part of Rick Steves walking tour.  It took us down the brothels and strip club area (def. not the happening place Rick describes on a Sunday afternoon), past the Main Tower and banking district, and on to Fressgass, a pedestrian area outside the Opera House that was perfect for lunch.  We’re not even in Italy yet and I already had one of the best tomato & mozerella paninis!  We topped off lunch w/ an obligatory McDonald’s sundae from the 1euro menu.  Left Frankfurt just as fans were streaming into the city to watch the World Cup match between Germany and England.

I think we must have been running on adrenaline in Frankfurt b/c when we finally hit the autobahn for our drive south to Wurzburg, exhaustion set in! As we learned in Spain, we cannot get off the plane and expect to be able to drive 4-5 hrs.  The one hour drive to Wurzburg was manageable for sure, but we still had to stop at one rest area, and neither of us remembers much of the ride.  One thing we hate about rest areas here is that you either have to pay to get into the bathroom, or a cleaning person is waiting outside expecting a tip for keeping the place tidy.  While it’s nice to use a clean bathroom, if you’re using a rest area, you expect it to be subpar, so paying for it just seems ridiculous.

Thankfully, we arrived at Ina’s house safe and sound.  Ina was the most gracious host.  She welcomed us to her 4^th floor apartment/loft and gave us her room for the night.  Although we were tired, we rallied and went into town so Ina could show us around.  Of course I made the weirdest first impression.  When I reached into my suitcase for a quick change of clothes, I pulled out a Fluff-covered tank top!  Apparently Fluff doesn’t travel well in pressurized cabins…it was all over all of my tanktops and bras.   Nothing like getting to know someone as you’re washing Fluff off your undergarments in the kitchen sink!  Guess Ina wasn’t too scared b/c she still let us stay!

Went on a great walk from Ina’s over the Mein River crossing on the Alte Mainbrucke into the cute center of Wurzburg.  Much of Wurzburg was damaged or destroyed in WWII, but you wouldn’t know it b/c they’ve done a nice job restoring the city’s many churches and buildings.  It probably would have been a quiet Sunday afternoon here, but today Germany defeated England in a World Cup match so it was a very lively place.  Everyone was walking around town draped in the German flag, wearing black, red & yellow leis, German colored Burger King crowns, and yelling Deutchland chants. Cars were sporting German flags and honking their horns while driving around town.  It was quite the scene, and reminiscent of the way people paraded around at World Youth Day or in the North End when Italy won the World Cup in 2006.  It was neat to see the entire country rally around their team and show such national pride.  Met up with some of Ina’s friends and spent a good 1.5hrs celebrating Germany’s win on the street, which was closed to traffic and trams for the day because of the game.  Joe was in 7^th heaven drinking bier w/ the locals and joining in the chants. 

Spent the rest of the evening walking around Wurzburg past the Residenz and the University where Ina studies.  We ended the evening at a biergarten with Ina & one of her friends from dental school, where we sampled schnitzel (breaded pork w/ French fries) and Knodel (dumplings the size of a baseball made of bread or potatoes) and served in a mushroom cream sauce.  By the time we finished dinner, we were completely enhausted!  I crashed almost immediately.