Frankfurt - our overnight pitstop to Switzerland

From this post on, I unfold my second part of Schengen countries travelogue as promised in my last post giving my plan for the next two Schengen countries we had planned to visit last October 2014.

After detailed planning by my elder son Waqaace, we were ready by 2nd OCtober to embark upon a rather longer stretch of our second part of travel to Switzerland and Italy by traversing the entire length of Germany from Kiel down to Switzerland. Since the distances were rather over stretched, we chose Frankfurt as our overnight pitstop to rest, see Frankfurt and then move on.

Our choice of car for this time too was BMW for its superior navigation system that was not very accurate but also very responsive to traffic situation and making quick decisions to re-route so as not to get into traffic congestions.

My wife poses with the car while my son is busy feeding the waypoints in the navigation system of the car

As is usual with preparations and last minutes forgetful things, our journey was delayed and delayed and when finally we started rolling, I knew we ill miss any daylight view of Frankfurt. 

We chose the shortest distance from Kiel to Frankfurt via Hamburg and Hanover - some 600 kilometres that were to take us almost seven hours including two coffee breaks for young at heart old driver like me.

 Driving into Frankfurt

We finally made it to Frankfurt well late into the evening and our navigation system took us dot on the the Garni Hotel, hidden just behind the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel - a place without the help of navigation system would have been hard to find..

 

Although we had booked two separate rooms for the couple and two sons, the Indian receptionist was extra nice to have accommodated into a suite as Frankfurt was closed for next day - something that was a big jolt to our plans to spend a most part of the next day visiting the city.

We hurriedly dumped our luggage and directly hit the city center through empty streets with hardly any traffic for a big city like Frankfurt, as can be seen in the photo above. Not very sure of what had happened to the city, we moved to the city center and came across an impressive building which came to know to be the Alte Oper, now a concert hall, at Opernplatz or the Opera Square (below).

Now called the Old Opera House (Alte Oper), the building was constructed in 1880 in the style of the Italian High Renaissance. Although heavily damaged by the allied bombs in 1944, it reopened in 1981. Upon reopening, Alte Oper was converted into a concert hall. Many important concerts have been premiered here, including Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana".

Moving forward we came to the main square of the city center with an impressive old building and the church.

The old building in the backdrop of high rising modern Frankfurt architecture (above) is known as the Hauptwache of the 'main guard-house.' This building was constructed in 1730 as a prison. It is situated in the city centre opposite to St. Catherine's Church (photo below) and houses a famous café. Because of presence of the historic building of Hauptwache, the square surrounding the building is also called "Hauptwache." 

St. Catherine's Church

After taking a few snaps, we moved forward in the long brightly lit alley which shouldered some of the spectacular malls and show cases of renowned brands of the Europe.

The area was flooded with tourists and youngsters enjoy their long weekend and the 'holiday' next day. Yes, that was the hidden surprise of roads being almost empty - 3rd October, that is the next day, was a closed holiday - something we did not check before planning our journey and were to restricted to see rather empty streets and closed malls of Frankfurt the next day. 

3rd October is the Day of the German Unity or Tag der Deutschen Einheit and is the national day of Germany. The day commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990, when the goal of a united Germany that originated in the middle of the 19th century, was fulfilled again.

The long walk on the well lit pavement housing some of the best shopping malls of Europe

 

And may be for a long weekend, the owner of this roadside eatery chained his benches and tables, lest he does not find these when he opened up on Monday. My friends in Pakistan should be much perturbed to see the glass attached to a chain in some places - thieves are all alike all over the world: Leave out something worth taking or should I say easily-taken, and it would not be there when unattended.

 Galeria: We were to return to this building next day to have a 'overview' of Frankfurt

 Moving up perhaps the tallest escalator I have ever come across - may be some 300-400 steps at a stretch (or may be even more)

My son find a good resting place on this metal sculpture

Finally a place to rest

As can be seen from our face expressions, specially mine, we were dead tired by now as we had had a long drive and then straightaway dashing to the city center which involved lot of walking and we really needed a rest and thought of calling it a day.

Next day, we were to meet a friend of a friend who made sure we see what we had not seen if he had not accompanied us: The Frankfurt overview. Keep reading my next few posts on Frankfurt.

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The second phase of my Schengen Travelogue

My family with Zurich Lake in the background

I was in Germany last September to meet my son, who is studying there in the Kiel University of Applied Sciences. With a Schengen visa stamped on our passports, we took it as a God gifted opportunity to visit some of the other Schengen countries. 

 Our rented BMW 330d that took us to most part of our Schengen travelogue till we almost got robbed in Paris

Groningen Railway Station, Holland

Since the distances were much larger and there studies requirement of my son, we broke down our travel into two parts. I have deliberated in detail my visit to Holland, Belgium and France, which was the part one of our travel. 

The lone Dutch windmill

The visit allowed us to meet my school days friend in Groningen, Holland after more than four decades, visit Amsterdam and Rotterdam, see the dancing dolphins of Holland, and then pass through Belgium to visit Paris and saw some of its major landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum and the Notre Dam cathedral besides walking on the world famous Champs Elysees. 

My sons posing with the Dutch royal couple at the Tussaud's - Amsterdam

At the Eiffel Tower, Paris

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa at Louvre, Paris

On our way back we also stopped at Dusseldorf in Germany before finally falling back to Kiel for rest and planning for the second part of our trip.

Now, in my many posts to come, I shall talk about our second part of Schengen travelogue that includes my dream travel destination Switzerland and Italy and a visit to Berlin to see the remnants of the once most dreaded Berlin Wall on our way back.

It has been hectic but memorable, the nostalgia of which still makes me enjoy the wonderful memories of the places we visited and people we met.

Links to some of my posts of places I visited in first phase of my Schengen travelogue:
Kiel, Germany - my launchpad for Schengen Travelogue
To Netherlands - meeting a friend after 43 years
Dolfinarium, Netherlands – The largest marine mammal park in Europe
Madame Tussaud, Amsterdam - Photo Album (Part - One)
My maiden glimpse of Eiffel Tower
Champs Élysées - Paris' fashion street

.... and while going back to Kiel Germany
Passing through Königsallee, Düsseldorf

So stay tuned for I am to unfold the cool breeze of Switzerland, the original sizzling hot Italian pizza and a visit to the still leaning tower of Pisa.

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Friendship Tunnels over Attabad Lake, Hunza inaugurated to reconnect Pakistan and China

Since the fateful day when a huge mountain fell over the KKH and blocked the water of the Hunza River to become a lake at Attabad, Hunza Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan, the trade between China and Pakistan has virtually come to a standstill. 

But the Chinese came forward to help - the same way they came forward to build the mighty Karakoram Highway (KKH) decades ago in the treacherous mountain areas of Pakistan - connecting Pakistan with China - a road that also became one of the highest roads in the world.

China has now reconnected the portion of the submerged portion of the KKH in the Attabad Lake by constructing five tunnels, two bridges and 78 culverts to open the door to friendship between the two countries once again. The road is now open to all types of traffic between China and Pakistan.

The tunnels, named as the Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels now open the 24 kilometers stretch of the KKH damaged since the 2010 massive landslides.

The repair work and construction of tunnels has taken three years and two months. The high quality work of the Chinese and Pakistan joint venture is visible from the photos shared on the net.

Read 
Karakoram Highway KKH (Pakistanpaedia)
Making of the KKH (Pakistanpaedia)

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Eiffel Tower by Night

Although I have finished covering the first phase of my Schengen countries travelogue in my last post - I purposely left out the scenic beauty of the Eiffel Tower at night. While this massive steel structure looks awesome and majestic during the day, it looks spectacularly dreamy and beautiful at night - something that one cannot describe in words. You have to be there to appreciate its beauty at night.

Spotting it for the first time during the day was just like a dream come true. In the morning haze it wasn't as bright as it turned out to be as the day progressed and we had a lot of photos taken from far, from below, from the two levels and finally from its top, watching Paris down below. And I have covered all these many separate posts already.

But we had to come back in the evening to take the last boat ride on the river Seine when the lights of the Eiffel Tower were just about to be switched on and the glow became stronger as we moved away and the evening got darker.

On our way back, I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel, now sufficiently lit while passing under the Pont Alexandre III bridge (photo above and below).

 Finally, the Eiffel Tower comes in full view in its full bloom of illuminations

 My children and wife with Eiffel Tower in the background (above-below)

Spectacular view of Eiffel Tower from the boat, just before disembarking

 I too am finally photographed sitting with my wife

With my family posing at the exit of the boat with Eiffel Tower in the background

But seeing it from the point I saw it for the first time in the morning was something mesmerizing. And by the time we reached the spot, it was already jam packed with tourists taking their last photos of the day with glittering Eiffel in the background.

Now if you view my second photo in the beginning, and then compare it with the photo below, you would know where we're standing for taking rest of the photos and making videos.

The Eiffel Tower stood there with a pitch-dark background and glittering like gold. It was difficult for me to memorize and capture the moment in my memory for ever as I was also taking photographs and making videos.

While watching the lights and getting mesmerized, suddenly the lights started to flash and suddenly the entire tower danced with the moving and flashing light as can be seen in the photo above. But one may not enjoy the still photo to understand what I really saw. But my video down below would simply tell, which I have shared on YouTube:

This is my last post on Paris - maybe someday I will visit this city of lovers again and I will come back to add more what I could not see during the four days that we had in Paris. Have you visited Paris? What makes you remember the city the most? Do share your view. 

Watch my previous posts on Eiffel Tower:

Maiden Glimpse of Eiffel Tower

Evening in Paris

Paris Boat Ride

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