A very questionable night's sleep earns -- that is the wrong word -- appreciates -- the gracious hospitality of a full and fantastic German breakfast. This photo is early in the process of setting the table which ultimately held turkey beerschinken, gouda cheese, soft boiled eggs, oatmeal, meusli, nuts, two freshly picked pears, yogurt, a basket full of rolls brotchen), butter, 3 homemade jams (blackberry, quince,elderberry/apple juice), coffee, tea, milk, and condensed milk. I'm probably forgetting something. We ate almost all of it.
Two lovely ladies in Beate and Andreas' back yard. The duplex house was built in 1926, and originally they owned only the left side. Through what I can only assume to be a considerable degree of hard work and thrift (given the prices of real estate), they manged to buy the right side, where we were fortunate enough to stay. The backyard is home to pear and quince and apple trees, a blackberry bush or two, and undoubtedly many more edible things of which I have no knowledge.
Fortified with the Full German Breakfast, we were ready for a the Monika's Great Frankfurt Memory Tour. A & B (my new abbreviation for Andreas and Beate) put us into their California-edition diesel Volkswagen van, with Monika in the back and me in the place of honor for first-time-to-Frankfurt visitors (aka shotgun). I attempted argument on the grounds that the purpose of our drive was to re-live childhood memories for Monika, who visited her grandparents, aunts and cousins (Beate and Stefan) here. I was unsuccessful in my argument and you can see the result in beautiful window-shot photos of her family haunts such as this, a tower in which someone (A & B???) lived.
And this, the protruding kitchen window of the two-story under-roof maisonette apartment where Monika's Aunt Christa lived. (Caption Credit: Monika for the detailed description of what we should be looking for in this photo.)
A & B tending Christa's grave. The grandparent's are buried nearby as well. German cemeteries, if this is at all representative, are nothing like I am used to seeing. Full of different species of trees, blooming shrubs, and well-tended graves with fresh flowers on many, visiting this place felt tranquil and reverent. I think these are qualities you would want in a cemetery. Well done Germany! (Or maybe just Frankfurt??).