Taking the train

In Germany, you can take the train almost anywhere you want to go. There are U-Bahns and S-Bahns, underground and street trains. In the city, we mostly take the U Bahn, but this weekend we hopped on an S Bahn out to Kronberg and the Opel Zoo. It was a nice ride up into a hilly region out in the country. Gianna enjoyed the zoo, especially the hippos, which she wouldn't stop talking about at dinner that night. She was asleep while we toured Kronberg, an ancient German town with the compulsory castle on the hill.











There are probably many travel agents in Frankfurt that speak English, but I found one particular English speaking travel agent in the Hauptbahnhof that I keep bothering for the best deals on travel. Germans are always interested in the best deal and they won't sell you tickets that they think are overpriced, unless you are buying online, then they are not responsible for your poor financial choices. My travel agent friend booked our London trip for this weekend. Although the train tickets were budget priced, we went with the more expensive short flight that gives us more time to see the city. Paying more € for the flight made sense even to a German since the train trip is dreadfully long and slow. Now we are trying to book a fast ICE train to Paris for the upcoming Ascension Day holiday weekend starting May 21. Dan's parents and sister will be here, so we need 5 adult tickets. The travel agent was cursing the French for holding all return tickets on Sunday. Even if we could travel then, the price was over €200 per person roundtrip, which he wouldn't sell to me--too expensive! So he found alternate trains on different days for €128 per person round trip. I just find it amusing how far the Germans will go to save a €. As Americans, if we really want something, we'll just throw out the extra money and suck it up, maybe stay in a cheaper hotel to make up the difference. Not the Germans. Getting the best price is their top priority. Anything else is shameful, a dishonor to your family and country.