Day 7 – At Full Speed

Date: 2nd of July 2015

Route: Nuremberg – Frankfurt am Main

Vehicles hitchhiked: 1

It was almost 40 degrees outside, and we still didn't have anything to cover our heads. Fortunately, we were able to buy very nice straw hats (for 8€ each) in a supermarket that we entered on the way. The purchase influenced our decision to go to a petrol station on the outskirts of Nuremberg on foot, instead of going by bus.

A photo session in new hats

It was extremely hot, and we didn't feel like catching a lift in the sun. When one of the cars finally pulled over, I felt grateful and relieved... It turned out that my reaction was too fast – the driver said that he was going directly to Frankfurt, but in 4 hours, and he could take us then.

To be honest, I didn't like the idea of staying in Nuremberg until 3 p.m. at all – in that case we wouldn’t have enough time to sight-see the next city. I wanted to continue hitchhiking; Maia, on the other hand, opted for resting somewhere in the shadow, and waiting for that guy. We decided that if no one stopped within the next 20 minutes, we would go to a park nearby. And so it came to pass...

Well, to tell the truth, spending time there was definitely more pleasant than standing in the heat. Maia learned that day’s portion of Japanese vocabulary using the Anki program, and I read a part of “Inferno”. While eating lunch we both found out that matzo might be used instead of a knife, as well.

As promised, the man came back to the station around 3 p.m., and he took us to Frankfurt. The travel was very fast and pleasant (despite the fact that our musical tastes didn't match very well). That day I was driving 220 kph for the first time in my life. Surprisingly, I was not afraid at all. I decided to trust the driver fully.

When we arrived in Frankfurt, we walked to the Main river. En route, while sitting on a stone wall next to a street, we ate a 1-litre pack of walnut-vanilla ice-cream.

Our first impression of the city was not particularly positive – it was very loud there, and the smell of the river was pungent (well, maybe it was just because of the heat). What is more, when we saw an island on the map, and decided to rest there, we found out that, unfortunately, the entrance was closed for tourists. In this case we had to look for some other place to rest.

The Main River (the island in the background)

We ended up in a small park in the close neighbourhood of our host's house. We felt so tired and lazy that day, that lying was the only thing we did there; we didn't even have energy to read books.

When we finally arrived at our host's flat, we were astonished to discover that we had a whole apartment for ourselves – his neighbours had gone for holidays, and had allowed him to host couchsurfers in their flat.

We both took a quick shower, and tagged along with Markus to the riverside, where all of us met with his friend. While sitting on a blanket near the river, the four of us were talking and observing movements of Venus and Mars, which were clearly visible on the sky (they passed very close to each other the day before).

Sitting on the riverside

Marcus was a very outgoing guy, who was curious about the world, and had plenty of hobbies. His friend was also very interesting and knowledgeable.

Maia and I agreed that Frankfurt seemed prettier to us in the evening (maybe we were more relaxed then). We especially liked the skyscrapers visible on the other side of the river.

We especially liked the skyscrapers visible on the other side of the river

Regrettably, we didn’t have a chance to sightsee the older part of Frankfurt (we wanted to start hitchhiking towards Luxembourg the next day in the morning). Who knows, maybe it could be a reason to visit the city again.