Frankfurt, Germany

Moving from Asia, even modern Singapore, to Germany was a cultural shock. Regrettably, by then I was also suffering from travel fatigue brought on by my 12.5 hour flight from Singapore. I slept much of the day. When I finally went exploring at about 3 P.M., everything was closed because of Good Friday. The air was very brisk, 40's. I spent time walking through the rather vacant downtown. On a regular business day, I could imagine the crowds. As you would expect in Germany, the streets were clean and well-maintained. For the first time on my trip, I saw a great deal of graffiti, some of it appearing to be gang-like. Below are a few pictures of modern Frankfurt. I regret I didn't have more time to explore the area. A number of wonderful vineyards are just outside the city along the Rhine.

Hiltons: In Sydney, Perth, Bali, Singapore, and Frankfurt, I stayed in Hilton Hotels. Each one of them had a special character and quality. All had excellent service and excellent to superior food. I found the Frankfurt Hilton to be topnotch in every way. At that time, the rate was reasonable for staying right in the center of the city. For you purists who like to get out and savor the countryside, Hiltons would not be your choice. However, for me, I wanted a worldwide hotel chain that offered centralized reservations and that would provide a high level of service for a lone traveler. Hiltons met those criteria. Besides, you receive double points...:-) Click here http://www.hilton.com to go to Hilton's web pages.