No early carnival in Frankfurt

Mid-morning of November 11, 2023, I published a post under the title “Helau and Alaaf, Carnival is coming,” saying “In any case, Franziska is getting ready for a day out and about at that very moment this post is published.” 

This is the posting covering that outing and – as expected – I did not encounter a single carnivalist in Frankfurt. That early part of carnival is only celebrated in the German carnival heartland along the river Rhein.

Anyway, Franziska left home fairly early at around 11:00 a.m. already, on this day in Fall, as I had made an appointment at a brand store for wigs to try for a new wig. Outfit of the day was this light turquoise color dress with dolman sleeves. It is a lot of fun to wear and it makes my shoulders look smaller, which helps with the feminine image, I am trying to present. I combined it with a black leather jacket and black boots, which have a close-fitting elastic boot leg and a moderate, thus inconspicuous 4 cm heel.

The visit to the wig store was very disappointing. The shop attendants were not very eager to sell anything, and I almost had to fight in order to get to try three (!) wigs. There was no help or encouragement provided and no recommendation made. During my appointment, I had to wait for almost 15 minutes for “my” attendant to finish a call with another (potential) customer, while there were two more attendants available. And we are talking about a paid appointment – which in the end would have been deducted from the purchase price. I ended up buying a wig online from the web shop of this very brand, which, in the end, cost around 50% of the price the store had asked.

I had shown you my three wigs in “The way Franzi does it!” (#6) in my posting from March 28, 2024. The newest one is the one in the middle and at that point it had already been styled by my hair dresser. In the next posting, you will see the new wig in action for the first time, still I its original form.

Portrait of the day

Walking along the northern bank of the river Main towards the city center

After the visit to the wig store, Franziska went to one of her favorite places, the “Kleinmarkthalle” for lunch, which happened to be very close to the store. If you come to Frankfurt and you are a food lover, look for this place.

Pasta with salmon for lunch, a glass of pinot, and sparkling water – and my world is order.

I had reported about this small Italian wine and delicatessen store on the upper level of “Kleinmarkthalle” before. It has a very special atmosphere and friendly service. You will be seeing it some more in postings to come.

For good measure, just a stroll through the women’s section of the largest department store on “Zeil.” Zeil is the name of Frankfurt’s largest shopping street, which in 1973 was converted into a pedestrian zone. The street itself emerged in the 12^th century as the northernmost border of the city, along which the city wall had been built. The name “Zeil” (Zeile = line/row/streak) was coined by common parlance, as it stretched between the two city gates, and it had houses on one side only.

Pasta for dinner, a glass of pinot, and sparkling water – and my world is order, you’d think. But this is very unusual for Franziska, who typically enjoys more refined food for dinner, as regular readers of this blog surely know.

This is again at the wine bar, where also the last outing ended. I am very curious how often I have to go there, before the owner will find out who I really am.