FRANZISKA OUT AND ABOUT

This is the title of the musical that Franziska got to see that evening at “Alte Oper” Frankfurt. “Ku’damm” is the short version of Kurfürstendamm (Elector’s dam), an important street and section for trade and gastronomy in the suburb of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the German capitol of Berlin. This street and section, erected in the 1540s, was more-or-less the center of West-Berlin, while the city of Berlin was split between 1945 and 1990. The historic and current center of Berlin lay in the eastern parts of the city, which were redeveloped only after 1990. Berlin is well worth a visit if you come to Germany and should be your preference over Frankfurt. Make no mistake, while I very much like some parts of Frankfurt, there are many aspects about Frankfurt that I loathe. If you visit Germany for the first time, I recommend to pick Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich over Frankfurt. If you want to have a (small) chance to run into Franziska, you’d have to come the Frankfurt, though. The music...

This was my second day out and about with my new wig, and – slowly – I was getting used to it. This being late December, it was fairly cold out and I dug deep into my box of scarfs and shawls. That box contains about 50 different items, some of which I have never used, so far. But I love accessories and having a matching or fitting scarf or shawl for my outfit, I consider a very critical success factor. This day again consisted of two parts and two outfits, a daytime outfit and an evening outfit, and this posting will report on the former. You might recognize by now the bus stop at which many of my outings start. The bus goes every 15 or every 30 minutes, depending on the day of the week and the time of the day. The bus route leads past “Südbahnhof” (South Station) where I get off and make my way down “Schweizer Straße” (Swiss Street, which runs through Swiss Square) towards the river Main and into the banking district. Frankfurt is a village, remember, if you are good on foot, you can...

If you look up “sole” in any of the dictionaries that cover the English language, you will find that there many meanings and uses to his inconspicuous little word. But there is one that is most appealing to Franziska. Can you guess? This posting covers the rest of this first day out and about, in which Franziska was giving her new wig a performance test. Franzi was heading to dinner, which, in this case, required crossing the river Main into “Sachsenhausen” with the subway, to visit a French restaurant close to “Schweizer Platz” (Swiss Square). Swiss square is literally squaring the circle (or vice versa), as it is actually a small roundabout, and it constitutes the center of gravity for shopping and night life, south of the river. This is a very traditional French restaurant: catchy interior design, classy selection of food items, great wines, and occasional service. This, for example, is a French Onion Soup with a Sauvignon Blanc (if I remember correctly). And this is a very, very ta...