Day Two - Ankunft in Frankfurt

My flight from Toronto landed in Frankfurt, Germany very early in the morning. Since I could not check into my hotel until noon, I was slow to get off the plane and into the terminal. After a shower and a delicious (healthy) breakfast at the new Lufthansa arrivals lounge, I hopped on the train into the city, then walked to my hotel (yes I booked one in advance).

I pre-paid a two-night stay at The Pure for a great rate at online and was looking forward to experiencing something four-star. My last visit to Frankfurt (in June) was more of a hostel-type trip - it was an overnight on my way back from a meeting in Dublin.

The receptionist at The Pure greeted me with a surprise. She offered me an upgrade from their four-star hotel room to their brand new five-star property (called Roomers) not too far away at no additional cost. Being a new hotel (there was minor maintainance still going on) they wanted people in the rooms to test out the experience and to (probably) be able to claim higher occupancy rates. I liken it to the Chinese busing in people to fill the stadiums at the Olympics to make the events appear to be sold out.

I accepted the offer and was subsequently driven by their personal driver in an Alfa Romeo with leather interior to match my new brown shoes from Nashville. Upon arrival in the new building, I was asked for my first impression. All I could muster was "wow!".

The room suited me to a tee...stylish minimalism. Well, actually I take claim to the minimalism portion, not the stylish comment. Upon further exploration I found the design of the room to be more about image than practicality. The black marble sink and countertop looked great until water was spilled on it. There were buttons and switches everywhere. The parquet floor looked amazing except where people have marked it by dragging suitcases across it. The lights were all on dimmer switches and one would almost need a University degree in Engineering to get by. It wasn't a problem for me - not because I am so smart - but that I almost always sleep with the lights on in a hotel (when given the choice). The mini-bar included a full-sized bottle of Chivas Regal although I didn't think to check out the price...

Their hotel offered a state-of-the-art spa and fitness room at no extra charge. The hottub? was like no other I've seen before. Rather than sit in a tub, there was room for four people to lie on a diagonal wall that had jets lined up with pressure points along the body. Water trickled from the shoulders downward not only provided gentle massage but soothing sounds of flowing H2O. Multi-coloured LED lights changed frequently to add to the relaxation of the event.

In addition to the sauna and steam room, there were three waterbed massagers (similar units are in some shopping malls) where one lies on top the rubber mattress while very powerful jets of water give a massage. Also something new to me were giant tubs filled with polished stones. The base of the tub was heated and (I guess) the idea was to relax as the hot stones warmed the body. It was relaxing but very weird. There were five tubs with stones of different sizes.

The coolest part of the hotel was the elevator - which I only used once as I am in summer-fitness mode now. Rather than buttons to press, there was a glass tablet much like an iPod touch to select the floor. It's the little things in life...ah.

Dinner consisted of Italian food and German beer. There was an Italian festival on in Frankfurt to promote tourism in Italy. In addition to live Italian music, there were several tents/stations selling sample sizes of different foods from Italy (pizza, pasta, cheeses etc.) and wines. As much as I enjoy Italian wine, I was anxious for a German beer called Warsteiner. It is available in Canada but it is much nicer on tap.

It was time to walk back to the hotel for an early sleep. After carefully avoiding the numerous cigarette butts, empty beer cans and dog waste (there are no rules here), I made it safely to my home for the weekend.