Yesterday I took the slow train up the Rhein river valley to Cologne (aka Köln). It was beautiful! The river is spotted with old castles and every little village has a lovely cathedral. The landscape is actually a lot like my home in California. It is also a wine and apple growning region, with the same size hills as we have framing Santa Rosa. Of course we don't have such historical architecture in CA, I wish! I arrived early at the station in cologne, and ...

After kaunas and Riga, Frankfurt feels like Manhatten! Downtown Frankfurt is primarily a financial district, which looks much like wall street, and for the first time since London the people are from a broad spectrum of races and nationalities. So, I really feel like I've come out of the "back woods" and back into the big city. It was also really nice to say goodbye to all the ice and snow of the baltics. Of course it is not warm in germany by any means, mor...