Our first day of travel brought us to an overnight layover in Frankfurt where we were greeted by dazzling sunshine. They say sunshine helps with jet lag, so we met up with an old friend of Gareth’s and set off for a walk along the Main, a wide river bisecting the city.
Taking a closer look at the river after playing in the playground and sandbox
There are wide pedestrian paths and greenbelts along both sides of the river. Apparently this was the first sunny day after a long, dreary winter, and just like in the Pacific Northwest, the sunshine brought everyone outside. There were picnickers, bikers, runners, and ice cream trucks in every direction.
After checking out the playground, we took a break on a shady bench to enjoy the local specialty, apfelwein.
Apfelwein, a kind of cider, is made from apples, then mixed with juice from the fruit of the speierling tree
I also learned that it is traditionally served in these textured glasses to improve grip, a holdover from a time before people regularly ate with utensils.
Hugo had a lemonade
Lest you think we were all bright eyed and happily frolicking along the river after eleven hours on an airplane, here is Gareth carrying a sleeping Hugo back to the hotel:
He weighs about 40 pounds now, so this is much harder than it used to be
Tomorrow is another travel day before reach our final destination.
Pacific Rim Stowaway 
So cool to drink in the traditional glass. 🙂
Yes, I thought that was interesting, too! I read about it when I was trying to find out what kind of juice was mixed into the cider. Thanks for reading!