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Affordable Digs: Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbanhof

Frankfurt Hauptbanhof

Our train pulled into Frankfurt rather late, but luckily we had booked a hotel close to the station. We got a really great deal booking early on the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s Web site – parent company of the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. I was also happy that I would be getting Priority Rewards points for the stay. We booked a night at the Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbanhof, about a 3 blocks away from the train station (Elbestraße 7). Hardly anyone was out at the late hour when we arrived. Walking up Kaiserstraße, you’ll notice immediately the Starbucks on the right-hand side (free Wi-Fi).

Holiday Inn Express - Frankfurt

Check-in at the hotel was very quick. As a Priority Rewards member, I got a really nice letter from the receptionist from the hotel manager greeting me to the hotel. The letter also informed me that I could request a late check-out at 2pm, which I did. Also, my room was on the top floor, facing Elbestraße. To access the hotel’s free Wi-Fi, you will need to get the username and password from the receptionist.

The room itself was lovely, with a refreshing contemporary aesthetic and a color scheme that worked. Many times when requesting a double bed in Europe, the rooms will have two twin beds pushed together to make one bed. The bed at the hotel was in fact just one bed (I would say, a little smaller than a King bed), which was nice. The flat-screen TV was a descent size. I wished the bathroom had a bathtub.

Snowy Frankfurt

It started to snow the following morning, which added a lovely touch to the historic facades of the buildings across the street. For lunch we walked down towards the Starbucks on Kaiserstraße. Very close to the Starbucks I had spotted a Vietnamese restaurant on our walk to the hotel the night before.

Pho!

For whatever reason, the though of having Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup with slices of beef) sounded really good to me, especially on the cold and snowy day we were having. Unfortunately, I failed to jot down the name of the Vietnamese restaurant (bad Jan!), but you can’t miss it walking up Kaiserstraße from the train station. The Pho that I ordered hit the spot! So yummy and affordable!

For a hotel close enough to the train station, I would recommend the Holiday Inn Express. We did not have breakfast since I snoozed a bit too long while Andreas went out to do his personal business in the city. Breakfast was not included in my rate, and it would have run a little over 10 euros. I liked the affordability of the hotel along with how new and modern our room felt. Plus, it was a great way to collect Priority Reward points!

Images shot with Instagram.

January 11, 2012 | Categories: Germany, Holiday Inn, Hotels and Lodging | Tags: frankfurt, germany, holiday inn, hotel | Leave A Comment »

Scorecard: Where Does Your Airline of Choice Rank?

The Wall Street Journal has a nifty scorecard of U.S. airline carriers. Alaska Airlines (my airlines of choice) ranked first, while American Airlines ranked last. I actually find the bottom three airlines on the scorecard rather telling.

(click on graphic to read the complete article from the WSJ)

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Airlines, Alaska Airlines | Tags: airlines, alaska airlines, ranking | 1 Comment »

Off to Frankfurt on the ICE in First Class

From Berlin we had to get to Frankfurt for a couple of personal engagements. Most travelers like me know Frankfurt because of its major international airport and have probably never ventured to the city center. As a German, Andreas didn’t really think much of the city, so we didn’t have anything really planned for our overnight stay, except for an Egyptian exhibition (more on that later) that we had bought tickets to. We bought our ICE (Intercity Express) train tickets a few weeks before we had left for Germany on the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Web site. I learned from Andreas that if you purchased your tickets in advance, you can get significant discounts on the various DB-run trains. Our tickets were discounted about 50% because we bought them early.

I was surprised by how empty our car was!

Leg room on ICE train in first class

I absolutely love train travel, so I was excited to be taking the train to Frankfurt. First class on an ICE train gives you ample leg room space and aisle space because of the 1 seat, aisle, 2 seats configuration. Though I wished the seat reclined back more. In first class, there is a train attendent that passes through for food and drink orders. Also on select ICE trains, you can even pay for Wi-Fi service. The ICE train stops less frequently than the other train options, so our trip to Frankfurt felt extremely fast.

Refreshments

A train car behind first class was the cafe car, where we had a really nice dinner and refreshments. Our train ride to Frankfurt would be one of many train rides we would be taking on our German holidays.

All images taken with Instagram.

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Germany | Tags: deutsche bahn, germany, train, travel | Leave A Comment »

Evening View in Berlin: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas

A trip to Berlin is not complete without a visit to the Holocaust Memorial otherwise known as Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Cora-Berliner-Strasse 1, a short walk from Potsdamer Platz U-Bahn station). There is an underground “Place of Information” where the names of all the Jewish people killed are listed. Unfortunately for us, it was closed the Monday we visited.

Andreas and I roamed around the 2,711 slabs or stelae for awhile. There are usually lights that light up on the ground, but they were not on while we were there. I found walking through the maze of stelae that ranged in height from very short to taller than me incredibly moving and at times disorienting.

Image taken with Instagram.

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Berlin, Germany | Tags: berlin, germany, holocaust memorial | Leave A Comment »

Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery

Andreas and I decided to check out the Berlin Wall on our first full day together, a Monday. Because of the crappy weather the day before and getting lost, I wasn’t able to see any of the museums that I wanted to see. So Andreas and I planned on seeing the Berlin Wall since it was the furthest away, then work our way back towards the museum attractions.

The Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery

There is a nice section of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery, one kilometer long stretch of wall covered with art. There are two S-Bahn stations close by – Ostbanhof and Warschauer Straße‎. I would recommend Ostbanhof. It’s a shorter walk from the station to the Wall. From Ostbanhof exit, the Wall is a short walk directly in front of you. The Wall is adjacent to the Spree river.

Below are a few snapshots of that I took of the wall. The whole idea of the Berlin Wall is incredible – that a wall could be constructed (a) so quickly and (b) separate people as effectively as it did and for as long as it did is really astounding. Experiencing the Wall was incredibly moving, since I was just a kid when it fell but still remember the news broadcast of its falling. A lot of the artwork at the East Side Gallery has been restored because of vandalism, a good thing given how powerful the artwork is.

You can even get a stamp in your passport at the East Side Gallery. I chose the Checkpoint Charlie Stamp for 1 euro.

I recommend taking your time while at the Wall. There’s so much to see. Like I said earlier, we went to the Wall on a Monday. As we would soon discover, Mondays are bad days when it comes to museum-going – in fact, most museums are closed on Monday – which really threw a wrench in our plans. Plan accordingly!

All images taken with Instagram.

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Art, Berlin, Germany, Museum, Photographs | Tags: art, berlin, berlin wall, germany | Leave A Comment »

Eye Candy: The Joy of Books

Something to keep you bibliophiles out there salivating. This is a wonderfully creative and amazing video, created at Type bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West). I’ll have to check out the bookstore the next time I’m in Toronto.

Support your local, independent bookstores!

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Canada | Tags: bookstore, canada, toronto, type, video | Leave A Comment »

Kaiten-Sushi at Mr. Hai Kabuki Berlin

Mr. Hai Kabuki on Olivaer Platz

After all the travel delays, Andreas finally arrived to the hotel…and boy was he hungry! I awoke from my snooze hungry too and very excited to get some real food, since the night before I opted to cook a pizza that I bought from the nearby supermarket. I was also super excited to have Andreas, a native speaker of German, around since he would be my primary translator during our time in Germany. Skyping the night before, we had both scoped out online a Japanese restaurant close by on Olivaer Platz called Mr. Hai Kabuki (Olivaer Platz 10), a contemporary kaiten-sushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant. On my stroll the night before, I had walked around Olivaer Platz and peeked into the restaurant. I would have eaten there but I didn’t want to experience it without Andreas. In terms of food options, the area around Olivaer Platz has plenty of restaurants. I spotted a Vietnamese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and a couple of Japanese restaurants. I am particularly fond of kaiten-sushi, so I had my heart set on going to Mr. Hai Kabuki. Andreas dropped off his bags, and we were off!

Kaiten-Sushi!

We were greeted by a nice woman, who spoke English and German (not to mention Vietnamese). Having lived in Japan for several years, I am quite familiar with the Japanese language. It doesn’t surprise me anymore that non-Japanese Asians often run Japanese restaurants. Andreas told me that as a child in Germany, the only Asians he ever interacted with were Vietnamese folks. I figured there was probably a fairly large Vietnamese diaspora in Germany. No matter – we were hungry, and we anticipated that the food would be good. The sushi bar where folks sat to pick off the sushi dishes off of wooden boats floating in water was fairly packed. Most of the kaiten-sushi places that I’ve been have used an actual conveyor belt to circulate the dishes with the various rolls and sushi options. Kabuki used wooden boats on water that floated with the current, which I thought was a nice touch.

Shrimp dish

The rolls, sushi, and the other small dishes weren’t too bad. It wasn’t by any means stellar, though good enough, as my friend Wil would say, “for the girls we date.” If you are looking for reasonably-priced dishes (each of the dishes you take is coded by color, which determines the price), then Kabuki is a fine food option for you, especially if you are staying at a nearby hotel like the Citadines. I thought the interior was tastefully designed in a sleek contemporary way. Do know that you aren’t limited to only the dishes on the floating boats. You can put in requests to the sushi chefs, or you can order from the menu (complete with pictures!). Let’s just say, after so much traveling by the both of us just to get to Berlin and my day of walking around in the rain, my bottle of Sapporo tasted so good!

With what seemed like a tower of mini-dishes stacked and plenty of empty bottles of beer in front of us, we were ready for much needed sleep. And yes, we slept like logs!

All images taken with Instagram.

January 5, 2012 | Categories: Berlin, Food, Germany | Tags: berlin, germany, kabuki, kaiten-sushi, mr. hai, restaurant | Leave A Comment »

Lost in Berlin: Wintery Rain, Neues Museum, and the Brandenburg Gate

My first full day in Berlin was not without a few challenges. The weather was blistery cold but not cold enough for snow. In fact, the rain fell steadily throughout the day. The mix of cold and rain was not the most ideal, especially when I had planned on visiting various sites around Berlin. With my Berlin WelcomCard in hand, I was surely going to see Berlin…or at least that was the plan.

One of my loves in life is contemporary art, and Berlin, as I’ve read, is place for that. My first stop was the KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Auguststraße 69). I found my way without any problems to the U-Bahn Weinmeister Straße stop – the exit is right next to the fashionable Casa Camper Hotel Berlin and other trendy shopping spots and cafes. The trouble started as soon as I exited the subway. I could not, for the life of me, figure out North from South, or where the hell I was. I found myself walking around in circles, checking the map in my handy Berlin WelcomeCard booklet, going back to the subway station to read the map of the surrounding location, and finally camping out underneath an arch at the Goethe-Institut, waiting for the rain to subside (it never did). In short, I never found the KW. Dejected, I decided to forge ahead with my plans to see Berlin.

Berliner Fernsehturm

I decided to make my way to the Alexanderplatz U-Bahn station, the major hub within the Mitte district of Berlin. There I found the Galeria Kaufhof brimming with holiday shoppers and those wanting to escape the rain. From the Alexanderplatz exit you have a good view of Berliner Fernsehturm, Berlin’s tallest iconic structure. My plan was to walk along the Karl-Liebkneckt Straße, a main shopping thoroughfare, in the direction of the Museum Island (Museuminsel) where the street turns into Schloßplatz. The street then turns into the Unter den Linden, which would take me to the Bradenburg Gate.

Berliner Dom

It might be good to note that, not only will you have to contend with the cold and rainy weather during the Wintertime, you will also have to contend with the short days. Get an early start! Because of jet-lag, I unfortunately got a rather late start (noon-ish). But I also wasted about an hour looking for the KW. By the time I started my walk from Alexanderplatz to the Museum Island, the time was nearing 3pm. It might also be good to note that an umbrella or rain gear might help your journey, especially if you are going by foot. By the time I got to the Berliner Dom, Berlin’s largest church on the Museum Island, I was drenched, cold, and generally not happy. The sight of the Altes Museum across the Am Lustgarten lifted my spirits a bit, since I decided that it might be a good idea to head into a museum, any museum, because of the weather. I made my way along the Am Lustgarten, where I saw Roma women following tourists and soliciting money. I made a point to not walk in their direction.

Neues Museum

Finally I spotted the Neues Museum. The Neues Museum should not be mistaken for the Neue Nationalgalerie, the modern art museum the near Potsdamer Platz area! I say this because you WILL NOT see any modern art in the Neues Museum, but rather multiple floors of impressive Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art (along with Stone and Bronze Age exhibits). The Neues Museum is also where you will find the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti (which you are forbidden to take photos of, apparently).

Egyptian Male Bust in the Neues Museum

I was tired, cold, and wet, which I blame my mistake on. The price of admittance is 10 euro. If you do all four floors, which includes the basement, which I did, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth, and you’ll see enough classical and ancient art to last you the whole year!

Center strip of Unter den Linden

After doing the Neues Museum, I was totally museum’ed out (and here I thought I could fit in two or three museums during the day). I made my way towards the Brandenburg Gate, walking along the center of the Unter den Linden. It was only about 4pm, and hardly anyone was out. The trees at the center of the Unter den Linden were beautifully lit with Christmas lights. In the distance I could see the well-lit Bradenburg Gate and a huge Christmas tree in front of it.

Brandenburg Gate

It took about 15 minutes or so to get from the Neues Museum to the Brandenburg Gate. The site of the tree lit with Christmas lights and the gate was impressive!

Christmas Tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate

I decided that I was too tired to do much of anything else. So after I took a few pictures of the tree and gate, I went to the Starbucks close by and got myself a coffee and made my way to the closet U-Bahn station to go back to the hotel for a quick snooze. Andreas would be arriving shortly, and we’d planned on going out to dinner together.

All photos taken with Instagram.

January 5, 2012 | Categories: Berlin, Germany, Museum | Tags: berlin, brandenburg gate, germany, neues museum, travel | Leave A Comment »

Getting Around in Berlin: Public Transportation and Passes

My plan to see the museums with Andreas on what was to be our first full day in Berlin together was not to be. His travel schedule was thrown into disarray in the U.S., which caused a succession of travel delays and adjustments. He would be getting into Berlin about 8 hours later, just in time for dinner. I was, of course, disappointed, but I was also in Berlin and had a list of things that I wanted to do with Andreas that I had to revise to do by myself.

First on my list was to figure out how to get around Berlin. I was surely going to take the public transportation system from the Ku-Damm area where I was staying to the various sites of Berlin, and so I decided that a public transportation pass was probably the most practical of choices. Berlin has a fantastic public transportation system of buses, tram system, an elevated train and a subway system (S-Bahn and U-Bahn). As I had described in my previous post, taking the bus from Tegel Airport to my hotel was a breeze. Since we would be in Berlin for a little under 48 hours, I had in mind purchasing either the CityTourCard or the Berlin WelcomeCard, both of which would be valid for 48 hrs (you may purchase passes for longer durations: 72 hours and 5 days). I opted for the CityTourCard for 15.90 euros, which is cheaper than the WelcomeCard by 2 euros at 17.90 euros.

You can buy the CityTourCard at all selling points, traveller’s shops and all ticket vending machines of BVG and S-Bahn Berlin.

I had seen the vending machine at the bus stop where I was dropped off near the hotel, so I decided to make my way there. But for whatever reason, even with the instructions translated in English, the machine would not accept my card. After numerous times, I just gave up. I went to the closest ATM to withdraw money and headed back to my hotel, where I purchased the Berlin WelcomeCard at the front desk.

You can order your ticket including the travel guide in advance from the online shop, or via telephone in the callcentre. Also, many travel bureaus and events organisers include the Berlin WelcomeCard in their program. For those who make spontaneous decisions, the card can be bought directly on site: In the Berlin Touris Infos, you can purchase tickets and guides including individual consultation. Moreover, the Berlin WelcomeCard is also available both at airports and at many Berlin hotels, as well as at sales points and ticket machines for public transport services.

I realized that the 2 euro difference was because the WelcomeCard comes with a pretty handy booklet with tourist site listings and descriptions and maps of Berlin. Both passes are good for two zones (adding a third zone, Potsdam option is also available) and will allow you to ride all the public transportation in Berlin as you want for, in my case, 48 hours. It should be noted that the CityTourCard and WelcomeCard are, as I far I can tell, exactly the same, down to the discounts you can get at the various tourist sites. The only difference is the handy booklet you get with the WelcomeCard.

Both passes also gives you the opportunity to add a “museum” component to your card. This card comes only with the 72 hour duration and give you free access to the Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Bodemuseum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum, all of which are situated on “Museum Island” or Museumsinsel. The CityTourCard Museuminsel will set you back 31.50 euros, while the Berlin Welcome Card Museuminsel costs 34.00 euros. This is actually a fantastic deal, especially if museums are your thing. All of the museums are a very short distance from each other on “Museum Island.” I paid 10 euros just enter the Neues Museum! But be aware that you could potentially spend quite a number of hours in each of the museums – I spent about 2 hours just in the Neues Museum (more on this later). Berlin has so much to offer tourists. You might want to think about just how much museum-going you are willing to do before purchasing the museum component to either your CityTourCard or Berlin WelcomeCard.

January 4, 2012 | Categories: Berlin, Germany | Tags: berlin, germany, public transportation | 1 Comment »

In Photos: Evening Stroll Down Kurfürstendamm, Berlin

On my first night in Berlin, I took a stroll around the Kurfürstendamm area, the glitzy and very expensive shopping district of Berlin. The trees that lined Kurfürstendamm were decorated with Christmas lights, and every block or so there was a Christmas light installation, of Santa, Christmas trees, and other holiday scenes. The Ku-damm district, as it is locally called, is quite lovely, though it does get quite cold during the Winter months. The wide sidewalks are made for window shopping, complete with mini-display cases that store use to advertise their luxury goods. You’ll find stores like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and other high-end stores all along Ku-damm, as well as a variety of restaurants and other attractions like the Cinema Paris, where French films and screened.

Here are a few shots I took on my evening stroll down Kurfürstendamm.