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.
A Questionable ‘Choice Seat’ on US Airways to Dublin and a Few Other Thoughts
Now that I’m finally settled in the German countryside visiting my partner’s German parents for the next several days or so, I can finally get around to blogging about the last week of traveling, which officially began my holiday travel. The lovely part about my day job as a teacher is the time-off I get over the various holidays and breaks. Nothing beats the month off I get for the Christmas holidays – I give you permission to hate me, since I would hate myself if I wasn’t in my current situation. But in all honesty, the first week of the break is often devoted to grading the pile of essays and final exams, which can be a bit of a drain, especially when Dublin or Berlin is waiting outside of your hotel door. But with focused attention and perseverance, I managed to not only finish my stack of grading, but I actually found quality time to enjoy the various places I’ve had a chance to visit over the past few days.
Choice Seat on US Airways to Dublin
So to recap a bit. My first official holiday travel day was a flight with US Airways from Chicago to Dublin via Philadelphia. It was questionable whether I was actually going to go to Europe over the holidays for the longest time, but sometime in November I spotted a roundtrip fare on US Airways for $580 for dates that coincided perfectly with my partner’s holiday travel to Germany. I was prepared to fly to anywhere in Europe, as long as the price was good. The flight that I spotted was to Dublin. I couldn’t pass it up. From Dublin, I used 12,500 Continental Onepass miles to Berlin (via Frankfurt) on Lufthansa, which would leave a day after I arrived in Dublin. I had never been to Berlin, and the flight from Dublin fit my schedule well. I’ve often found that flights to Berlin are weirdly expensive – even budget flights – a reason that I opted to use my miles. For the day I wanted to fly out from Dublin, I could not find a reasonably priced fare to get to Berlin .
US Airways Dinner
I decided a few days before my departure to Dublin to pay $35 for a “Choice Seat.” I did so primarily because the seat that I originally had was in the back of the plane, and all other available seats were middle seats. Selecting the Choice Seat option gets you into “Zone 2″ (early boarding) and faster de-boarding. You might even have the option of an exit seat or a bulkhead seat, which would get you extra leg room. I chose a window Choice Seat a row behind one of the exits (which happened to be the door used to board the plane). If anyone has ever been seated in the back of the plane on an international flight (or any flight for that matter), getting off the plane is just a nightmare. Being able to get off even before the first/business class passengers was a huge treat once we landed in Dublin, don’t get me wrong; but the choice seats, in my opinion, should all come with a bit more legroom (especially for the premium price you are paying). I’m usually ok sitting in coach since I don’t take up too much space, but the seat on my US Airways flight was ridiculously small. For a moment the woman sitting in the aisle and I thought our middle seat would be empty, but at the very last minute it was taken by a displaced passenger whose original seat was mysteriously taken by a man who couldn’t or didn’t want to show his boarding ticket to the flight attendants asking him for it … an air marshall, perhaps? So ok, it couldn’t get any worse than feeling like a sardine whilst flying. Au contraire! What’s worse than cramped seats? A screaming baby who wouldn’t stop crying for the whole 6 hour flight sitting right behind me! Not only was this child screaming, he was kicking my seat and hitting my head with his tiny hands, all the while his parents looked on with passivity. Oy. It wasn’t my lucky day.
A few other thoughts about the flight: I hate being “that” nitpicker of a traveler, who we all roll our eyes at whenever s/he finds the most minuscule of faults. I hate that person, I do. I find the scathing reviews on sites like Trip Advisor mostly annoying and often not trustworthy. Though when things are just so blatantly curious or wrong and potentially easily remedied through some sort of workflow change or reallocation of attention and values, I don’t have a problem pointing things out on this blog. I ultimately hope that someone might be listening. So I am going to send this out to the Universe: When did aesthetics and presentation disappear from American travel? Have we all just gotten inured to lousy presentation of meals on flights or tired-and dowdy-looking flight attendants? That might sound harsh, but honestly as ambassadors of sorts for the United States and US Airways, there’s got to be something to be said about looking the part! This, of course, extends to other airlines in the United States. I flew a Lufthansa flight in coach the following day, and was floored by the remarkable difference of the personel and the interior of the cabin: (a) uniforms of flight attendants are designed well, and they looked good on the flight attendents; (b) the flight attendants who ranged from 20-ish to 50-ish looked fresh, put together, hair and make-up styled just right; (c) even the in-flight magazine plastic packaging had some sort of aesthetic logic in their presentation; (d) and the color palette of the interior worked very well. An investment in seating space, in-flight amenities (video screens on the back of the seat for international flights, please!), or even an investment in lighting and color choices might actually make travelers feel better and respond less persnickety (here, I think Virgin America has gotten it right).
Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Hotel Shuttle
Boy was I ready to leave that plane after we landed in very cold and frosty Dublin! I’ve been to Dublin several times before, and I absolutely love it for how easy it is to navigate the city and the surrounding areas. US Airways is in Terminal 2 of the Dublin Airport. It took about 30 minutes to get through immigrations since another flights from the U.S. had arrived before us. But once through immigration, it is quite easy to make your way to buses that will take you the city center: Aircoach or the Dublin Bus #747 are the two that I recommend. This time, however, I had a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport for the night. The Holiday Inn Express provides a free shuttle service every half hour before 11am and on the hour afterwards. I had wanted to spend the day in the city, but the crying and disruptive baby behind me did not let me sleep during the whole flight.
Luckily the hotel had a room for me ready when I arrived at 9am, for which I was immensely thankful.
All photos were taken using Instagram.
24 Hours In Denver
After a very pleasant and short 2 hour flight from Seattle, I arrived in Denver. Being a USAA member has definitely got its perks, especially with rental cars. I rarely rent a car without using my USAA rental car benefits. The insurance coverage that comes with the USAA benefits is really generous and gives me extra peace of mind whenever I rent from Hertz. Thanks Dad for being in the military!
My first hotel was a bit away from downtown Denver. For this quick trip, my plan was to be as frugal as I could and still be able to see and do fun things. So my first hotel was the Hilton Garden Inn in Englewood, about 20 miles south of downtown Denver. For about $60, the hotel was perfect. Because I arrived so late, this was essentially just a place to sleep. All of my activities would be the following day.
Elephant at the Hilton Garden Inn in Englewood
After a very fast check-in, I was greeted by a lovely elephant on my bed. I thought the gesture was nice. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the room, but aesthetically it felt nice and modern (unlike my next hotel). My bed was stiff, which was frustrating, and I couldn’t figure out how to make it softer – there’s supposed to be a way. I got very little sleep. Not to be too grumpy about things, especially while I travel, I try to seek out at least one redeeming thing about staying at a hotel or flying. I truly appreciated the Neutrogena bathroom products. And most of all, I thought the hotel staff at the front desk were great!
Neutrogena Products
I awoke a bit late – I do like to snooze – and needed a late check-out, which I was enthusiastically given. I find that when asking for a late check-out, I’ve gotten positive results when stating directly my desired time to check out. So I asked for a 1pm check-out and got it without having to haggle. My next hotel was closer to downtown Denver – the Holiday Inn Denver Central – which cost about $50. I must say, this Holiday Inn looked and felt a bit dated. It was also in an odd part of Denver, surrounded by what seemed like an industrial park. It’s interesting what vastly different hotels you can get for $50. Because my trip to Denver was so short, I didn’t really care so much that the Holiday Inn felt a little like motel. The staff, however, at the front desk was very friendly. I dropped my bags off in my room, and I was on my way to explore downtown.
Denver State Capitol Building
Denver in December is cold, cold, cold, probably not the most ideal time to visit. I found a paid parking lot right across the street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel that was empty (15th and California). Because it was Sunday, I paid $10 for the whole day. Not bad.
Clyfford Sill Museum
My first destination was the Clyfford Still Museum (250 Bannock Street, $10 adults/$6 students/$3 youth). Truth be told, even though my trip to Denver was a mileage run, going to the Clyfford Still Museum was a special bonus. Clyfford Still was one of the leading figures of the abstract expressionism movement (think Pollack, Rothko, de Kooning), who, as I described to one of my friends, was essentially a hoarder of his own artwork who disavowed the art world and retreated to spend his last of his years in Maryland painting … more or less.
Clyfford Still painting
The museum, which is right next to the Denver Art Museum, recently opened in November and will exhibit a rotating selection of his paintings and works on paper. For anyone visiting Denver, this museum is a must see. Still’s paintings are brilliant in their large scale, some taking up whole walls, while others are bold in the contrast of colors and application of paint, and all express a range of emotions. Because Still essentially quit the art world at the height of the abstract expressionist movement and hoarded his work, many of the pieces at the museum have never been exhibited before, which in itself is exciting for art appreciators and scholars alike.
Exploring downtown Denver by foot is probably the best in warmer weather, but on 15 degree days, seek out other ways like the great public transport that Denver has. Downtown has an awesome mall bus that goes up and down the 16th Street, the main thoroughfare. The bus stops at every block and is FREE. In sub-zero weather, the mall bus is your very best friend, since it’s heated. I recommend walking (in warmer weather) or busing up 16th Street especially if you are a shopper. Most of the standard “mall” stores can be found on 16th Street. I happened upon an H&M store and popped in for some retail therapy (and warmth).
JAX Happy Hour Menu
Ten years ago a friend who lived in Boulder introduced me to JAX Fish House (1539 17th Street) in the LoDo district of Denver. I’ve had fond memories of the place ever since, especially of the oysters. We must have ordered at least 3 dozen oysters that day. I was pleased to discover that JAX was still in Denver, and even more pleased that they still had the $1 oysters for their happy hour (4-6pm daily). You read right – $1 oysters.
Oysters from JAX Fish House
The menu had other delectable goodies, but I was there for the oysters and a pint of beer. And boy was I completely satisfied ! If you are in town, I recommend the happy hour at JAX.
Denver Union Station
After downing about a dozen oysters and a pint of Full Sail Amber, I took a short stroll to see the Christmas lights at Union Station. So pretty.
Tattered Cover Book Store
My next destination was the Tattered Cover Book Store (1628 16th St.), which is about a block away from Union Station. On my travels I try hard to find the local bookstores. Tattered Cover is huge, with books on two levels. What I love about the store is the size of the space – it doesn’t feel cramped. It feels like what a bookstore should feel like – inviting and warm. What’s also great is that the store houses new books, but also a large stock of used and bargain books. It would hard to leave empty handed. I found a couple of bargain books on design that caught my eye and that I bought.
After my trip to the bookstore, I called it a day.
Even though I started the day a bit late, I still managed to eat, drink, shop, and appreciate fantastic art! I’m sure I’ll return and hopefully spend more time exploring the many gems that Denver has to offer.
All photos taken with Instagram.
