(Subways), Trains and Automobiles

We hopped on the train and headed to Frankfurt today to visit the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History.

We caught the train here in Bad Vilbel and took it to Frankfurts's Central Station, about a 25-minute trip. This station is a city unto itself.

It has three levels -- street-level for the long-distance trains, one floor down for the mid-distance trains, and another level further underground for the subways. The upper level of long-distance trains alone has 24 platforms. It serves 350,000 people a day.

From here, we caught the subway and took it two stops north to the Senckenberg Museum.

The museum has a dinosaur exhibit, and the most complete display of stuffed (taxidermied) animals I have ever seen. The kids loved it.

About two-thirds of the way through our visit of the halls, Phil got a message: there was a case in Stuttgart that afternoon. He had to take off right away to get there -- about 210km away. He would take the train.

The kids and I enjoyed the rest of the museum, and then headed back to the Frankfurt Central Station. Once there, we purchased our return tickets at a kiosk, and then stood in the middle of the bustle, wondering where in the heck we were to catch our train. Phil was the train guru, but we were just novices left to our own devices in a land where we don't speak the language.

To make a very long story short, after much wandering and swearing (under my breath), I asked someone who worked there. "You need Essex," he said, pointing down to the next level below. Trains were whizzing by, and I was looking for anything that said Essex, but the word was nowhere to be found. By this point, we'd been trolling the station for about 30 minutes, and I'd just about had enough.

Suddenly, we saw Phil coming off one of the trains. He had gone home to shower and change, and was back at Central Station to catch the train to Stuttgart. "You need the S6 to Friedberg," he said as he rushed by. Ahhh, S6. I was looking for Essex. Suddenly it was all clear.

We made it home, and Phil made it to Stuttgart. This train system is phenomenal, once you get it figured out. We North Americans have something to learn from the Europeans about efficient public transportation.

On the other hand, I was relieved to get into our own car at the Bad Vilbel station and drive to exactly where I wanted to go, in my own timing and direction. There is also something to be said for self-determination : )