Hellooooooooo, Frankfurt!

The latest Frankfurt Starbucks mug features Justitia
and Gerechtigkeitbrunnen (Fountain of Justice).

Just got back from Frankfurt and boy are my arms tired!

Did the annual visit to Asmus' brother and this year's visit was much better than the 2010 flavor. Last year, I was so nervous that I don't think I exhaled until halfway through the visit. There were children, a foreign language and no escape. By children, I mean non-family children. We were invited to attend a community barbecue. Except for my sister's son, with whom I usually speak to as if he is an adult. Always have. It started off as funny but now it's our style. Now I am not quite sure what to say to other children, so I say nothing.

This time, there was just the one set of children -- my German nephews -- and the foreign language is not so foreign.

I have this habit of finding someone's wacky spot and picking at it and picking at it. For Asmus' oldest brother, that is asking to visit him. He doesn't want to hang around me (That's OK. No one has to like me. I don't how they can't but it's OK.), so I continually ask him if he is free for coffee. He never says no, just looks uncomfortable and walks away. The Frankfurt brother seems to have the same gene that I have. The fun started when we arrived after a seven-hour train ride that ended at midnight and he called me a heathen. At first, I was so tired and dazed that I wasn't sure if he really thought I was damned to hell or he was being funny. Then he hit me in the head with a pillow and then I knew that he was being nice. His wife is so energetic and so welcoming. After three hours walking in the hot, mountainous zoo and chasing after two young boys, she started cooking as soon as she got home. Immediately after I get home, I head to the couch and watch an episode of Will & Grace. Then I drink wine as I cook or eat or work.

I played with my two nephews. I haven't played in the streets in decades. They were patient and I appreciate it.

We went to the world's most exhausting zoo. The Opel Zoo is in the exurbs of Germany's fourth-largest city. The architects seemed to be afraid to conquer nature. Something that we Americans don't mind so much. The zoo was built on a series of 75-degree mountains. Up and down, up and down. It was a circuit, so there was no way to avoid the hills. The steepest was the first/last mountain. I honestly have a fear of goats. There eyes give me the willies. I remember a few years ago, Tracy Morgan's character, Brian Fellows, said that he hated goats because they had devil eyes and it made me feel not so alone in the world. Opel Zoo was full of goats. They are at the entrance/exit. We spent about 15 minutes feeding these horrible creatures. I worked very hard at occupying myself but I did catch some glimpses of the goats. The highlight was the hippopotamus.



I know animals have tiny brains but this one seemed to know he was on stage and worked it. He moved through a small pond for a few minutes, then he brought his entire body out of the water. He was massive. Then he climbed up against the wall of his enclosure, hung there for about 20 seconds. What was going on? Was he OK? He was fine. He dropped himself into the water and doused everyone standing at the short gate at his pond. Then he let out a frightening growl. Nature rules! People flocked to the hippopotamus cage right after the growl and belly flop.

Then we went home and ate a ridiculous amount of food cooked on a barbecue.

It was a great weekend.