17.9.95 (Sun)

I am now in the Hauptbahnhof of Frankfurt. It is now 6:40 am and I am kind of sleepy. I did not sleep well last night. Actually, I wonder if I slept at all. The facilities on the train were good but its movements annoyed me. Once, it stopped all of a sudden, making everything on the table fall on to the bed and the floor. But of course I appreciate the clean towels and bed linens. I had not been told when I purchased the ticket that breakfast would be included. It therefore seemed like a bonus. But I found it very difficult to rise at 5 am in the morning to get ready for the breakfast.

The weather was fine yesterday. I first walked around the Ring starting from the Opera House. I walked through the Volksgarten, Burggarten, past the Parliament, the museums, etc. It was quite a pleasant walk. After lunch, I joined a guided tour into the Opera House. The auditorium and the main staircase were gorgeous. Other parts were just ordinary. I wish I had visited the Opera House in Paris, too.

Then I visited the Art and History Museum at Neue Burg. The Egyptian collection was great. There was a little blue hippo which I particularly liked. I took a picture of it. The picture gallery was very large and I only have a faint idea of it. I managed to walk through all the open sections in the Museum. I found spending an afternoon in a museum quite meaningful, much better than just wandering on the streets and shopping. I stayed there until it was closed. Then I had nowhere to go.

It was painful to have three hours to kill but nothing to do. Going to a movie was out of the question because they were all in German. All shops were closed at 6 pm so I could not do any shopping either. Spending the hours in a coffee shop might be a good idea but it would take great patience to sit for such a long time alone over a cup of coffee. So I just walked. When I got tired, I ate. Then I walked again. Having had enough time-killing walking, I went to the Westbahnhof. Luckily I could get on the train at 9 pm, i.e. half hour before its departure. So finally I could sit down and rest.

It is only 7 am now, 4 hours before the departure of the flight to London.