First step into Germany ... Frankfurt am Main

About three years ago, I met Sabrina from Germany. She was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Germany and studying at IU Law - Indianapolis. Who knew that meeting her would change my life forever. Not only did I become interested in studying abroad, but I started to become familiar with Rotary International and all of the humanitarian projects that it is involved in.




Naturally, making a trip to visit her and her family was on my list of priorities. This was the beginning of a week long trip in Germany. I took the train from Holland to Frankfurt am Main, the economic capital of Europe, and the home of the European Central Bank. Frankfurt am Main is also known as Frankfurt Mainhatten for its New York City looking skyline. Not many cities in Europe have such a skyline as those in the U.S.






I visited Frankfurt and saw many of the "tall" skyscrapers. We went atop Maintower, the second tallest building in Frankfurt, which is one of the tallest in Europe. It was an amazing 54 floors! The Chase Tower in Indianapolis is 48 floors, and no one would consider that tall at all. But Europe has it historic buildings and deep rooted culture.

After a day in the city, we went out to Rudesheim, a town in the Rhine River Valley. Germany truly is a beautiful country lined with mountains, rivers, and vineyards. It's definitely a contrast to Holland, which is very flat (much like Indiana). Sabrina, her parents, and I walked along the vineyards, enjoyed the grapes, and later went wine tasting. I saw the historic monument commemorating the victory of the Germans against the French in some long historic battle. The view into the valley was beautiful. With the vineyards and wineries, I would compare this part of Germany to California's Napa Valley.