One night in Frankfurt

This was always going to be a stopover because Frankfurt, as even the Germans will tell you, is little more than a connection to your next destination. The side trip to Prague (see previous posts) had to be cancelled so one night is all I have here.

My flight to Buenos Aires doesn't leave till late, so I have all day to see if this city is really as sobering as everyone says. There have been two pleasant surprises so far which instil optimism. First the guy at the tourist centre. On approaching him with my best o-level German, "Specken Zie English?", he actually closed his eyes as if in prayer, then slowly opened them again. "That's my job." Jaded and contemptuous though he was, his instructions to the hotel were detailed and perfect. It cost 3.90 euros from the airport all the way to the room 106 at the Mercator Hotel, in just less than an hour. Tutonic efficiency.

The other suprise was the "restaurant near you" recommendation from selected-restaurants.com, called Zur Schonen Mullerin and interestingly run not buy a German but a Thai. The apple bratwurst stuffed with bacon and cheese was one of their house specialties. This, a large beer plus a complimentary peach schnapps, and I was ready to pass out.

The day before

I sit on the patio, drinking Guinness and lighting my own version of a victory cigar. Now that the dust has settled, now that every remnant of the past sixteen years has been swept into a storage room somewhere in the new territories, I reflect on how long I have had to wait for this, and watch the sun set on this lovely Tai Hang apartment for the very last time.

Tomorrow, German time, I will be arriving in Frankfurt. And from there on to Buenos Aires.

And still, we wait.

It's been eleven days since the last entry, during which I have exceeded even my own lofty standards of non-accomplishment. Debs has very taken it upon herself to sort out storage and all logistics when I leave - am still shuddering at the thought of what I'd be doing without her. Sitting, probably.

I can, however, congratulate myself for buying the GF2 camera, booking the hotel in Buenos Aires and formulating an itinerary for Patagonia. Graham has been perfectly happy to leave the route planning to me which, to those who know me, is brave to say the least. We have less than a month in Argentina which sounds like a lot but in truth barely scratches the surface. The plan, then, has to combine driving with flying...

South first, then north. At this time of year it's the smart way to do it before the famously changeable weather of south Patagonia turns from clear, cold but welcoming to downright tempestuous. The plan is to fly first to Bariloche in the Lake District, then rent a car. Wise, by all accounts, to avoid Buenos Aires traffic and go straight to the fun stuff - the lake district, the mountains, the big skies, the glaciers and the long, lonely road to the end of the world.  And that's just Patagonia. I haven't even begun to map out a rough route in the north.

All the Spanish we need

One thing that's been at the back of my mind for a while has been the language difficulties. So I just asked Graham if he knew any Spanish whatsoever. He assured me this is the only phrase we will need, wherever we go.

"una cerveza para mi amigo y yo, mi cap multa." 

The Great Escape

It should be noted, that the planned route for this trip has changed almost every day. At some point you just have to say 'to hell with it', and today I did. So here's the final final plan which Almond will be instructed with first thing tomorrow morning. All the flights in bold are the 'big' flights, to be arranged by Almond. Everything else is done on the fly.

25 March. HK to Frankfurt.  There is absolutely fuck all in Frankfurt, so...
26 March. Frankfurt to Prague. (I'm scheduled to meet Graham on April 1st, so I have a few days to spare, so why not catch a 30Euro flight to somewhere nice?)
30 March. Prague to Frankfurt.
31 March. Frankfurt to Buenos Aires.
1st April. Meet Graham. Stay in hotel for 2-3days.

What happens from here on, I don't really know. Patagonia, most likely, while the weather's still hospitable. It's planes, trains and automobiles territory. Graham wants to get a 4-wheel drive - not a bad idea at all.

By last week of April, Graham has to fly back to NYC. I, on the other hand can stay on in Buenos Aires for a few more days, or move on. I think I'll move on.

27 April. Buenos Aires to Lima. At this point, hopefully, I'll be greeted by Ladi's friend Javier. I have read that Lima is a great place for food. After a month in Argentina (which, let's face it, is not known for its culinary excellence), i think this will be a welcome change.

From here it's a round trip via Cuzco, Machu Pichi, then into Bolivia and finally back to Lima.

7 May. Lima to Los Angeles.
Go straight to San Diego to see Brooks. If Brooks is too busy with new child, then up to San Francisco to see Shannon. From this point onwards, it's the great (north) American adventure. Trains, planes and automobiles.

Jackon Hole. Yeollowstone. Chicago. Boston. New York. And a million places in between.

27 May New York to Frankfurt. Back to Europe. I plan to spend the whole summer in Europe, but at this point I think the plan can take care of itself.

Final flight.
August 30. Frankfurt to Hong Kong.