Hector has been passing through Mainz for years but has never stayed over. Mainz is the nearest place to the so called Frankfurt Hahn that the Bus connects with a train to the East. This evening somehow I managed to get from Helensburgh at 15.25 to connect with a Lufthansa Flight to Frankfurt am Main from Edinburgh leaving at 18.30. It was tight and I had to finesse my way to the front of the Security Queue. Edinburgh, the only direct flight to anywhere German from Glasgow is the easyJet flight to Berlin. The only Friday evening flight to anywhere German is this flight to Frankfurt am Main, all the more ironic as the intended destination is Traben-Trarbach, twelve minutes by taxi from Hahn. But Mr. O’Leary in his infinite wisdom has confiscated Weekend Trips to T-T. Hector had to cash in some Avios to make this Trip affordable. The Wolf Strassenfest cannot be missed. The Travel may be considered to be questionable, it is always worth it.
There were no Hotel Rooms to be found in Frankfurt this evening that anyone not on expenses could afford. Mainz, some twenty five minutes from Frankfurt Flughafen was a necessary fall back.
Touching down at the Airport well ahead of schedule, the pilot drove the last 200 km from the runway to the terminal. The walk from the gate to the Station was another lengthy one. Clive and Maggie having sussed the insanity that is the layout of this Airport, were waiting for Hector at the ticket machine. €4 was the modest damage to Mainz, the Hotel Austria would put us up for still a silly amount of money, but this was the only realistic option in the region.
It is seven years since Clive and Hector last set foot in the Eisgrub Brauhaus. The Bier was not that wonderful, but as Karlsberg Pils dominates this part of Deutschland, again a necessary compromise. We found what appeared to be an abandoned table. The remnants of a Tower and a half empty glass lay on a table covered in spillage. Hopefully a Bert would come and clear the mess.
We were ignored by Bert twice. Eventually Doris came and asked us to vacate the table, the Chaps were outside and were returning after their unhealthy ritual. We found a table in the rear in the much cooler Tank Room, again Bert ignored us. How does one get a Bier?
Eventually Bert served us what turned out to be a very good Weizen. Being the first Bier in six days, Hector had demolished #1 before Maggie and Clive had taken the top off theirs. The Doris then re-appeared and this time spoke in English, apologising for having moved us. All was well, good Bier and service, eventually.
This was the eve of a wedding that was destined never to be. It was therefore a great pity that on this of all evenings Maggie finally found a suitable hat.
When one’s Friday night starts at 23.00, the party is not going to be a long one. A hailed taxi took us back to the hotel, we could have walked, but Turtles are not the only entities with short legs just for walking.
The Hausbrauerei visited today:
Eisgrub-Brau – Weißliliengasse 1a, 55116, Mainz,
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