Frankfurt

 The final stop in our German odyssey was Frankfurt, where once again we were reminded of Haida Gwaii, this time because we saw people from the island! We went to Frankfurt because we knew that the Koenigs would be there and we wanted to see them and to take the boys to the opera where we could see Michael perform. The boys declared our final night in Frankfurt the best part of the trip.

Our time in Frankfurt was brief but we stayed in a lovely apartment overlooking the river Main. The apartment had a small kitchen and our first night we had a great meal whose ingredients we found at a nearby market, few things taste as good as market fresh food. The next day we were anxious to see our friends and the morning was a countdown until their arrival, however we did manage to get ourselves into a church tower with a winding staircase that made us feel claustrophobic and height wary in turn. Our reward for having conquered our fears was a great view of the city when we finally reached the top.

In the afternoon we began our long awaited visit and were happy to feel a familiarity we hadn’t felt for some time (apart from the family visit, but that wasn’t the same either, these people live where we live). The opera was a great experience; so fun to see people you know in a different context than the one you usually see them in. After the opera I was introduced to someone else who lives on Haida Gwaii who also happened to be in attendance and after some autograph signing the star and we the entourage headed to a Turkish restaurant for dinner.

The food at the restaurant was great, but other than the food in front of us I found myself talking about the food on Haida Gwaii for the second time that day. We have been eating well and I’m sure the same can be said for the other Haida Gwaiians away but we all seem to miss what we have on the island, nothing beats Haida Gwaii fish… and deer, and chantrelles, and berries…. we have it good.

By the end of the evening the adults struggled to stay awake and conversation took a backseat to watching the kids enjoy the best part of their vacation, playing ‘Big Booty’ late into the evening.