"The Unforgettable Journey of Frankfurt"

Frankfurt Am Main, December 2017

As a girl who grown up in the metropolis city like Jakarta, I am waaaaay to be a city person. Buildings, skyscrapers, even traffic jam, ohhh I love it! Hahahaha. So, when I knew that I will stay in Berlin for 1 year, I was so much excited. But it was little bit disappointing with the capital city of Germany because Berlin only has much less skyscrapers than the other cities, especially compare with Frankfurt am Main. 

Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main, is the fifth-largest city in Germany and the largest city in Hesse State. Frankfurt has so many landmarks that very gorgeous, for example Römer, Frankfurt Cathedral, St. Paul's Church, Saalhof, Hauptwache, Alte Oper, and many more. Frankfurt also has a bunch of skyscrapers, for example Commerzbank Tower, Messeturm, Westend Tower, Euro Tower, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt)

Frankfurt is also known by the name of "The Mainhattan" because there are so many buildings and skyscrapers just like in Manhattan, New York City, USA. 

So, I have a friend, name Ching Ya, she is also a volunteer who had been being my roommate when we were in the first seminar in Gussow, Brandenburg. She is from Taiwan and her project placement is in Frankfurt Am Main. We are so close. I treat her like my own daughter, even I don’t have one yet. Hahahaha. Well, we always chit-chat like sisters. And some day, I decided to visit her to Frankfurt. Yeaaahhh.

So, I booked a train from Berlin to Frankfurt. I found the ticket price quite expensive. So I kept searching and yeahhhh I found the cheap one. I only paid €42 for go and back, but, yeahhh but IT WAS IN THE EARLY MORNING! Can you imagine? I should left house at 3 AM in the morning cause the train departed at 4.14 AM. Goddamn! Well, I tried to stay calm and stay positive. I knew I could do it.

Early morning at Berlin Central Station (Berlin Hauptbahnhof)

In fact, I didn’t sleep all night because I was afraid that I’d missed the train. Okay, then at 3 o’clock I left the apartment and head to the central station (Hauptbahnhof). Afterwards, I expected I could sleep so much good in the train. BUT IT WAS NOT! I didn’t sleep in the train as well. Like at all. Oh damn!

Inside ICE Train

So, it impacted to my body and mind, that I couldn’t thinking, cause everything just exhausted and sleepy. When I arrived there, around 9AM, I was completely sleepy and fatigue, of course! In the beginning, I planned to walk around the city by myself until meeting Ching Ya at 4 PM after she finished her work. But since I was really and really sleepy, I couldn’t do it, at all! And then, when I just walked, I saw “Hotel” board in the street, and got a light bulb. How about to book a room of Hotel or Hostel? If it’s like €30 or €40, I think it was okay for me. But, the fact is, the hotel room price started from €40 or even €60, even more for one night. No, of course. It’s too much for me. And then, one of hotel receptionist suggested me to go to one hostel, exactly across the Central Station. Then, I went there and hope that the price of room is cheaper. The hostel name is “Frankfurt Hostel” and it costed €32 per night. Well, still expensive for me but only for one night, it would be fine. And then I booked it. 

Actually, my first plan is, I would have 3 days and 2 nights in Frankfurt, which is on Friday to Saturday and also Saturday to Sunday, I will stay in a rent room called Airbnb together with Ching Ya. She said we only have to pay around €17 for two nights and for two person. Wow, which is nice. Yeah I know I supposed to stay in Ching Ya’s place, but according to her story that she has a little bit problem with the landlord, which I couldn’t stay even for pulling over for several hours in the apartment. So, Ching Ya had to think about us, where to stay for two nights. And then, Ching Ya’s friend, I think her classmate from German course (if I'm not mistaken), she offered us to stay in her place. Which is nice too. So, Ching Ya cancelled the rent of the room from Airbnb and we both will stay in her friend’s place. Case closed.

HOWEVER, that was another problem came. Well, the first one was about my sleepiness and ended up with booked a hostel room for €32 per night, which is never had been being my expectation to spend that money only for that. I know it was my fault, anyway I forgive myself. But then, there was another problem, technically a second problem. 

Ching Ya’s friend, who let us stay a night that I’ve told you before, she lost her passport. Oh Goddamn! I was so sorry for her friend, but I was so sorry for me as well! It means that I have to book a room for the next day, yeah I SHOULD!!!! Then, I booked another room in another hostel named A&O Hostel. Luckily, it was really close to the central station. And the room price is much cheaper. 
I planned to spend only less than €100 for that vacation. But the fact is, I spent over €100, the half of those was only for hostel. Disaster, really was! 

Well, I kept calm and pretended nothing happened. So, I tried to keep enjoy my trip in Frankfurt.
And yeah, actually it was really fun!

Even on Friday (Dec 1st) I spend whole day by myself, just walked around the park nearby the hostel, captured the skyscrapers and much as I could. I walked and took a Tram to Opera House and Euro Tower. Frankfurt is so beautiful at night. 

Frankfurt at night

I also enjoy the food nearby. I ate a full plate of chicken and rice in a Turkish restaurant (halal restaurant) nearby the hostel. It took only 5 minutes walking. 

And the next day, on Saturday (Dec 2nd), I finally met Ching Ya! Oh, how I missed her so much! For whole Saturday, we were walking the city together. We went to one of Bridge in the town, named “Untermainbrücke”. 

Ching Ya and I

Next, we went to a Christmas Market at Römerberg. It was crowded but it was nice. Actually it was my first time seeing and visiting Christmas Market in Germany, never had one in Berlin. Hahahaha. We bought a Pretzel with chocolate. I bought a souvenirs from two differents shops as well. 

Christmas Market at Römerberg

My Pretzel in Frankfurt

Me and Apfeltoffel

I found a giant bear at Christmas Market

Afterwards, we had a lunch in Thai Restaurant nearby Frankfurt Zoo. And then, we went to the city center. Afterwards, we were going to A&O Hostel to put my luggage and everything. Honestly, I was more satisfied with this hostel if I could compare with Frankfurt Hostel. Both are really nice, but I prefer A&O Hostel. First of all, the price is much cheaper, only €22 per night. Well, actually it depends on which day you book. If you book a room now and it's for 2 months later, then it would be much cheaper, but by the run you book a room, it would be more expensive. 
Second of all, this hostel also has female room so I had more privacy. And third of all, the room that A&O Hostel offers, so much similar with 3 or even 4 stars Hotel. What I got there was  bed (include bed linen), bathroom, toilet, television, cupboard, table, towel, hairdryer, shower gel, shampoo, etc. I think I would not find those stuffs in a common hostel. The point is I got a good experience during my stay in that hostel. I paid just like a hostel, but feeling like in a hotel. I really recommend this hostel for you if you go to Germany and wanted to stay night. They are not only hostel, but also hotel. So, you can choose which one do you prefer. You can also found this hostel in another country but still in Europe, such as Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark. (https://www.aohostels.com/en/)

After take a breath for an hour, we continued the journey to Skyline Plaza. Skyline Plaza is one of big shopping mall in Frankfurt. I love the atmosphere cause it feels like a mall in Jakarta called “Central Park” which is located in West Jakarta. There, Ching Ya bought clothes. Me? I bought slippers, movie clipboard, hair brush, and a box of tea. Yeah, I forgot to bring my hair brush with me. Tea? Yap, that's my habit to bring tea bag almost everywhere I go, especially when I'm traveling. Why? Tea could make a niff of our shoes after all day being used. So, my sister said that tea or coffee could make the niff out of the shoes and the smell be more "tea" or "coffee" or at least the stink is gone.

We also had dinner inside the mall. The funny thing was, I ate an Asian food, and Ching Ya ate a Persian food. Which is contradiction. Basically I don’t have any ancestors from Middle East, but according to my face and appearance, many people said that I am coming from Arab or Iran, or India, or even Egypt! But in fact, I am 100% Indonesian. Well, what I’m trying to say is with my Arabian face, I ate Chinese food, and Ching Ya which is Taiwanese, ate something from Middle East. Very funny, isn’t it?

Afterwards, we thought it wasn’t enough yet. So, we went to a café and talked each other until 10 PM. And then, we just say “See you tomorrow” each other, cause we still have one more day left until I am coming back to Berlin in the evening. 

In the A&O Hostel, I had three roomates. They are coming from Canada, the other one from India, and another one is from Brazil. We had good times before we sleep. I never thought before that booking a hostel could be this fun. Meeting new people, talk each other, sharing our self-experience. Also improve my English skill for sure. 

On Sunday (Dec 3rd), in the morning, around 8 AM, when I woke, I was really surprised. Because, when I just opened my eyes, there was a snow. Yes, it was snowy  in Frankfurt! And it was MY FIRST SNOW OF MY LIFE!!! I feel blessed, I feel alive when I see it. I thought I would see it in Berlin, but I’ve seen it first in Frankfurt instead.

After had breakfast, I checked out the hostel at 10 AM and then meet Ching Ya again. There was still one destinantion that Ching Ya wanted to show me, that was Senckenberg National History Museum. I didn’t expect anything to go in Frankfurt, for example to museum. But I would say, that museum is really awesome! It’s the second largest museum in Germany. And yeah, it is sooooo huge! 

Inside the museum

The animal collection in the museum

I’ve seen so many things there, such as artificial (or even real) flora and , universe and its science, and many more. Include the proud fauna and flora from my country, Komodo (reptile) and also Rafflesia Arnoldi or simplify with stinking corpse lily.

Komodo

Rafflesia Arnoldi

We spent there for 4 hours, include lunch time in the bistro inside the museum. 

Afterwards, we just played snow at Palmengarten. We didn’t enter the park, because it’s paid and with an electronic card, which is I didn’t know much about that, neither did Ching Ya. 

We were still having several hours before my train to Berlin. So, we spent it to another Christmas Market nearby Hauptwache. I bought a Pretzel again! Oh My, how much I like Pretzel, like a lot! I was about to bring it home and be my breakfast menu for several days ahead. LOL. 

So, when the time showed 6 PM, we should go to the central station cause my train will depart at 7 PM. Ching Ya was there until my train left. How sweet was she! It was like we didn’t want to say goodbye. It’s too pitty when we are being apart. Maybe because we talked a lot, so many things as a long conversation. Never ended. Never stopped. 

So I left Frankfurt exactly at 7 PM and safely arrived in Berlin at 11.30 PM.

I will never forget my trip in Frankfurt. Especially with €57 for hostel. Hahahaha. Anyway, even it was disaster that my money is gone easily, but the most beautiful things I ever felt is when I see my very first snow there. It was really beautiful. It was really pretty. And the things is, actually snow is so fluffy! Hahahaha.

My advice for you who willing to do a trip, especially solo trip/traveling, you have prepare everything beforehand. Money, accommodation, food&beverages, train/bus ticket, you have to make it very detail. If you already being sure about where to stay a night, for example, your friend will host you at her/his house, then make it sure once again that he/she really could do it for you. If it's not, then you need to book a hotel or hostel. If you want to make it cheap, then you have to find it by yourself. There's a lot of portal website which provide good accommodation. Or you can even use "Couchsurfing" but it has disadvantages, for example, it's not really possible to get one when you request for a host (couchsurfing) in a very last minute. No matter where to go, no matter how long you will stay, the thing is you MUST to calculate every detail of your trip expense beforehand so that it would be not over budget, yeah it's better when it would be less budget. Hahahaha.

Well, thank you Frankfurt. Let me get back to you someday when I got a bunch of money and afford Hotel, not Hostel anymore. Hahahahaha.

Tulisan berikut ini adalah versi dalam Bahasa Indonesia

(The following writings down below is in Bahasa version)

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Sebagai gadis yang besar di kota metropolitan seperti Jakarta, gue udah terbiasa sama yang namanya kemacetan, ramai orang, dan gedung-gedung bertingkat. Jadi, pas tahu gue akan tinggal di Berlin yang mana ibukota Jerman, gue pastinya seneng banget. Tapi agak sedikit kecewa karena gedung pencakar langit di Berlin nggak terlalu banyak. Malah kayaknya lebih banyak di kota-kota lainnya, salah satunya Frankfurt.
Nah, gue punya temen namanya Ching Ya, dia juga sesama relawan yang mana pernah jadi temen sekamar gue waktu seminar pertama kali di Gussow, Brandenburg. Dia dari Taiwan dan gue sama dia tuh udah deket banget berasa kayak anak sendiri, padahal belom punya anak dan nggak tahu juga gimana rasanya hahahaha. Intinya kita berdua udah deket banget. Sering ngobrol, gossip bareng, sampe curhat hahahaha. Pokoknya dia berasa adek ketemu gede gitu buat gue hahahaha. Nah, karena penempatan project Ching Ya di Frankfurt, akhirnya gue memutuskan untuk ketemu dia disana plus jalan-jalan.
Untuk sampai ke Frankfurt sebenernya ada banyak cara, tapi gue memilih kereta yang lebih nyaman, cepet, dan kebetulan punya kartu Bahncard. Yaa supaya kepake aja hehehe. Plus, berharap harganya terjangkau. Yap, terjangkau sih, gue cuma bayar €42 PP Berlin-Frankfurt-Berlin, tapi mau tahu apa? Berangkatnya jam 4 subuh. Hahahaha. Ya, bayangin aja deh gimana caranya gue sampe stasiun sebelum jam 4.15. Dan yap, gue berangkat dari rumah jam 3 pagi, plus gue nggak bisa tidur karena takut kesiangan dan ketinggalan kereta.
Awalnya gue tetap kalem, santai, dan bisa lah tidur satu dua jam sebelum berangkat. Ternyata nggak bisa tidur sama sekali! Yaudah, akhirnya jam 3.00 gue berangkat dari apartemen menuju Berlin Central Station (Hauptbahnhof). Abis itu, gue berharap nih bisa tidur di kereta dengan nyaman. Kan lumayan 4 jam tidur di kereta. Eh, ternyata nggak bisa juga! Sama aja. Dikit-dikit kebangun, entah karena ada pengecekan tiket lah, atau berhenti dulu di stasiun mana yang agak lama, dan yang paling ganggu sih sebenernya setiap stasiun, suara pengumuman gitu bunyi terus. Yaa, bagus sih berarti ngasih tanda kalau mau sampe mana dan mananya, tapi akhirnya membuat gue jadi nggak bisa tidur. Sial!
Nggak bisa tidur itu yang kemudian berdampak sama kondisi badan dan pikiran gue. Capek? Asli! Ngantuk? So pasti! Dan pas sampe yaa gitu deh, ngantuk berat, capek dan lain sebagainya. Yaa, emang sih salah gue juga nggak tidur sama sekali, tapi nggak bisa disalahin terus juga. Toh, udah kejadian. Waktu itu gue harus berpikir gimana caranya gue tetep bangun dan semangat sampe jam 4 sore. Oh yaa, waktu sampe Frankfurt gue sampe jam 9 pagi yang mana gue harus nunggu ketemu Ching Ya sampe jam 4 sore karena dia baru kelar kerja jam segitu. Tadinya, selama nunggu 7 jam itu gue mau jalan-jalan kota dulu sendirian, tapi karena ngantuk berat, akhirnya gue nyerah. Nggak bisa kayak gini terus. Pas lagi jalan, gue liat ada tulisan “Hotel”. Kemudian muncul ide “Gimana kalau booking hotel atau hostel aja? Yaa kalau masih 30-40 euro sih oke lah”. Eh pas nanya-nanya ke beberapa hotel, ternyata mahal banget, ada yang 40, ada yang 60, bahkan lebih. Akhirnya si mas-mas resepsionisnya ngusulin kalau hostel aja yang lebih murah. Dia bilang ada satu hostel yang terjangkau di depan stasiun persis. Tanpa berpikir panjang, gue jalan kesana. Ternyata setelah kesana dan tanya-tanya resepsionisnya, harganya €32 per malam. Weeww. Nggak beda sama kayak tadi dong kalau gitu. Tapi emang itu kamar khusus wanita sih. Yaudah lah, dari pada kenapa-kenapa, gue langsung booking untuk 1 malam.
Sebenernya rencana awalnya adalah gue yang emang mau nginep 3 hari 2 malem (Jumat ke Sabtu, dan Sabtu ke Minggu), mau nginep dan pesen Airbnb bareng Ching Ya dan berdua cuma bayar €17. Ching Ya juga udah booking jauh sebelumnya. Kenapa nggak di apartemennya Ching Ya aja? Yaa berdasarkan ceritanya, nggak boleh ada tamu yang nginep di tempatnya karena pemilik apartemennya bermasalah. Gue nggak tahu masalah persisnya gimana intinya gue nggak bisa nginep disitu. Makanya Ching Ya awalnya pesen kamar di Airbnb. Nah kemudian ternyata ada temen sekelasnya Ching Ya di kursus Jerman (kalo nggak salah) yang nawarin buat kita berdua bisa nginep di rumahnya. Temennya kalau nggak salah juga orang Myanmar. Nah, karena ditawarin gitu, akhirnya Ching Ya cancel bookingan di Airbnb nya. Dan kita berdua bisa tidur disana setidaknya untuk satu malem (karena yang satu malem gue udah nginep di hostel). Udah kan, masalah selesai.
TAPI, ada masalah lain yang muncul. Okay, yang pertama karena gue ngantuk berat dan berakhir dengan menginap di hostel seharga €32 per malam, yang mana tidak pernah terbayangkan sebelumnya bahwa akan menghabiskan uang sebesar itu hanya untuk hal itu. Yaa, tahu lah pokoknya itu kesalahan gue, dan gue udah memaafkan diri gue sendiri dan melupakannya. Tapi kemudian, ada masalah lain yang muncul, masalah kedua muncul.
Temennya Ching Ya yang tadi mau nawarin kita nginep di rumahnya, ternyata paspor nya hilang! Astagfirulloh! Yaa, gue kasian sih sama temennya itu, tapi lebih kasian lagi gue! Itu berarti gue harus mengeluarkan budget lagi buat nginep di hostel. Trus, gue booking di hostel namanya A&O Hostel. Untungnya nggak jauh dari stasiun pusat. Harganya juga jauh lebih murah.
Tadinya cuma berencana menghabiskan kurang dari €100 buat liburan ke Frankfurt itu, ternyata nggak. Kayaknya cuma 3 hari doang dihitung-hitung udah lebih dari 100. Sebagiannya udah kepake cuma buat hostel doang. Benar-benar belum beruntung.
Ya, awalnya gue kalem, santai, dan pura-pura itu semua nggak pernah kejadian. Jadi, gue tetep happy selama liburan ke Frankfurt. Tapi beneran kok, selama di Frankfurt asik banget, bener-bener tak terlupakan.
Bahkan di hari pertama (Jumat, 1 Desember 2017), gue menghabiskan waktu sendirian dengan jalan-jalan kota Frankfurt naik Tram. Nggak jauh sih, cuma yang deket-deket aja dari hostel dan kebetulan hostelnya juga deket dari pusat kota. Dan deket situ ada taman yang view nya tuh langsung ke gedung-gedung pencakar langit Frankfurt. Nggak lupa foto-foto meskipun hanya selfie-selfie hahahaha. Gue juga makan malam di restaurant Turki (resto halal). Dari hostel ke resto itu juga deket, cuma 5 menit jalan kaki. 
Besoknya, (Sabtu, 2 Desember 2017), akhirnya gue ketemu Ching Ya! Gilaaa, kangen berat sama anak ini. Seharian kita jalan-jalan kota bareng, yaa melepas rindu begitu lah kiranya. Kita pergi ke salah satu jembatan yang ada di kota itu, namanya “Untermainbrücke”.
Setelah itu, kita berdua pergi ke Pasar Natal yang ada di Römerberg. Disana bener-bener banyak orang, rame banget pokoknya. Dan sebenernya kala itu adalah kali pertamanya gue ke Pasar Natal di Jerman, yang mana nggak pernah gue lakukan di Berlin hahahaha. Di Pasar Natal, kita beli Pretzel dengan coklat. Rotinya asli gede banget makanya beli 1 buat berdua karena emang gede banget dan kalo buat sendirian kayaknya kekenyangan hahaha. Gue juga beli souvenir khas Frankfurt di dua toko yang berbeda. Tapi emang disitu banyak banget toko-toko yang jual souvenir dan pasti kalau kalian jadi gue bingung juga mau milih yang mana.
Kemudian, kita jalan lagi ke arah kebun binatang Frankfurt dan deket situ ada Restaurant Thailand. Karena udah masuk makan siang dan udah laper juga, akhirnya kita berdua makan disitu. Setelah kenyang, kita lanjut lagi jalan-jalan ke pusat kota.
Setelah itu, gue check-in hostel A&O Hostel yang cukup deket sama stasiun pusat. Di hostel kita istirahat sebentar, naro tas ransel gue juga supaya abis itu jalan-jalannya nggak perlu gendong tasnya yang lumayan berat itu hehehe. Setelah sekitar satu jam ambil napas, kita lanjut jalan ke Skyline Plaza.
Skyline Plaza salah satu mall besar di kota Frankfurt. Mall ini mengingatkan gue sama salah satu mall di Jakarta Barat, yaitu Central Park. Nggak mirip sih cuma atmosfer nya kerasanya begitu hehehe. Di mall ini, Ching Ya belanja baju sama celana. Gue? Gue cuma beli sandal dalem, papan klip film, sisir, sama teh. Sisir? Ya, gue nggak bawa sisir hahahaha jadi memutuskan beli sisir yang nantinya khusus buat traveling jadi nggak kecampur sama sisir di kamar. Hehehe. Padahal sama-sama sisir dan kalopun rontok rambutnya sama-sama hitam hahaha. Bagaimana dengan Teh? Ngapain beli? Ya, sebenernya karena sepatu gue bau akibat seharian dipake jalan terus. Gue punya cara tersendiri gimana ngilangin bau tak sedap itu, dan ini cukup sering gue lakukan terutama pas lagi traveling. Sebenernya ini saran dan ide kakak gue, dia bilang kalau sepatu lu bau, lu taro aja kopi yang dibungkus tisu dan masukin di dalam sepatu selama seharian. Selain kopi, lu juga bisa taro masing-masing 1 kantong teh ke dalam sepatu. Nah, bau kopi atau teh itu yang akan menghilangkan bau tak sedap tadi plus sepatu lu jadi bau kopi atau teh juga. Ya, setidaknya bau apeknya ilang.
Abis dari Skyline Plaza, rasanya belum cukup. Masih pengen temu kangen sama Ching Ya. Akhirnya kita berdua minum coklat di café deket Hbf (Hauptbahnhof) dan ngobrol-ngobrol banyak sampe jam 10 malam. Setelah itu kita berpisah sesaat sampe besoknya karena gue masih punya 1 hari di Frankfurt hingga akhirnya harus balik ke Berlin besok malemnya.
Di A&O Hostel, gue punya 3 temen sekamar. Yang pasti cewek-cewek semua karena gue pesennya emang yang Female Room. Yang satu wanita paruh baya asal Kanada, yang dua lainnya masih muda 19-20 tahun gitu. Masing asalnya dari India dan Brazil. Kita ngobrol-ngobrol sebelum tidur. Ternyata nginep di hostel itu menyenangkan yaa. Dulu gue berpikir “ih kayaknya gimana gitu nginep campur-campur kayak gitu di ruang yang sama. Ternyata asik juga. Ketemu orang baru, berbagi pengalaman, dan ngobrolnya juga pasti pake bahasa inggris yang mana bisa meningkatkan kemampuan bahasa asing gue juga.
Hari terakhir di Frankfurt (Minggu, 3 Desember 2017), pagi-pagi sekitar jam 8, pas gue bangun tidur, gue bener-bener terkejut! Karena ketika baru buka mata, diluar ada salju! Yap, Frankfurt hujan salju kala itu! dan ITU ADALAH SALJU PERTAMA DALAM HIDUP GUE!!! Gue bersyukur banget, gue berasa lebih hidup ketika lihat salju-salju itu. Gue ngiranya gue bakal liat salju pertama di Berlin, ternyata malah liatnya di Frankfurt.
Setelah selesai sarapan, gue check out dari hostel jam 10 dan ketemu Ching Ya lagi. Ya, masih ada 1 destinasi lagi yang pengen banget si Ching Ya nunjukkin ke gue, yaitu Senckenberg National History Museum. Gue nggak ada rencana ke tempat tertentu di Frankfurt, misalnya ke museum. Tapi bisa dibilang museumnya keren banget!!! Museum tersebut adalah museum terbesar kedua di Jerman. Dan yeah, besaaaarrr banget!!! Disitu ada banyak koleksi, mulai dari fauna, flora, pengetahuan alam, dan masih banyak lagi. Kita menghabiskan waktu di dalam museum selama 4 jam termasuk makan siang di bistro yang ada di dalam museum.
Setelah dari museum, masih turun salju, dan kita menuju ke Palmengarten dan main salju disana. Kita nggak masuk ke dalem tamannya sih soalnya bayar dan pake kartu. Ching Ya nggak tahu caranya, apalagi gue.
Saat itu kita masih punya beberapa jam sebelum kereta gue ke Berlin berangkat. Akhirnya, kita menuju Pasar Natal yang berbeda di daerah Hauptwache. Dan gue beli Pretzel lagi! Hahahaha. Nggak tahu kenapa bisa suka banget sama roti itu. Gue beli satu lagi rasa stroberi dan bawa pulang buat menu sarapan beberapa hari. Hahaha.
Dan pas waktunya tiba, sekitar pukul 18.00, kita menuju ke stasiun karena kereta ke Berlin akan berangkat pukul 19.00. Ching Ya nemenin gue sampe keretanya pergi. Gila kan baik banget! So sweet! Gue seakan nggak mau berkata “Selamat Tinggal” karena emang bener-bener masih pengen ketemu. Rasanya sedih aja karena saling berpisah. Mungkin karena udah keseringan bareng, ngobrol bareng, ngobrolin banyak hal panjang lebar, tanpa berhenti.
Dan akhirnya gue meninggalkan Frankfurt menuju Berlin tepat pukul 19.00 dan sampai Berlin Hauptbahnhof dengan selamat pukul 23.30.
Gue nggak akan pernah melupakan perjalanan gue selama di Frankfurt. Terkhusus dengan €57 untuk hostel. Hahahaha. Ya, bagaimanapun, meskipun itu menjadi ‘bencana’ tersendiri buat gue, uang abis gitu aja, tapi yang paling mudah untuk diingat adalah kali pertamanya gue melihat salju dengan mata kepala gue sendiri. Bener-bener cantik! Bagus pake banget! Dan terpenting adalah, ternyata salju itu empuk. Hahaha.
Pesan gue untuk kalian yang mau trip terlebih solo trip, bener-bener harus prepare semuanya. Uang, penginapan, makan, semua harus dirinci sedemikian rupa. Kalo memang udah pasti mau nginep di rumah temen lu, yaa harus mastiin emang bisa. Dan kalo emang nggak bisa, dari awal udah nyiapin budget lebih buat penginapan. Sebenernya ada cara lain seperti pake Couchsurfing, tapi kalo udah mendadak kayaknya kurang menjamin juga bisa dapet tumpangan. Intinya, sih mau berapa hari kalian liburan, mau kemana aja, yang penting udah merangkai dan mengatur keuangan itu nomor satu, biar nggak over budget, syukur-syukur less budget. Hehehe.
Baiklah, kalau begitu, TERIMAKASIH FRANKFURT!! Suatu hari akan kesana lagi ketika udah punya sekarung uang dan mampu nginep di hotel, bukan hostel lagi hahaha.