A year later, the story begins again

It's been one year since we took off on the adventure of a lifetime.  It has been our most ambitious vacation to date but who knows what the future may bring.  With a year of perspective we still have so many stories to share and it's high time I got back to it.

Frankfurt as seen from our hotel.

We set off for Frankfurt on the 20th of September 2012.  I am not terribly fond of Frankfurt but the journey started here so we could save a substantial chunk of money on the airfare.  There isn't much to say about this city since it was mainly a jumping off point.   We decided to take a late train from Zürich and arrived in the city shortly before midnight.  There wasn't time for much but we decided to have a drink before bed and headed down to the lobby to see what they had on tap.

I've recently found an appreciation for gin and in particular martinis (especially when they are made well).  When I spotted the ingredients behind the bar I decided to go for it.  Maybe I should have changed my order when the bartender asked how to make a martini but this wasn't the first time I've heard this question in Europe.  Usually when you order a martini over here you are served a glass of Martini brand vermouth.  I explained the process to him and what he turned up with a few minutes later was one of the most amusing presentations of a martini I have found.  I ended up with two different sized glasses, each with differing amounts of gin and vermouth in them, and a few cubes of ice for good measure.  This is a flattering detail as ice is considered a luxury item and rarely do you encounter more than one cube at a time. I decided to round out the experience by purchasing a can of green olives from a nut and snack dispenser to add as a garnish.  Though it was one of the saddest 'martinis' I've had, it is also, by far the most memorable.

Ready for takeoff on our first flight.

We slept that night at the first of nearly 30 hotels.  After check out I decided that I would take a photo of all of the places we slept over the next two months.  It was too late to capture the first bed so instead I snapped a photo of the hotel sign and the view from the stairwell.

We headed to the airport after a decent night's sleep and visited the lounge to wait for the first of many flights.  It is 8.5 hours to NYC and we figured the best way to start the day would be with a decent breakfast.  The lounge in Frankfurt was amazing.  I didn't want to be all touristy and silly by snapping photos and decided I would have plenty of opportunity at future locations.  Little did I know, it was the most amazing one that we would encounter in our travels.  In addition to what seems standard around the world - light snacks, open bar, and comfy seats, Frankfurt hosted it's own sandwich bar complete with a server to make you your dream sandwich from fresh ingredients and half dozen fresh baked breads.  I guess that makes it sound like sort of like Subway but think upscale.  They were slicing the veggies right there for you as you ordered.