We’re almost packed up to go home.  It’s just after midnight and we’re about to knock off for the night.  We get up in the AM, have breakfast and check in for our flight.  Ten-and-a-half hours.  We have videos, Sudoku puzzles, books, magazines, etc.  Should not be too bad.  Plus Lufthansa treats you right.

Today we took it slow.  It’s May 1, a holiday in the European Union.  Originally it was May Day, now it’s not unlike our Labor Day.  With one big exception;  seems like the workers get the day off and use the time to protest their working conditions.   We saw one parade of demonstrators go by our hotel and saw news reports of riots in other parts of Europe.  The whole place is deserted.  Stores are closed, the streets are empty.  It was quieter today than any Sunday we’ve seen on this trip.  So we did little other than check out of our hotel in downtown Frankfurt, check into our hotel at the airport, drive around the suburbs of Frankfurt looking for an open restaurant (didn’t find one), gas up the rental car (Prius, got almost 40 mpg) and finally return it.  We had lunch and dinner at the airport.  Not as bad as it sounds; unlike an American airport, they have a lot of cafes, restaurants and shops before security.  We had good food for both meals.  But at this point, we’ve seen enough of the airport!

It’s been a great trip, a fantastic trip.  Relaxing, engaging, educational, not to mention driving our own car all over two countries.  We’ve not had this much time together, with no work worries, no home worries and nothing in particular to do, ever.  It’s been great, we’ll probably miss this the most.  But we miss our friends and family too and it’s exciting to be heading home.

We’ll have some wrap-up thoughts in the next few days.  Tomorrow’s entry will come from home.