At breakfast this morning I witnessed a furtive-looking Asian man quickly enter the hotel's restaurant area, look around to see whether he was being observed, then use the tea and coffee machine to fill his instant noodle pot with hot water. Fair enough, there are no kettles in the rooms in Ibis hotels (the beds are very comfortable though). No fridges either. Self catering is difficult in these circumstances.
There are SO many cake shops in Frankfurt ! No wonder I've noticed a big contrast between the fit and the unfit, with no-one in between. I have (so far) avoided cakes, pastries and rolls. Probably a big brezel would be ok (?). I've also noticed that there's a high proportion of smokers here. It kind of spoils the atmosphere when I'm sitting watching the world go by, if most of the others doing the same are wafting carcinogens in my direction. On railway station platforms you'll find a Raucherbereich (smoking area), marked with a yellow outline painted on the ground.
On one occasion when I was sitting and watching the world go by, I was surprised that so many non-vagrants approached rubbish bins and rummaged around inside them. Ususally they went away empty handed. When they did take something, it was a plastic bottle. Germany has a deposit system to encourage recycling of plastics (and glass I believe). When I buy a bottle of water I believe is going to cost me 68 cents, I am actually charged 93 cents at the till. The receipt reveals Pfand of 25 cents. Presumably, I can get a refund if I take my empty bottle back. In fact, I recycle it myself by refilling it with tap water !
No comments:
Post a Comment