Frankfurt weekdays
Frankfurt weekdays
This flight was one of the safest airlines in the world - Lufthansa. Lots of legroom and spacious emergency exit areas. The only meal on the short flight was a strange sandwich, but their wine is excellent as always. But my heart has long been won by Emirates. Landing began, the plane was still quite high, and there was already an airport behind the window. Looks like we weren't allowed to land. But the plane did not seem to be planning to go to the second run, the airport did not end. Hmm... We are flying, the airport does not end and does not end. The plane began to descend decisively. Somehow strange, he would take off better. Outside the window, another runway appeared and the plane landed softly. Yes, the size of the airport is very impressive. Then there was a very, very long taxi to our gate. With the same success, the plane could taxi to the hotel. We said goodbye to the flight attendants, I went to the customs window:
- How many of you?
- I flew in myself, - I answered.
The officer looked suspiciously at the crowd behind me, asked a couple more questions and let me through. Anton was next.
- How many of you?
- Approximately forty! - Anton slept.
- Fourty? ! - The girl examined the crowd, as if the Nightingale and his 40 robbers had arrived. I honestly thought that our trip ended with this answer. But fortunately, after 20 minutes we were driving a taxi in a real European traffic jam.
It was a business trip to the central office to demonstrate their mini-projects and other conferences. The week was called Hackweek18. Before the trip to Kyiv, we were engaged exclusively in projects that we ourselves had come up with over the past weeks. The work of the entire office was focused on the most incredible innovations and bold decisions. The main condition is that you cannot work on the project that you are constantly working on. Anton and I implemented a project that calms the user's nerves in a stressful situation. For example, during a two-hour server update, the user is prompted to play the built-in Tetris instead of the boring update progress window. The crowning feature of Tetris is that it earns bitcoins and counts blockchains right during the game. Now server updates will be met with joy. Or, if a critical bug is found on the site, the user immediately has the “Try to fix” button. When you press the button, a pony appears, which tries to fix the server with a wrench.
This is our central office with a rainbow in the sky
So we are in Germany. In the evening, a demonstration, but for now there is time for preparation. First you need to gather your thoughts. And this is best done right in the city center. From the office to the center you can get a direct metro line. But one problem is that the sun is shining very strongly in the blue sky, a hurricane is raging and everything is flooded with a total downpour. The downpour flew from some distant clouds. Employees began to receive messages from relatives so as not to risk going out into the street. Video streaming grew on the Internet about how in Berlin people are carried along the asphalt along with bicycles, billboards fly off and various heavy objects fly. Oh, it's a pity we're not in Berlin, we miss such an interesting thing.
And it’s even more pitiful that I didn’t manage to take Dasha with me. As expected, it is simply impossible to buy tickets at an adequate price for a specific date in less than a month. Prices were not much different from the Asian promotional rates. They wanted to buy for miles, but the UIA operator made a markup of 59%. Like through the call center you have to pay a commission and buy at a more expensive rate than on the site. Moreover, the operator initially did not say that he was selling more expensive, but simply said that the price for one way per person was 5090 UAH. 3200 shone on the site. In general, UIA is in its repertoire. I asked those support to quickly deal with the fare problem in order to have time to buy a ticket. But 2 months have already passed, and in response, silence.
We intuitively determined where the central station should be and forward. I really liked Frankfurt from the very first minutes. The streets of the city are cozy and modern at the same time. And the very center is generally ultra-beautiful.
In fact, there are only a few themed houses on the square, but they are so polished that they shine with beauty. True, a beautiful view was spoiled by about five trucks that stood at one of the houses, but this did not affect the impression. There were sounds of trombones and similar instruments. The sounds were rising and were more chaotic than melodic. There was also the sound of metal strikes. A company of rebellious “trumpet players” (or whatever they were) and, it seems, cooks with lids and pots, were clearly moving towards us. It was a little uncomfortable. Moreover, we must concentrate on the project. The sounds are getting closer. Another moment and “trumpeters” and “pot-makers” will break out from behind the corner! We breathed a sigh of relief, it turned out to be just children who were handed musical instruments and swords. Some blew, others rumbled.
Behind the center, Main itself and a bunch of bridges were waiting for us. We even hurried to walk across the drawbridge. But he turned out to be almost the most common. But nevertheless it was the oldest bridge in the city. So, we concentrated a little and thought about the project. Now you can return to the office. There, everyone should have already settled down and prepared. With day passes for 5.3 euros, it's convenient. Ride back and forth as much as you want. We had lunch at the office and checked into the hotel. There are still 3 hours before the presentation. A small room was allocated for development for 40 people. In which obviously all would not fit. We decided to save the office from overcrowding and went back to the city. This time we started from the Brü ckenviertel area. The streets were a bit like the Latin Quarter of Paris.
Even meaningless wandering through them brought a lot of satisfaction. The eye rejoiced every minute. Even both eyes. The opening was a small square Schweizer Platz. We also decided that it would be nice to have another bite to eat and ate a German doner. Now we move on. The next was the business part of the city - the district of banks. I love these areas.
Walking among the skyscrapers, you seem to be returning to Bangkok or Singapore. Although this is not Asia and the air here is not sweet at all. The area is interesting because a green park runs along the vast buildings. Walking on which you experience an interesting feeling. It seems to be in the business center, but at the same time everything around is green. In general, a piece of Singapore) Since today began at 3 am, it seemed endless.
The conference is coming soon, you need to hurry to the office. Let's save the red light district for last. All evening there were presentations, unlimited beer and burgers. It was fun. At the same time, we met our German colleagues, whom I knew only through correspondence.
The whole next day until the very evening from 7:30 in the morning a chain of long rallies (conferences) in German was waiting for us. We had a headset in our ears, two girls gave simultaneous translation. It was difficult to listen to the eight-hour stream of information, sometimes it seemed that the head would crack. But everything was organized quite interestingly, in the style of rugby. And one of the main speakers was wearing a rugby uniform and holding a ball in his hands.
Among the rallies was a lunch that can be described as a gastronomic paradise. It was so tasty that I even ate the steaks weak rare. Although in ordinary life I don’t even dare to approach such people. And the desserts, how many of them there were, and they were very tasty. I felt like an ancient shah, to whom all the most delicious dishes of the world were brought as gifts.
A Polaroid-type camera also went around, and you could take selfies with employees. According to an unspoken rule, every selfie of two people must be deliberately spoiled by someone with their face in the background)))) At some point, the rallies ended, the last word echoed through the conference hall. Is that all? Dobby is free! Freedom for parrots! In fact, it was just necessary to divide the conferences into two separate groups - the sales department and the development departments.
Now you can put on your evening suit and go ahead to catch your luck by the tail in the Royal Casino!
It was my third time in my life when I wore a suit. The casino has a strict dress code. First we arrived at the hotel, changed clothes and boarded the transfer to the ship. The transfer brought us one and a half kilometers further than the ship. The bus driver was told that the ship was not there. But the Germans are strictly accurate, “I was paid to drop you off right here! ” the driver said in German and drove away. All in elegant suits, girls in dresses and high heels. 50 people solemnly defiling along the frosty embankment walked to the ship for a kilometer and a half. From the outside it looked like a long wedding ceremony was going on. Some of the girls caught a taxi, but this was also not the most aesthetic action. Our "Casino Royale" was inside the ship. Everyone was given a starter package of chips, delicious champagne and the game started. Exactly the same as five years ago in Macau, I was also unlucky with roulette. Like five years ago, the wrong color fell out, or even zero! I'm practically lucky at zero. It remains to bet on it and there will be ice in general. Fortunately, both cases are united by the fact that the money is not real. With real money, the entrance to the casino is definitely closed to me after such a fiasco. The waiters began to carry something interesting on trays in glasses. It wasn't cocktails, it was soup! It was strange somehow. Soup? ! But when I finished the fourth soup, I understood why it was included in the menu. Gastronomic paradise continues!
I even finally got to taste what Truffle mushroom tastes like. But back to games. While I unsuccessfully tried to guess the color or sector, Anton was holding luck by the tail. Almost all of his bets were successful. Among the Germans, he received the nickname "Golden Pen". I explained to the guys that he always had such a title, and now nothing surprising is happening. It is absolutely normal that Anton always wins. When Anton went off in search of a delicious soup, I continued to bet for him. First on red and won twice. Then I logically thought that Anton would now bet on black. Therefore, I boldly bet all his winnings on black. The Golden Pen would hardly have made a mistake. Oddly enough, black won. Satisfied Anton returned, I asked him what two colors in a row he would choose. He said, "First red, then black. " From lucky Satan! Okay, I went looking for my luck at twenty-one. This is where I started getting lucky. It was my game, I felt like never before. My legs were not able to hold such a lucky owner, and I decided to find a comfortable chair. When I started to sit down, it turned out to be the croupier's chair, which had just moved away.
The girl returned and gestured that I should play this game. But since I was not very strong in the rules, at first I tried to take Mejit's bet, mistakenly thinking that he had lost. And then he tried to double the winnings of the loser Vladimir. For a second it seemed to me that Mejit was about to throw me overboard. Well, at least I have a long-standing relationship with his mother and he will not do this, at least out of respect for his mother. I made a lot of money on blackjack. To begin with, I “bought” the captain of the ship and assured the people that we were sailing from the Main straight to the Dnieper. Then I handed the fifty kopeck to Anton so that he could buy himself something good. Then I told the German that I was a well-known Ukrainian businessman. . . In general, the power of victory and excitement enveloped me from all sides. I looked out at the smoking room, there was just a stunning view of Frankfurt at night.
It’s a pity that with such a dubar, you can’t stand on the street for a long time. From entertainment on the ship was a box with a camera that took creative photos. True, again, on two testers - me and Anton, the box hung tightly and our physiognomies had to admire the whole evening for everyone who wanted to take a picture.
Since luck was my middle name, I even sat down to play for Sergei while he was away. The map was small. I had to get many times to win. When I did win, I realized that these were not his cards. I looked at his slot in horror, he has 21! Excellent at once for two people won, also for himself. In parallel with the games, the bartenders did not cease to delight with delicious cocktails. Cocktails went easily and mostly did not hit the head. A DJ was on stage and our entire Matrix began to dance. All in full dress, young and old, Ukrainians and Germans, we were all in one single voice singing loudly “I-I-I coco jumbo! ”. There were two opportunities to get off the ship - at one in the morning and at four in the morning. When the clock imperceptibly turned out to be one in the morning, we realized that we should go out on the next one. But definitely not now. The fun continued. And cocktails sharply reached many heads. There were a lot of funny and inexplicable things. I remember the German and I intensively discussed the Second World War. Then our colleague from Ukraine told me something in German. Someone bit someone's hand. Then at some point the clock showed four in the morning. I had to go out. But the story was only gaining momentum. . .
“All that was in Frankfurt will remain in Frankfurt” This phrase sounded several times. Everyone agreed. Four and a half hours later, the alarm clock rang. I opened my eyes. After yesterday's active rallies, it was hard to think. But here the total lack of sleep of the last three days played a big role. Plane in 6 hours. We need to pack up, have breakfast and go to the city. On the next bed, Anton opened his eyes and looked at me, not understanding how we ended up in the hotel.
- Anton, you will have a lot of questions now, just accept the reality, we are at the hotel and everything is fine.
Not everyone had the strength to get out into the city. Two guys, having had breakfast, got up resolutely, went towards the city. Passing through the reception, they sat down on the sofa and that was the end of their trip. I also wanted to lie in bed, but the spirit of the traveler did not allow me to do this. If I don’t take the subway now and get to the city, then I won’t forgive myself! Gathered strength and in Frankfurt!
By and large, I have already seen all its main places in the previous days. Now you can wander aimlessly through the streets in the center and its districts. It's a very, very cool city. I wandered for hours and it was pleasant and joyful. The highlight of the hike was the red light district.
True, instead of aunts there were a lot of uncles, rather dumb-looking. A hike around the area has turned into a game like a “pacman” instead of cognitive relaxation. I walked through the labyrinths of streets so as not to cross paths with any uncle. In the center I went to the Tesla car store just like on a tour. Sat in an electric car. Next, I had a dinner with sparrows. I bought a triple cheeseburger, which I was extremely happy about. There are three meatballs and three cheeses. The sparrows were no less happy than I, because there are two whole rolls, which they snatched from me piece by piece with their beaks right from my fingers. In general, Frankfurt, thank you for these three most wonderful days, next time I will bring Dasha to meet you. Still, without his faithful partner - his wife, travel is not so bright.
