Diane's Trip to Frankfurt

I returned from Frankfurt last Sunday. I had a fantastic time!

Steve took me to the train station on Thursday morning. I meet up with the group and we boarded the train. There were 18 of us. All Hungarian (and me). Mostly artists and designers. We took a train to Vienna and then another to Frankfurt. The train ride was around 10 hours. It sounds bad-10 hours on a train-but it was very nice. The snowy landscape and the conversations made it all go by so quickly. Plus I love traveling by train!

We stayed in a nice youth hostel. There were 4 of us to a room in bunk beds. The shower and bathroom we shared with everyone else on the floor. We were of all ages...9 to 58 (Szilvi brought her daughter). We laughed, ate, shared stories (some translated for me) and enjoyed each others company. It was fantastic!

We attended a show called Heimtextil. It is one of the largest textile shows in Europe. We attended the show on Friday and Saturday. And headed back by train on Sunday.

To summarize this trip is difficult. It was, however, just what I needed. It was so nice to be around so many talented and inspiring women (and a man-there was one). I spent two days networking with companies and meeting future clients. I even meet with a friend from Nordstrom for lunch!! It was so nice to see a familiar face from Seattle. In the evenings, I would meet with the Hungarian group for dinner. We would then head to a pub or for a walk around the city. One night I ended up in a room with 7 other women learning a card game called Rikiki-we played until 12:30 at night!

I made so many friends and had such a great time. Here are a few photos....

The group!

In the train's dining car heading to Frankfurt

Anna, Zsuzsanna and Larisa

Walking to the pub in Frankfurt
Finally off the train, checked into our rooms and off to the pub!I love this guy--the master bartender. Check out the rows

of porcelain beer pitchers in the background!
Snowy Frankfurt

Two of my room mates: Márta and Ágnes

I never got to eat Bratwurst while I was there:(

Learning Rikiki...day one

Rikiki...day two
on the train ride home