On the drive to Frankfurt, we were guided to make a detour to Mannheim, which is on the way. Mannheim is an integral part of the story of Sarah and Alexander, so we followed the signs. At this point, our GPS Dora seemed lost and disoriented again, so we replied on Z to show us where to go.
The day was warm and sunny, tourists filling the parks and local recreational areas. But it was the planetarium that Z wanted us to see. Z pointed out that the Mannheim Planetarium has a new Zeiss projector which sits in the middle of a dark, dome-covered room and projects an accurate image of stars and other astronomical objects on the dome. Reality is projected illusion set on screens in time.
There were several featured programs having to do with the work of Albert Einstein - "Einstein and the Universe", Einstein's Static Universe, also known as the Einstein Universe or the Einstein World, a relativistic model of the universe proposed by Einstein in 1917. Shortly after completing the general theory of relativity, Einstein applied his new theory of gravity to the universe as a whole.
Einstein factors into my life as Germany physicist Joseph Mandelbaum working briefly with Einstein. Then there's Einstein theories that parallel my own about reality being a Simulation or Illusion.
We stopped briefly at the city of Stuttgart - mentioned in my book Sarah and Alexander - known for its rich cultural heritage.
Frankfurt is a busy city filled with interesting buildings and people rushing about taking care of business.
It was afternoon and our goal was to find our hotel, check in, have lunch and do some sightseeing. With Dora having issues we had stopped at the airport Europcar to have her adjusted and reprogrammed for our hotel. It took two technicians to get Dora up and running before we were able to drive to the inn.
We had chosen a less expensive inn not far from the airport for our last night in Germany. We weren't sure why, but Dora seem to be taking us to the sleazy part of town, the energies a far cry from what we had experienced along the way. Perhaps this was the comic relief of the trip.
Dora stopped in front of a seedy looking hotel as we compared the address given by my travel agent friend, Stewart, who had been great with all reservations up until this point.
As we sat there, we couldn't help but laugh as the streets were filled with X-rated shops and one-hour hotels, curious people acting a bit too friendly. We quickly drove away as men watched us É as women, wearing little attire looked down from windows in the buildings above.
So what's a girl to do?
We remembered passing the Frankfurt Marriott on our way into Frankfurt. That would be our new destination ... forget about Dora. We toured the city on our quest to find the Marriott, eventually reaching our destination. It was now late afternoon.
We approached the concierge in the Marriott and told him about our predicament. He and several other German employees also working behind the desk, had a good laugh, all speaking to each other in German. Outside the hotel, I watched the luggage as Pat parked the car in the garage next door. They did not have valet parking, which surprised me. While waiting, I chatted with two reporters from BBC who were in town for some kind of convention and waiting for others from BBC to join them.
with the flowers between.
This was the sunset of our journey on many levels
