Journey in Germany - Marion Einbeck

place, and over the years this effort had turned it into one of
the most sought-after hotels in the city and the surrounding
area. Therefore, when you came to Frankfurt, you’d come
here without needing the pretext of having to catch a plane.
Claudia had brought us to our suite, which she had been careful
to have us check first. Besides the fact that the rooms were
quite large, everything in them had been chosen specifically to
satisfy new occupants as much as possible. Elegant luxury
emanated from the living room, study, and bathroom. What
surprised me more was the sweetness of the bedroom, the
incredibly soft bed that had every characteristic needed for
enjoying the most comfortable night possible. We were
going to spend
several days in
this fine place,
having postponed
the
flight that was
to take us to
New York. We
were unbelievablycomfortable
in this
grand hotel
where we’d
stopped and
were taking
advantage of
the huge television
screen to
discover what
the newest
films were the
market had to
offer. We were
delighted to be
protected from
the heat outside
by the
comfortable air conditioning inside. Nevertheless, we did go
out a few times to take a walk in the old city of Frankfurt
where we explored Goethe’s father’s house and the St.
Bartholomew Cathedral. We weren’t thrilled with the city’s
skyscrapers, which we knew very well from our familiarity
with their older siblings in America, but we weren’t quite able
to avoid their obvious presence.
We did love the Main River that flowed between the houses
with a light rustling sound and we’d always take one of the
bridges to cross to the other side. We’d walk to the residential
quarter, attractively adorned with green spaces, where everything
was well tended. We’d see entire families there just taking
a walk. We truly were on vacation.
That year, we really wanted to believe the summer, or the
carefree feeling of the happy days that came with it, would
never end. When we returned to the large hotel we didn’t feel
SHERATON HOTEL
54
constrained to be involved in the laborious obligations of the
working world, even though the place was set up for every
possibility and requirement that business people might need.
Our own work was facilitated by the most recent technologies
available.
In the evening we could often be found at the bar. The
place was boldly lit like the prettiest of airport runways,
with small bulbs changing to play with each surface
and bring new odd-shaped and fascinating objects
to light. After drinks, we decided to go to the excellent
restaurant. It had an elegant and very pleasant room,
with a handsome buffet. Roasts and other elaborate
dishes were
p r e s e n t e d
here but,
before getting
lost in
t h e s e
delights, we
were eager to
try all kinds
of shellfish,
fish, and
v e g e t a b l e
a p p e t i z e r s .
It was a
feast. Faced
with such
o v e r a b u n -
dance, our
s t o m a c h
began to
bubble with
e x c i t e m e n t
but we
reined in the
g l u t t o n o u s
i n s t r u m e n t
and firmly
directed ourselves to the main dish. After much deliberation,
we chose the exquisite meat of a kangaroo
accompanied by small carrots and crêpes soufflées. It
was a memorable moment. The chefs in their impeccable
white uniforms were painstakingly doing their
work in view of the clients. They’d cook the dishes
and no smell would come into the restaurant from the
open kitchen. We were delighted with the quality of
the menu and when we finished our meal we didn’t
think of resisting the colorful and appetizing display
of the sweet offerings—crème brûlée: caramelized,
English, praliné, whipped, or chocolate; floating
island; cakes and tarts, fruit, ices, and sorbets. Since
it wasn’t possible for us to make the whole tour of
these delights, we returned to the same restaurant the
next day to continue the experience.
SHERATON HOTEL FRANKFURT AIRPORT
There were times when we preferred the comfort of our apartment
and would eat there in the quiet privacy of the evening,
having ordered the meal from room service. Invariably, we’d
then choose a Caesar salad and a rib eye steak, with a good
American wine. It was a bit of a celebration and an homage to
the America we loved. Tired and satisfied, we’d then stretch
out on the bed and sleep like a baby.
We didn’t want to leave for anything in the world without
having met the hotel’s director. We expected him to be an
exceptional personality to be able to direct such a ship without
a single false note. We had run into him and Claudia one
morning in one of the rooms reserved for the demanding public.
It was no wonder that he was a man of irreproachable
bearing, dressed in a tight-fitting dark blue suit,
who came toward us,
smiling widely.
His white shirt
suited him beautifully
and set off
his complexion
nicely, he wore a
striped tie, his
eyes were light
and deep, and his
short gray hair
made him look
classy and austere.
He had charisma
and a dimension that was both adventurous and mysterious.
Perhaps it was the many journeys, which
had led him to go and live in distant countries, that
explained the attention he
gave to others. He was very
human and this was not the
least of his qualities. Every
time Mr. Edmond A. Pinczowski
left on a hotel
tour as if invested with
a mandate, he could
have been an ambassador,
an emissary, a missionary,
but he became a
hotel keeper. He had been
to Turkey, Nigeria, and
Jamaica. He had spent time
in Jerusalem, on the island of St. Martin, and had lived in
Kenya for several years, then in Brussels for a while. Mr.
Pinczowski had directed the grandest of hotels and didn’t
expect to leave it at that. Asia fascinated him.
Perhaps we would go to Asia one day as well and have the
pleasure of seeing this unusual man again. Today, however,
the director was still living and working in Frankfurt. It wasn’t
time yet for his wife and children to pack their bags and
leave. The Pinczowski family was happy and secure in Frankfurt’s
largest hotel such a ship without a single false note.
55
frankfurt - 12.55 pm
Before flying out, we
were crossing the
hallways linking the
Sheraton Hotel to the airport
for the second time.
The place was enormously
crowded. Prestigious passengers
were mixing in
with visitors we had seen passing by several times before: the
curious, hands in their pockets, who did nothing but go back
and forth, or others who, with determined steps, must have
been heading for the terraces of the
t e r m i n a l
to watch the planes take
off; those in a hurry
pulling a suitcase on
wheels behind
them; couples
carrying children.
Some
were going
through the
a i r p o r t
like
roaming herds,
not knowing what the
next stage might be; others were
going home and seemed to know what to expect. Businessmen
were easily recognizable by their attaché cases and their
straitlaced faces as they came out of one of the airport’s conference
rooms. They all wore the same well-cut suits, had the
same drawn faces and absent look. The women gave themselves
away by their elegant high-heeled shoes that had caused
their feet to swell and slowed down their walking, which in