FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - A Passage to India with stops in Qatar, Sri Lanka and Scandinavia (AA, QR, UL in J)

Sep 10, 2018, 1:05 pm

#4

swingaling

Join Date: Apr 2017

Location: PVD, BOS

Programs: AA EXP

Posts: 1,664

Mainz, Germany

Mainz, Germany

I hit the JAL Lounge first to grab a quick (free) shower and check out what they had on offer for food and beverages. The shower suites were adequate, if small. But the food situation was dire. Easily the worst JAL Lounge I've been to. The espresso was undrinkable. I wasn't really hungry anyway, so it wasn't a big loss.

After a quick pit stop there, I made the long trek to immigration. Honestly, FRA is a decent airport, but the layout is a bit confusing and the walk to immigration took at least 15-20 minutes. Not a great design, honestly.

Anyway, once I cleared immigration, I went to the train station under the airport and took the first regional train to Mainz. The plan was to walk around Mainz and see the sights before returning for my early evening flight to Doha. In total, I'd have around 8 hours on the ground, so it was worth it to leave the airport. I'd originally wanted to go to Cologne, which should have been doable on the ICE train (55 min each way). Unfortunately, there was construction on the line that day, so the ICE was running 2hr each way. So it would have to be Mainz instead.

Overall, Mainz is a nice town. I walked around and saw the main sights for around 3 hours or so. Eventually I ended up at the Mainz Cathedral where there was a huge farmers market. Easily 1,000 people in the square walking around, drinking and buying food. The Mirabel plums looks especially delicious.

I hit the wall around 1pm and decided to head back to the airport to have a snack and take a nap before my flight. The train back to the airport was uneventful. I was ravenous, so I stopped for a pretzel at the airport train station; it was excellent and cheap. Hunger sated somewhat, I eventually ended up in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge.

Mainz Train Station