Day One:

We left Indianapolis around 3pm and landed in Frankfort, Germany after an easy and nice flight. It's a fascinating airport. The airport is huge, one of the largest in the world. There was surprisingly very little security. There are 60,000 people employed at the airport (the population of Frankfort is only 650,000) so it is a huge airport for the size of the city. Frankfort is a very European city. Very progressive and cosmopolitan.

Ninety percent of the city was destroyed during World War II. It has more sky-scrapers than any other city in Germany. There is also an old-town with cobblestone streets reminiscent of the pre-world era. We're staying in Hotel Heffischerhof, a beautiful antique hotel.

Today we took a tour of the city of Frankfort. There were German immigrants who re-located in 1848 and those families that came to Indiana, at that time, after the revolution founded the Athenaeum. The service here is impeccable. Everyone is very responsive and hospitable.

We are visiting in Frankfort at the time of the Skyscraper Festival. This is the first time they've held the festival since 9/11. People are parachuting and rappelling from the skyscrapers. There are wires between the towers with motorcycles crossing between the buildings! There are bikes riding up the skyscrapers and thousands of spectators, as you can imagine.

It is estimated that 1.2 million people will visit Frankfort over the 2-day festival.

We had dinner with the Governor and the Minister for Federal and European Affairs, Volker Hoff. It was a wonderful dinner of perch, white asparagus, potatoes and apple strudel. The restaurant we ate in was 550 years old.

The Minister spoke a lot about the city of Frankfort. The population is 650,000. They have an exchange program with state legislatures, which they hope our state legislator's will attend.

There are 29 universities in the city. They have very diversified industries including pharmaceutical and agriculture. The General Consulate is the largest Consulate in the world. They have very close ties with the United States.

Some interesting facts about Germany --- It's about the size of Montana. The capital is Berlin. Hamburg is the largest city, with a population of 1.7 million. The most prevalent religion is Muslim. Life expectancy is about 81 years. Germany has about a 10 percent unemployment rate. Germany is a federal republic with three branches of government, like the United States. The per capita average income is about $28,000. The natural resources are: iron, coal, natural gas and agriculture including corn, wheat, potatoes and barley. The major industries are: iron, steel, coal, chemical, electrical and construction. The major markets include France, US and the UK. The major suppliers are France, US and the Netherlands.