Frankfurt Trip

On Saturday, April 19th, Nick and I (the usual traveling partners) took the train from Köln to Frankfurt. On the fastest train this is about an hour and a half ride, however in order to save money, we booked our outward journey with a stop in Mainz, which is about half an hour south west of Frankfurt. Due to this short detour, it took us about 3 hours to reach Frankfurt. We did however have a direct train from Frankfurt back to Köln, which was nice. And even though the trip was a bit long, the sight seeing from the train was well worth it. The train travels along the Rhein River and goes through little medieval towns scattered around the surrounding hills. The nature, namely the Rhein and the green woods, is complemented with old churches and castles. Quite a sight! We were told that it is great to take a ferry from Köln down to Mainz and enjoy the sights from the boat.
Once we arrived to Frankfurt we were disappointed to see that it was raining. We were hoping that leaving Köln would enable us to run away from the constant rain, but apparently we were not so lucky. After asking for information at the Information Center at the Central Station, we boarded a bus that took us to Frankensteiner Platz. Considering the name of the square, one might think of a desolate, eerie place, but it is actually along the banks of the Main river. That’s where we found lodging at the Haus der Junged, which is conveniently located next to the Alte Brücke (old bridge) and within walking distance from the old town.
We left our things and went exploring. First item on the list: a stop at a corner store to purchase a couple of umbrellas. It was a good investment for me since it has been raining quite a bit in Cologne. I am also hoping that my now owning an umbrella will have a reverse effect on the weather and that I won’t be needing it after all….wishful thinking!
We visited various sights, including the Römerberg square, a part of the old town where the Fountain of Justice can be found. In the past, when an emperor was crowned, wine flowed from the fountain to let the Frankfurters celebrate. Only a corner away is the Frankfurter Dom, the old Cathedral. It is currently being renovated. This building was one of the few spared ones during WWII.
Next we walked through more modern part of the city, a pedestrian only street/mall filled with all sorts of stores, restaurants and tourist traps. At the end of the west end of this mall lies the Old Opera house. Today, there are two Opera Houses in Frankfurt, the old and the modern one. Obviously, the Old One has more historical appeal. The city used to be and it still is very artistically refined. After all, Goethe was born here.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant in middle of the Old Town. Going in I thought we were going to pay an arm and a leg for our meals, but it was actually very affordable. And the food was great. All of the waiters and cooks were from Italy, so the level of authenticity was quite high.
We went back to the hostel to relax before going out. Just behind our hostel was part of town called Sachsenhausen. This district is famous for its restaurants, pubs and clubs. We ventured to an interesting pub that showed German Cup Final on the big screen. The interesting part about this place was the artwork on display with price tags, so the pub serves as an art studio; but also on another wall was a display of street culture sneakers, that also were for sale. The atmosphere was pretty friendly. There was one annoying aspect and it had to do with an American girl sitting with 4 German guys. Both Nick and I agreed that people like her give the entire United States a bad reputation. She was obnoxious, loud and very ditsy with her comments. The guys were making fun of her and she was not even aware of it. I wanted to yell at her and tell her not to embarrass us anymore; but I kept my cool.
The next day was dedicated to various museums. We first went to Göthehaus, which is the house where Wolfgang Goethe was born. This was also the place where he began his writing career and wrote the first draft of his masterpiece, Faust. I believe the house was damaged during the war, but remodeled afterwards using its original style and layout. There were exhibits of Goethe’s handwriting, his book and art collection. It was great to have visited this place.
Next stop was the history museum. This museum had a hodge-podge of historical artifacts ranging from Roman era to as recent as 2001. The interesting parts were the aqueduct found in the basement after WWII. In fact there was also the area discovered next to the Cathedral, which used to be an old Roman Spa. Ironically these discoveries were possible due to the extensive destruction caused by the Allied Forces bombing raids to end WWII. From the more recent history, footage of reconstruction of Frankfurt is interesting. The pictures from the bombing aftermath are eye opening. The city was pretty much leveled to the ground, with only the Dom standing tall in midst of dusty rubble.
After the museum visits, we headed to the modern part of the city. One of the skyscrapers, the Main Tower, has an observatory on its roof. We took the opportunity and went up to the 50th floor. This is not the tallest building in Frankfurt, but it still allows you to see the city from high above, and different from many other observatories, this one is an open terrace with a glass fence keeping you from falling down. It is truly quite an experience.
From the Main Tower we walked on Kaiserstrasse towards the train station, which was 6 or 7 blocks away. The walk was interesting as we went through the heart of Frankfurt’s Red Light District. It was an experience. We were approached by a man inviting us into one of the buildings with a bright red sign. Both Nick and I laughed at how forward this guy was, but I bet there are quite a few tourists who look for those kinds of places. We just shook our heads and proceeded towards the train station.
Well that’s all for now folks.
Bis später,
Stasha