Feb 26 2009
My trip to Frankfurt…
After a very early start I finally arrived in Stanstead Airport to board my plane with Ryan Air the No Frills Airline. After going through all the security checks which there are plenty of and grabbing a croissant and a coffee before going through to the departure lounge. I finally boarded the plane and off we set for Frankfurt Hahn Airport and after a an hour or so flight we arrived in Germany
Once we had arrived at the Frankfurt Hahn Airport we all had to line up outside, to get through the passport control as quickly as we could because it was absolutely freezing and much colder than England. The reason that we had to wait outside is because the airport is so small. However once we were through everything else went fine and we got our bags made our way through the airport and found the Bus/Coach that went to Frankfurt City. Frankfurt Hahn airport is pretty cool and is filled with old buildings and it also had its original watchtower. The trip to Frankfurt City took about 1 hour but it was great to drive through the German countryside. Germany is covered with little villages, spaced about 10 miles apart and on the way there are power windmills everywhere. You cant miss the huge white windmills in groups of about 7 or 8 all dotted around the green fields, hopefully they are supplying power to the local villages.
The bus stopped at Frankfurt’s Main Airport which is a huge airport! We could easily see why this is the biggest Airport in Europe. We then had to go down the Autobahn to enter Frankfurt City HauptBahnhof which is the Main Train Station. We then had to catch a Tram as our Hotel was in an area called Alierheligentor which is on the Trams direct route so a few minutes later we were on the tram heading East to just past the city Centre. Upon arrival in to the city centre I was hoping to see a monumental hotdog or even a string of cocktail sausages hung across the street. Unfortunately, the tourist boards of Frankfurt city doesn’t share my humour of tacky commercialisation for cities with amusing names. .
Our hotel was the Luxor Hotel and although it was quite basic it was great for what we wanted. It was close to the city centre and once we had dumped our bags we headed off for a walk to explore the place. The only information we had about Frankfurt was the little map that we picked up at the airport unfortunately we did not realise that it was entirely in German but at least it gave us the basics…. We continued just walking not knowing where we really were but luckily we turned down a side street and found ourselves looking at River Rhine! This helped us quite a bit as we were now able to see where were on the map! We strolled along the river and followed the tram lines which run along the river towards a small docking area. The docking area had some big cruise liners docked there and they all looked pretty fancy ..
We continued to walk and decided not to cross the river but to head back into the City area. We crossed the road and behind a building and happened to come across the main square which if I remember correctly is called Rommer Square. The square has some of the old traditional German house styles there which are white with a kind of a cross hatched design there is also a Church with a basement, souvenir shops, a few restaurants and an Art Museum. We decided to go and have a look at the Art Museum. Luckily for us there was an exhibition of many pieces of work done by Picasso. The entrance was pretty cheap about 6 Euros per person but was definitely worth The paintings and drawings by Picasso are just hung there in front of you without any barriers or security. There were some really great paintings plus lots of other random pencil drawings, like pictures that he had been planning before his next painting. There was also lots of information and it was great to be able to read about him and see exactly how he though out his creations.
After the Art museum we decided it was time to stop and try some German food!. We headed back through the main square and away from where we had been until we found the most traditional authentic looking German restaurant we could find. As we went in it looked pretty impressive at the front of the bar they had big cakes and cheeses and people walking around trying to seat you. The waiter greeted us and even asked what language we spoke and then sat us down. We took a look at the menu and the only thing they had were hamburgers, pastas and salads and no actual proper meals! So we quickly left as we didn’t fancy junk food..
After the dismay of the so called traditional restaurant we just continued to walk up one road which led us to this enormous shopping mall which happens to be on the main road of Frankfurt city. No cars can drive along it and it was huge. Here you can find almost any shop you can think of including McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Burger King these chains really do get everywhere!!! The shopping mall had lots of glass windows and walkways with lifts and escalators through out the building. At the very top of the mall was a Cafe where you can go and stand outside to see the view of Frankfurt City. We made our way to the top and the view was of concrete and brick and went on for as far as we could see. Frankfurt is massive and for a city so big it felt like there was hardly anyone living here it is not a heaving city like London or New York.. After leaving the mall got even colder and we decided to make our way back to the Hotel after trying to work out exactly where we were on the map. It turned out that we were only about a 10 minute walk away which was pretty convenient
The following morning we were up and in the hotels restaurant before 10 so that we could have some breakfast… It was pretty busy with lots of other guests from different countries chatting away… After breakfast we decided to go and have a look at the main centre again and wander from there. Once we reached the main area we carried on walking and and went through a city park where there were some great sculptures. From here we cam across the Tower of Frankfurt. This is the biggest building in the city I had heard that it had an observation deck with a restaurant and bar at the top. So we entered the tower and after some security checks we got in the elevator which included having a Speedo in it. We then quickly sped up to 22km per hour and we were at the top of the tower in a few seconds. Once we reached the top we realised that people were coming down the stairs from an even higher point. So we went up to the actual rooftop which was really windy which was pretty scary as you are extremely high up and there isn’t much to stop you being blown over the edge However the view is magnificent. We stopped for a drink in the bar which also has great views..
After there we headed back towards our Hotel way but decided to cross to the other side of the river and see what was over there. We walked for about an hour just taking everything in before finding a small Pub/Restaurant. Once we found a table a waitress came over and said something in German luckily we looked at her a bit stupid and she then spoke in English which was a bonus…. We each ordered a traditional German beer each and then a pizza each which were massive! After food we headed back towards the other side of the river and towards our hotel.
The following day we decided to go on a guided tour of the city by both boats and bus. We headed for the first place that we could arrange a tour and that was back to the main train station and managed to get a phone number for an agent to contact the people who organise the boat trips down the Rhine directly. It was too late by this time to do the bus tour so we booked the bus tour for the afternoon which got us back in time so that we could do the boat tour of Frankfurt.
We left for the tour at about 14:00 with about 20 other foreigners we were the only English speakers though which was a bit of a shock!!
The city tour included a stop at Romerberg the old town centre as well as the newer part of town including the banking centre and a visit to the Main Tower’s rooftop observation platform 200 m above Frankfurt which we had already done but didn’t mind doing again.
We learned from the guide that the city centre was pretty much destroyed from bombing during the Second World War an area of over half a kilometre between the Rathaus City Hall and the Kaiser Dom Cathedral was flattened. The Rathaus has served as Frankfurt’s City Hall since 1405 and it is the official seat of the mayor. The Kaiser Dom was dedicated to St. Bartholomew in 1239. It was also selected as the electoral site for the kings of the Holy Roman Empire in 1356 and the venue for several imperial coronations between 1562 and 1792. From what I can remember the Rathaus and Kaiser Dom are the only two buildings of any age in that area. . One good thing which came out of the reconstruction of the city was that remnants of a Roman encampment which included thermal baths as well as Carolingian artefacts were discovered during the excavations in 1952.
We also saw, during the tour the amazing variety of eating places ( not that we had found many ) and a bit of their history, such as the Apfelwien bars which have a long history in Germany, a Carmelite monastery, a 1749 Goethe-Haus which is where Goethe spent much of his early life, writing literary works such as “The Sorrows of Young Werther” and “Faust”. The Hauptwache which is the historic guard station opened in 1671 and has been a café since 1901, the Borse Stock Exchange, the Bankenviertel Banking district including the Main Tower headquarters of Hesse State Bank where once again we had to go through all the security to go up to the observation deck.
After the city tour, we were taken back and we were shown how to get to the Mainkai or Eiserner Steg, which is where the boats go from. We walked back through the market and stopped and ate a chocolate covered pretzel which I loved it was very sweet. Sticky and and full of chocolate. . The boat trip is an unusual view of Frankfurt: and the skyline of the city seemed much more impressive. While we plodded along the river you are able to see sights that you could never on land. The cruise is a good idea for anyone visiting Frankfurt especially if you are looking to take some good photos. We headed out to the west of the city and it was an interesting trip.
For the best Frankfurt hotel rates book your Frankfurt accommodation online