Frankfurt, Germany

 We arrived in Frankfurt after an 8 hour overnight flight which went well…now we need to adjust to the 6 hour time difference from here to home! 

Landing at Frankfurt Airport it was easy to see why this airport is one of the busiest in the world as it is Germany’s main international airport and home to the German air carrier…Lufthansa.

We went thru Customs quickly and then headed into the city by train right from the airport…we were surprised to see how expensive it was…50 CAD to go a short distance to the main railway station…

Here we took the subway to our hotel which was in an excellent location within walking distance to the centre of the city.

Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany with a population of approximately 800,000 people. It is the home to the European Central Bank and is known to be a financial and business city. It is very compact so it is very walker and biker friendly as well as having great public transit…

The teal trams take you all across the city.

Frankfurt is located on the River Main with the city being on both sides of the river. Our hotel was directly across the street from the river walk which was a wonderful place to enjoy the warm fall weather…

There are lots of bridges spanning the river with one of the most famous being the Iron Bridge where people attach locks to it, make a wish and throw the keys in the river. The day we visited it was crowded with tourists…

Lots of locks and many boats offering cruises on the river…

One of the best ways to see the city is to visit Main Tower and take the elevator to the 54th floor observation deck…

Main Tower with the many views of the city…

Here you can see the River Main running through the city…

Frankfurt has the most skyscrapers in Germany and is often called..

the “Manhattan of Germany”.

Frankfurt has a very vibrant Alstadt or Old Town which was partially destroyed during WWII. The city has undertaken a massive restoration project using old photos and drawings to replicate what was lost during the bombing.

The Central Square which is called Romerburg…

Lots of half timbered houses of which Frankfurt has many…

This is Romer or “ City Hall”. It has been there for over 600 years and is still the seat of municipal government.

A few pictures of some of the other architecture in the area…

Many churches…this is Old Nicholas church which is a medieval Lutheran church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of fishermen. It was constructed in the mid 15th century.

Large public squares…

The Opera House…

Cafes everywhere…

Many pedestrians only shopping streets…

Beautiful flowers everywhere…

Frankfurt lays claim to inventing the frankfurter so many stalls selling sausages…

Another grand building we saw on our walk…

Frankfurt also has a wonderful market hall called Kleinmarkthalle…

The Germans love their pretzels…

And they also love their sweets! 

Another attraction here in Frankfurt is Frankfurt Cathedral, a Gothic style Roman Catholic Church. The interior was destroyed by the Allied bombing in the 1940s and rebuilt after that…

Lots of religious art…

Don lighting his candle which he has done in churches all over…

The interior…

Some evening shots around the city…

Lots of biergartens…

A very popular local beer…

The river at night…

One evening we crossed the river to visit a very traditional apple wine bar…we needed reservations to get in and sat at communal tables. 

A dark beer and the traditional apple wine…

Here is the traditional pottery in which they serve their wine…

Roasted pork knuckle…another traditional food here in Frankfurt…

Yes he did finish it! 

We only spent a couple of days in Frankfurt and both of us were impressed with the city…clean, walkable, great food and friendly people. Speaking of people we actually ran into a friend from NL coming out of the elevator as we were leaving. She is a traveler and was returning home after a two month trip…the world is small! 

Now on to our stop…A Rhine River Cruise!