Handkäs mit Musik

[onlyMark]

You've begged and pleaded with me to show you a little of Frankfurt.
Ok, not quite begged or pleaded. In fact you've not asked at all.
But I thought I would inflict it upon you anyway. Because I'm like that. No compassion, that's me.
Firstly though you have to understand Frankfurt isn't the only Frankfurt. There are two of them. One called Frankfurt am Main due to it being on the River Main and the other called Frankfurt an der Oder, due to it being on the River Oder. Logical really.

Frankfurt (Oder) is about as far east as you can get in Germany without tripping up and being in Poland. The other one, the bigger one, Frankfurt am Main, is central(ish) and a little to the west of the middle. This one is a major traffic hub, major flight hub and major financial centre. It's the fifth largest city in Germany, around half of the population, and a majority of young people, have an immigrant background and a quarter of the population are foreign nationals.
It has a large number of skyscrapers, one of the few cities in Europe to have so and is known by Germans either as Mainhattan or, because of the so many banks, as Bankfurt.

Walking around and seeing the many new buildings you would think it is a relatively new city. But no, it has a history back to around the 1st Century and was an important city in the Holy Roman Empire (not to be confused with the Roman Empire by the way).
Looking around today though there seems to be little of the old history left. WWII had a lot to do with that, obviously.
Imagine you've arrived at Frankfurt airport and you have a long layover because you're too cheap to book a proper interconnected flight. You've ended up with an overnight flight from your home country that arrives at 'FRA' at 07:20. Your follow on flight doesn't leave until 18:05, maybe another overnight flight to your exotic destination. So you've got all day to do bugger all and as you are a cheapskate you are certainly not going to book an airport hotel for the day.

It may be you are one of the few who see Frankfurt as a tourist destination anyway, or, more likely, the city is right now on your doorstep for a few hours, so why not have a walk round it? Nothing to lose, that's for sure.
You drop down a few levels at the airport to the Regionalbahnhof (there are two stations there, the local trains and the long distance trains) – you do have a visa for Germany or at least have a passport allowing you in, don't you? Otherwise your plan is cocked up right at the first hurdle.
You come to the underground station and you look for signs saying S8 or S9. These are the trains to take you to the city. But, make sure you get on the right platform, the one where the trains go in the direction of Offenbach/Hanau.

On the level above the platforms or on that level itself you will see ticket machines. There are also human helpers as well just in case. The machines can normally be changed to various languages denoted by flags. But, what you want is one of two types of tickets. Either a single journey to the city, called an Einzelfahrt and then the same back to the airport later from your return station, or, a Day Ticket called a TagesKarte. This allows you unlimited journeys all day. This is the one I'd get as you never know where you'll end up.
There are various zones for the trains, the airport is the furthest out anyway, so if you buy a ticket it will cover you for all of the system.

There are mainly three types of trains in Frankfurt, if you ignore the long distance one and the buses. By the way, the ticket covers you for local bus journeys as well. There are two mainly underground trains denoted by the letter S or the letter U. Generally the S line goes further. There are also street trams called the Straßenbahnen. That funny curly letter is a double s. The trams stay above ground and are a good but slower way to get around as you can see everything. Your ticket covers you for all of these.

The system is that you don't need to 'validate' your ticket on a machine on every train like you do in some countries. Just carry it with you. The authorities are hot on riding without a ticket, the fines are instant and expensive, the ticket checkers will often be on a train without you knowing and will sweep through a carriage between stops so you can't run away. Pleading ignorance and/or being a confused foreigner doesn't wash with them. Nor does language difficulties. I have seen people try this and all that happens is they are detained at the the next stop until someone official turns up, and there will be someone, who speaks the same language. I know of the son of a friend who is currently serving 6 months in prison for persistent not paying.

Unless you know any better you're best first stop is probably the main railway station, called the Hauptbahnhof. From here, and with a pair of legs, you can get most places.
After emerging to street level this is what you will see -












As you emerge, blinking into the sunlight, you'll see -






A quick look around -






In front of you will be Kaiser Strasse, a tree lined street -




Best head up there and I'll show you some more. As you walk you'll see on your right several bakeries. These are usually of a high standard and work in a different way depending on the company. If you see the name 'Werk' or 'Factory' above the door in Frankfurt they are self-service. The choice they have is pretty damn big and I could spend all day, every day, eating in them. There are displays with everything you could ever need and after grabbing a tray and and a cup of coffee/tea/juice/slushy/yoghurt you load up with carbs, pay at the Kasse (checkout) and either sit down inside or carry out what you have. The one in this photo, and it only shows a small percentage of the display, is my regular breakfast spot. Don't be surprised if you come to the city and see me sitting there (if I'm also in town).
The other type of bakery is counter service, i.e. you tell the assistant what you want, they get it and you pay. If it is to be eaten there and then in the shop, and they often have a sitting area but not always, you ask for what you want and can simply say “Für hier ” (for here) or, “Mitnehmen” (to take) -




Checking back over your shoulder you notice the area, like a lot of main railways stations, has a unique set of characters. When I used to live here we always preferred to live near the school for the kids. Within walking disatnce. If we return to live here without them there are a couple of areas I'd plump for. One is in an area called Bockenheim, the other is right here, on Kaiser Strasse. It's always full of life and character(s) -




Walking up the street you notice some of the shops are also not quite 'genteel'. But you can also cast your eyes around to see what else there is. This street is cut by a number of cross streets. Often a section between two cross streets is blocked off and a street market is held. Today the theme is selling plants and cheese. No idea why. It's pot luck what you see -














This is one of the normal bakeries -

[onlyMark]

Carrying on up the street -
















As you get to the top the scene opens out -








Running around the city is a ring of green. This is a breathing space and has walks, trees, grass, playgrounds etc on it -




We continue towards the centre (you wanted to go there didn't you? If you didn't, I'll see you later) -


















The laughing cow. A steak house would you believe -




We head off a little to the right to get to the 'old' city -





It's not far and easily reached. You can see the buildings change. We are heading eventually for the Römer in the 'Altstadt' -

[onlyMark]

We'll go this way in a minute -




But first -






The Römer 'square' is the centre of the old city. I was flattened nearly totally during WWII. A lot of reconstruction has taken place obviously, it was originally built on during medieval times and still has a functioning city hall where weddings are favourite to take place. It is bordered by a couple of churches as well and not far away is the river, which we'll visit later -


























Just off the side is this cafe -






We'll make our way off also down the side to the main church. It is referred to as a cathedral but technically isn't -








It's a Roman Catholic Gothic church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew and is known as the Dom or better, the Kaiserdom. As with most of the places we are going to there is a wealth of information about them which I don't intend to inflict upon you. The object is to give you an overview of what you could do on a day off. To actually see everything the city has to offer would take a couple of weeks, there is a lot to do, both modern and old -

[onlyMark]

Aha! Just before we go in, we need a drink and a piece of cake or a snack to keep us going. If you don't see me in the breakfast bakery I may well be caught in here for lunch time. Usually out the back in the summer. It is just across from the church -





Suitably refreshed we work our way round the church to get inside -






Inside is robust and fairly functional. Nevertheless, worth a wander round to see the details -




































Going back outside we wander off to our next place. Hidden, but if you keep your eyes open, you can see other things from its history -




This building is for a firm of architects. You'd never see it unless you knew. There is some significance to the mouse theme but I forgotten it in the mists of time. One day it'll come back to me -




On our way further the buildings change from old to modern -

[onlyMark]

Did you miss out on eating at the cafe earlier? No matter, there are still plenty of bakeries and food shops around. Take your pick. Or even spend quite a lot of money -







Moving further we are heading for what is in the third photo -








No report on a city is worth its weight unless there is time devoted to a market, a local one where the locals go. This is your view of one. Even though it is mainly for inhabitants it is that well known in the city that there are tourist tours of it. You'll see a few groups of people as you go round. A phrase in northern England is “dip your bread”, meaning help yourself, to seeing the variety of stuff for sale -


























































The title of the report is Handkäs mit Musik. Here it will be revealed. You can see it in the middle of this display labelled Handkaese. It is a regional speciality. The name refers to 'hand cheese' as it is formed by the hand, usually into a hockey puck shape. It is a sour milk cheese often with a fairly pungent aroma. It is usually served as an appetizer with caraway seeds, vinegar and chopped onions. I love it. I could live on it virtually. And... it is healthy in that it has a high level of protein and very low fat.
The question now is, what is the music on about? Handcheese with music is what it is called so where or what is the music?
It is a little German joke that if you eat the onions you'll get flatulence. This is the music and 'it comes later' they say -

[onlyMark]

More of the indoor market -




























We leave the market and head a short distance, no more than a hundred metres or so, the the shopping street I previously did a little report on, the Zeil. One thing missing from that was going to the top of a certain department store to the roof top cafe. From here you get a good view of the skyline and the city. Here it is -
























I'm just going to retrace our steps a little to get back down past the old part of town -

[onlyMark]

To the river. The Main. It is still used as a waterway and there are boat trips as well -






We'll cross a bridge or two and wander at will along the banks -




































There are a large number of museums that are worth a visit in themselves. The south bank of the river, all in one chain, houses the majority of them. There are a few others dotted around but once you get to this point you have a large choice and can spend a day or two simply wandering in from one to the other. At a certain time of year you can buy a cheap pass for seven euros (or was) and go in as many as you want -






The streets at the side are quite attractive too -




When you are on the path at the side of the river, be aware it is for cyclists as well. And they can be feral.
Nice and wide, isn't it, that path? Four or five metres wide easily. However, for some cyclists it's still not wide enough. Mostly there are separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists, as usual. This is one of the few where there isn't.




Why do I point out the above? Because I've walked down here countless of times. And every so often I have a problem, that follows a pattern. I'm walking along, minding my own business. I'm aware of cyclists and like on this occasion, I stop to take a photo. I don't stop in the middle, I stop at the side. This time I'm on the path but my toes are on the grass, turning to face the river and I'm just getting my camera out. There is no-one else nearby and the path is clear. Apart from me hugging the side.

I hear a cycle bell ring. I ignore it. It rings again. I look and see a cyclist bearing down on me. I stay where I am as he has the whole width of the path apart from my 20cm to continue.
I continue to look at him as he comes to an exaggerated stop behind me. He is 'tutting' and shaking his head. He is middle aged, seems quite fit and is riding a normal upright commuter type bike. He begins to make a meal of manhandling his bike around me.
I just glare at him as he has more space than enough and just seems to want to make some sort of point about 'his' cycle path and objects to pedestrians, even though the path is shared, being on it.

I carried on walking -




























A photo to show you what the trams look like and a normal street station. The electronic board on the left tells you the train number, end point and how long in minutes until it comes. In the centre you can just see two blue boxes with darker blue tops under the canopy. These are the ticket machines.
In the distance where the road rises slightly is a bridge over the river going from the south side where we are to the north and eventually back to the main railway station -




It's at this point I leave you to head off back to the station and the airport. I'm going to cut back a little through the residential area close to the river and just near the south bank of it. I have to pay a visit to someone at the hospital down there. Some of these buildings are for offices like doctors and dentists, maybe architects. But the majority are all apartments. Expensive and very nice too. I've been to a few parties around here and apart from the slightly stuck up neighbours complaining about the clinking of Chardonnay bottles being too loud, it is fine.











Have a good flight onwards and I'll cross your path again sometime.

[bjd]

Thanks for this stroll through downtown Frankfurt, Mark. I remember some of this stuff from my unexpected layover a few years ago: the Dom, the square with the rebuilt houses, the river.

The food at the market all looks great but my favourite foods to eat in Germany are the cold cuts and the brötchen. Can't get decent buns in France and I don't like French cold cuts much either.

[onlyMark]

It's your fault for this thread anyway. You said about being there and I thought if I have a bit of time I'd try and do something.
I agree about the bread and meat. I could live on it.

[bjd]

I assume all responsibility.

[lagatta]

The German bread I've had was wonderful. Sadly, Dutch bread isn't usually of the same standard. It is often soft and meh, like bad British or American bread. There are notable exceptions, but one must seek them out.

[fumobici]

Outstanding report Mark, thank you so much. Frankfurt am Main isn't a place people talk about as a destination but it looks easily worth a day or two judging from this. I may just go for it if I see a flight with a long layover there and I can save a few bucks!

[Deleted]

I appreciate how you covered a variety of aspects of the city, particularly what the people eat. Cameras are pointed too often at just the buildings in a lot of reports and it tends to eliminate the humanity of a place. I confess that I haven't been to Frankfurt in about 30 years, except for transit through the airport, but I was very much aware that the city gets a bad rap as being a place of no interest. Maybe it can't rival some of the cities that had the luck to be preserved through all of the wars and cataclysms, but it is very much alive and that's its strong point.

Of course, I even like cities like Saarbrücken and Offenburg, so I am very indulgent.

[onlyMark]

It is quite a live city and yes, there are more historical/interesting places, but for a tourist it is well worth a visit, cosmopolitan, has enough to see and do for a few days and easily 'getaroundable'. For example, when the underground or trams stop at somewhere that tourists/strangers would go like the Romer, shopping street, main train station, museums, showground etc, the usual announcements are also in English. It also has a good Christmas market and New Years Eve is exceptional.
If having a long layover or doing a bit of a tour of the country it's worth popping in.

[tod2]

A truly beautiful report Mark - I have just come across it now. On 4th September I was in Frankfurt! Just passing through once more. Maybe next year it could be a real stop-off for us.

[onlyMark]

I've just looked at your Munich thread. I think you stayed in the same area as I did once. If anything it is a doppelgänger for the area in Frankfurt I was in.

[lagatta]

Much more of Munich has been preserved (or rebuilt). I'd just want to avoid Oktoberfest...

The wine towns on the Rhine not far west of Frankfurt are also very pretty, even if you aren't interested in wine. Some say Wiesbaden was deliberately preserved from bombing to serve as postwar Allied headquarters, but others dispute this.

Like others, I was just through Frankfurt quickly.

[nycgirl]

The square looks charming and I'd love a walk on the river (preferably without any encounters with obnoxious cyclists). That cafe barge looks like a great place to enjoy a beverage on a sunny day.

It's a shame to see the damn love locks have made their way to Frankfurt.