Destination: Frankfurt, Germany

With Christmas season starting right after Thanksgiving, I was really excited to head to Germany to see its famous Christmas markets. Granted, I had booked my flights one month prior, but all the same, I wanted to revisit the country to discover cities I hadn’t been to before. Moreover, the 9-day getaway was a much-needed break following the end of my first semester teaching as a lectrice d’anglais, and really, I couldn’t wait to escape the banalities of my daily existence in France (mind you, in a small city) for somewhere new.

When it came to planning my itinerary, I decided to choose Frankfurt as my first stop, since its airport is the transport hub for getting to other places in the country. I left the Monday after Thanksgiving to catch a shuttle to Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport: it was my first time ever taking a flight from there, but the journey went really smoothly and I had over two hours to kill before I boarded my flight at 11:30. There was a short layover in Brussels afterwards, and although the flight to Frankfurt was delayed by 30 minutes, I arrived about 15 minutes later than expected at Frankfurt Airport, which wasn’t too bad.

It was only 17:00, but already pitch-black due to the winter season. I took the S-Bahn (underground which serves the metropolitan area– not to be confused with the U-Bahn, which only serves the city center!) to the main train station, aka Hauptbahnhof, where I met my Couchsurfing host with whom I would be staying for two nights. In fact, I would be Couchsurfing my entire time in Germany, which not only helped save me money on hotels and hostels (which were a bit pricey in the cities I visited), but also allowed me to meet cool German people. I basically spoke English with my hosts, since my three months of learning German this past summer didn’t particularly, erm, stick with me…ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch, oder?

My Couchsurfing host in Frankfurt lived outside the city center, so we had to purchase S-Bahn tickets to get to his home. After some transport confusion (which made us miss our stop on the S-Bahn and required us to take a long bus ride), we made it to the home around 19:00. My host lived in an actual home, a 250-year-old complex with three or four floors that had two or three bedrooms, one of which I had all to myself. After settling in, I had tea and supper with my host: he was a German in his late-fifties who, aside from being eccentric and extremely talkative, was really kind. We ended up spending the entire time together the following day, as I wanted to sight-see in Frankfurt with the limited time I had.

Since I only had one full day to see Frankfurt, my Couchsurfing host and I left around 8:00 the next day to take the S-Bahn to Hauptwache, the main stop in the heart of the city center. Just like how it was the night before, it was raining as we made our way to the Goethe House, which once housed the famous German writer himself– unfortunately, it was completely under construction when we saw it, which didn’t make for great photos to take. Instead, we decided to continued towards Römerberg (“Roman Mountain”), which is the main square of the city– it’s especially known for its colorful half-timbered houses (“Römer”) as characteristic of German architecture (and also some parts of France). Granted, the current houses are replicas, since the originals had been destroyed during the Second World War. All the same, the Römer was charming, and the Christmas market installations made it all the more lovely, despite the rainy weather.

Next, we crossed the Eiserner Steg (“Iron Bridge”) over the Main river where we visited the Deutschordenskirche (“German Order Church”), which had one of the most beautiful naves I’ve seen in Germany; I had to sit there for a good 15 minutes to admire the warm, brightly-lit interior before we continued with our sightseeing. My host took me to wander through the Sachsenhausen district, with its quaint cobblestone streets and numerous cafes and bars. Although it was deserted when we visited, I could imagine the district coming alive in the nighttime.

Heading back towards the Main river, we strolled along it on our way to the next place I wanted to see, which was the Städel Museum. In particular, I wanted to see the Städel Garden after seeing photos of it online and finding it really interesting. It’s an outdoor exhibition, so I didn’t even need to go inside the museum and simply just went around the building to check it out– definitely something to be impressed by, am I right?

We continued along the Main river, passing by other numerous museums (in fact, the quay is unofficially designated as “Museum Row”) before stopping by another one, the Liebieghaus, which is a 19th-century villa that now houses a sculpture collection today. I didn’t go inside, instead taking a photo from outside, since it looked really nice. By then, it was late morning, and the sun was just about coming out– eventually, the clouds cleared, too, and I was in better spirits to continue visiting Frankfurt for the rest of the day.

Around half-past noon, my host and I got lunch at an Indian joint (I know, not very German, but it was inexpensive and delicious) before checking out St. Paul’s Church, a Protestant church in Paulsplatz (literally, “Paul’s Square”). Afterwards, we headed to the Main Tower, a skyscraper in Frankfurt that’s the only one with an observation deck which I wanted to check out. Paying 5€, I took it to the top, where I was rewarded with chilly, but gorgeous views of the city at sunset (at 16:00!). Since Frankfurt is a densely-urban, international city, I saw many other skyscrapers and the view reminded me a lot of the one I saw from the Space Needle in Seattle this past summer.

Returning to the ground floor of the Main Tower, my host and I headed out to see the Oper Haus (Opera House) before strolling along the wide, shopping district of Innenstadt. By 17:00, it was pretty much dark, which was just the right time to visit the Christmas markets. The main ones were concentrated in Paulsplatz and Römerberg, both of which greatly surprised me with their festive cheer. I hadn’t expected Frankfurt’s Christmas markets to blow me away, but they did! With the Römer in the background, the lights on the carousel and buildings gave a wintry, magical atmosphere that made me unbelievably joyful– the holiday season had certainly arrived.

Now, I’d been meaning to try the Frankfurter Kranz, which is a three-layered sponge cake filled with buttercream and jam, local to the city itself. My German assistante-friend whom I lived with last year had suggested it to me, and I was determined to find it to try out. After roaming Römerberg a bit, my host and I stumbled upon a cafe which had just put out a fresh Frankfurter Kranz, and you can bet that we were in there before you could say the name! I got a slice, and it turned out to be really good– super sweet, but just about what you would expect in a cake: fruity, creamy, and moist. Really glad I found it to try out!

After wandering the Christmas markets and getting some glühwein (“mulled wine”), my host and I decided to head back to his home, since I was rather tired from the long day out in the city. We passed by MyZeil, a large commercial mall, taking the S-Bahn back. Although it was only 18:30 when we arrived home, I was utterly spent– after some tea with the host, I was ready for bed.

The following day was my last in Frankfurt– my Flixbus wasn’t leaving until 13:15, so I spent the morning with my host taking a quick stroll along the river before getting lunch at a shopping center. I said goodbye to my host around noon before taking the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof where I boarded the Flixbus and soon enough, bid goodbye to Frankfurt.

Although it was a short two nights, I managed to see the highlights I wanted to see in the city. While I hadn’t expected much from Frankfurt due to its rather international, urban atmosphere, I was pleasantly surprised by my visit. The Römerberg was charming and the Christmas markets absolutely gorgeous. It was a good start to the next few days of travel in Germany, which I’ll be writing more about in due time!

Next up: Heidelberg, Germany!

 

— Rebecca