We began exploring Frankfurt that night by walking to the Main River, which is only a five minute walk from Alexander and Claudia's apartment. There are several pedestrian bridges that cross the river, all of which are lit up in the evening. The downtown financial district is close to the Main River, so you can see all of the lights from the tall office buildings as well.
Frankfurt is one of the few European cities that has a skyline that includes skyscrapers. I thought it was standard for big cities to have a cluster of skyscrapers, but it's actually more American than European. Many European cities have a height limit imposed on buildings, where no building can be taller than a certain church or monument. It was only after looking up at the Frankfurt skyline from the river that I realized I hadn't seen many skyscrapers since being in Europe. Alexander further informed me that the tallest building in Europe is in downtown Frankfurt.
The next morning Claudia and Alexander had grocery shopping to do so we took off on our own across the river to the Rathaus. The Rathaus is set on a square lined with other uber-German buildings, perfect for tourists like me to snap pictures of.
The square was full of people due to union demonstrations that were to take place that day. Just as we were leaving, the parade of union demonstrators began emptying into the square, still chanting, beating drums and waving flags. Police were on hand for the event, but they didn’t appear too concerned, and the locals lounging outside the Starbucks looked on lazily while they sipped their coffees and puffed on cigs.
Democracy in action.
The polizei are way too cool in sexy leather jumpsuits.
We watched awhile before venturing into the shopping area, which had several malls and gallerias. We didn’t really want to do any shopping, but were more interested in getting to the top of the biggest galleria to look down at the city (in a literal, not snooty sense). We were successful.
We made our way back through the crowds of demonstrators to Alexander and Claudia’s apartment, where lunch was being prepared for us. I had noticed fried brie on the menu at Oma’s Apotheke in Hamburg and had been tempted to order it, but hadn’t after Claudia said, “It’s so easy to make at home.” So fried brie was what we were going to have for lunch. It’s made by coating a wedge of brie with egg and breadcrumbs and then pan-frying it. The finished product is served with fruit preserves and toast. Of course, it tasted amazing, although I think if I ate like this all the time, I would be the size of a small car.
Alexander and Claudia's Apartment.
All four of us were going to go to the Frankfurt v. Nurnberg soccer game after lunch, but discovered that the game was actually on Sunday. Alexander suggested that we “go find a castle” instead. How cool is that? You certainly can’t go spontaneously looking for castles in the States. We drove to the Rhine River Valley, which is the wine region only about an hour drive away from Frankfurt.
On the way out of the city, we encountered another protest – this time college students protesting the new German policy of requiring payment of college tuition. College has traditionally been free for German students, but the country can’t afford such a policy anymore and is requiring payment of a low tuition fee. I can see how that could suck if you weren’t expecting to pay anything, but what they’re being expected to pay is less than what you would pay at your average American community college. I suppose it’s all relative.
"No way, we won't pay!" (I'm guessing. You know I don't speak German!)
Our first stop in the Rhine River Valley was the Eberbach Monastery, where monks produced wine for hundreds of years. There are no longer monks living at the monastery, but the wine-making tradition continues. The historical buildings were undergoing some renovation, but it was a nice place to visit. Alexander and Claudia also bought us a bottle of wine from the monastery for us to enjoy later. Yum!
Eberbach Monastery
Greenery around the monastery - I love fall!
Rudesheim was next on our Rhine River Valley tour. Rudesheim is a little town on the Rhine River that is rather overrun with tourists, but still quite cute with its very German looking buildings and the vineyards and castles surrounding it.
The busy alleys of Rudesheim.
Rudesheim, sans tourist hordes.
The local castle.
We took a ferry across the Rhine and drove alongside it on our way to the castle where we intended to eat dinner – the Schoenberg Castle in Oberwesel. There seemed to be castles positioned at every bend in the Rhine, now surrounded by forests and vineyards. We arrived at the Schoenberg Castle just before dark.
The view of the Rhine from the Schoenberg Castle.
The Schoenberg Castle (I borrowed this from their website, as ours didn't turn out - too dark.)
The castle was very nicely decorated inside and was actually cozy and warm. There were lots of little doorways and passages, and dinner itself was quite good.
Claudia sittin' pretty in the castle.
Pat relaxes in his castle home.
Val is a dork. Alexander knows this to be true.
Back in Frankfurt that night, we met up with friends of Alexander and Claudia's for drinks first at the apartment and then at a wine bar. We definitely had our fare share of wine today. Pat also discovered his appreciation for pernod, a French spirit made from anise. Claudia is a big fan of pernod and had some on hand for us to try (Claudia and Alexander totally spoiled us on this trip).
The next morning we explored Frankfurt a bit on our own. Everything seemed to be closed because it was Sunday, but it was nice to be outside in the mild weather and enjoy the changing colors. Frankfurt also has a few cool sites to visit, so we made the rounds.
An artistic entry to the Frankfurt subway.
The Old Opera House.
The soccer game between Frankfurt and Nurnberg was one of the highlights of our trip. Decked out like true Frankfurt fans (wearing jerseys courtesy of Alexander), we all piled into the stadium-bound bus with crowds of other fans. The stadium was huge and very well-designed; we were sitting in the last row but still had a great view of the entire field. Through the glass wall right behind our seats, we could see the Frankfurt skyline. The stadium was packed with fans (I think it was sold out) and everyone was up and cheering or singing the entire time. It wasn’t a great game (the play was a bit sloppy), but the whole game was high energy and a lot of fun. Last but not least, the stadium food was great and not overpriced; Pat and I both had beers and bratwursts.
Our trip to Hamburg and Frankfurt seemed to come to an end so quickly; early the next morning we were on a train bound for Budapest. Despite our protests, Alexander and Claudia woke up early and drove us to the train station; Alexander sent us home with the Frankfurt jerseys we had worn to the game. We had a great time in Germany, in large part due to the endless hospitality and great company provided by Claudia and Alexander. I’m hoping they come visit us in Budapest or in San Francisco so we can return the favor.
Frankfurt central train station.
The 10-hour train ride back sucked because we studied for our Comparative Freedom of Speech final the entire way (except for an hour when our train caught on fire – we were a bit too distracted until the fire was out and we were safely on our way again). However, studying on a train is much nicer than studying in a library – at least you get to enjoy the passing scenery every time you lift your eyes from the book. In addition, we spent only 10-hours of finals week actually studying, the rest of the time we were gallivanting around Germany. Study abroad rocks!
