Today, we visited the banking center of the European Union–Europe’s New York. A city as comfortable with its skyscrapers as it is with its Old Town, rebuilt as it has been.
There’s a fabled story of how Frankfurt got its name. The man in the foreground with the shield is a Frank. His enemies are behind him. On the shore of the Main (am Main), he watched and waited until two deer used a ford (furt) hidden beneath the water’s surface to cross the river. Using the same route, he moved his forces across to safety, leaving his enemy befuddled on the opposite bank. Voilá! Frankfurt am Main.
Our group (the Red Group if I haven’t stated that yet) boarded a bus for a tour of the modern and monumental sights of today’s Frankfurt.
We were then deposited in the Old Town– completely rebuilt after the war–to marvel at the recreated half-timbered buildings, cobble-stoned market squares and historical churches.
Frankfurt’s Old Town market square
Photo ops were limited here because they were setting up stages and equipment for a concert event and lorries were parked everywhere. But the pre-show preparations did not deter any of the many clustered wedding parties we saw scattered about who were awaiting their time of joining in the Rathaus (City Hall).Of course, all of these quaint, medieval-esque buildings are post-war reconstructions of the originals, a recurring scenario as we travel through the Rhineland.
Note the modern office towers infringing on the recreated nostalgia of Old Town.
Much of their main shopping districts are pedestrian (and bike) only areas. As such, they are often landscaped with rows of shade trees diffusing the rays of sunlight as they illuminate the patterned surface of the pavement. Interspersed throughout are welcoming sitting and gathering areas. It would be a wonderful way to re-imagine the east-west segment of Superior Avenue that still bisects Cleveland’s newly-renovated Public Square, should they actually decide not to reopen the street.
After grocery shopping, we found a little sidewalk cafe and shared two luncheon entrees: one comprised of sausages and pomme frits (french fries) and the other consisted of fried potatoes and hard-boiled egg halves in a regional green sauce. Naturally, it was accompanied by some good, hearty German beer. Yum!
Of course, our primary destination in Frankfurt was to go grocery shopping…again at Aldi’s…continuing Rob’s quest for the elusive, exclusive cognac of 2014. It was not available here either. (I hope/believe Rob may have finally given up.) However, all was not lost. Aldi’s stocks another almost-comparable (if memory can be trusted) cognac that has filled the void for this trip. Prost!
Our free time coming to an end and being, quite “frank-ly” a bit exhausted, we started walking in the general direction of the boat. We replenished our supply of euros (Read: used an ATM machine) and then strolled a long stretch of riverfront promenade–which was also being setup for some sort of concert or performance venue on both sides of the river–until reaching the boat.
Rob did venture back out for some curry wurst, satisfying a culinary itch that needed scratching. I napped.
Dutch to Deutsch: The Great Rivers of Europe 