Bill in Germany - FRANKFURT

Frankfurt-am-Main, the fifth largest city in Germany, is not the most exciting city (to me, Berlin holds that title). However, its prominence as an important financial, communications, and transportation hub means that I have stopped by for a few times, in hourly or daily increments. It is a pleasant enough city for a short stay, as it is mostly modern with a few historical and reconstructed touches.

I highly recommend a trip to the viewing platform (Dachterrasse) atop the busy Zeilgalerie shopping center. It is free, but the fine views from the top are definitely worth more than that.

Quick Tips:

There are plenty of good museums in Frankfurt; many of them are part of the Museumsufer along the south bank of the Main River. Most of them are closed on Mondays, while some have free admission on Wednesdays. There is a flea market held every Saturday in this area during the warmer months.

The area just east of the Hauptbahnhof (central train station) is colorful but a bit seedy, as the red light district is located here. An amalgam of cheap foreign eateries and stores intermingle with sleazy sex shops. Once I was physically prevented from taking a photo by a man who basically did not want his building to be photographed. Use reasonable caution if you are walking between the station and the old town.

Best Way To Get Around:

The beautiful thing about visiting central Frankfurt is its proximity to the Flughafen (airport) Rhein-Main. It is a mere 12 minutes by train from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof, with a usual run of four trains every hour. You can buy an all-day pass just outside the airport that is valid on local trains, trams, and subways, all excellent cogs of the public transportation system. The cost of this pass is only a few cents more than a typical round-trip ticket price.

The central part of town is eminently walkable, with a nice variety of pedestrian streets, old plazas, and scenic river walks.

This small market hall is a somewhat nondescript indoor food emporium tucked away in central Frankfurt. Opening in 1954, its three stories feature various local food products and flowers. Perhaps the most prominent vendors are those featuring freshly butchered cuts of meats and German sausages (of course).

There are plenty of different stalls selling fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and other various treats. To be honest, I was hoping to find some more exotic produce here, but the selections seemed a bit standard to me overall. There are limited areas where you can consume your purchase, which stifles the potential atmosphere here. The shopkeepers go about their business without bothering you, so you can browse in here at your leisure.

The market is open bright and early at 7:30am six days a week (it is closed Sundays). The closing time is 6pm on weekdays and there is the typical earlier European closing time of 3pm on Saturdays. This is a good place to pop in for a look if it is raining hard outside.

If you happen to be in town late November or December, you are better off visiting the large outdoor Christmas Market for a more exciting selection of goodies. The main German cities always put on a fine spectacle for the winter holidays. Still, the Kleinmarkthalle is not a bad place to stop by in a pinch for a light snack or a few fresh consumables.

The Romerberg is the historical market square of old Frankfurt, a place for celebrations and weddings even to this day. The middle of the square has been marked by the interesting Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen ("fountain of justice"), which is now dry but actually sprouted wine in the good old days.

The Romer, along the western edge of the square, was and still functions as the town hall. The Romer also houses the Kaiseraal, which served as the imperial coronation hall for German emperors, starting with the great Charlemagne. A collection of portraits is found here, which may interest only the most dedicated history hound. A few grandiose banners and other decorative touches usually front the Romer. It is part of a rowhouse of medieval, half-timbered stepped gable facades that originated from the 15th Century but heavily reconstructed during the 1970's. If you stare at the Romer side from a distance, the rooflines create a peculiar optical illusion that is neither two-dimensional nor three-dimensional. A row of seven reconstructed houses on the east side of the Romerberg mimics the style of the Romer side. The look of the square definitely attempts to recreate the feeling of Old Germany, with such a cohesive effect that the average tourist is not aware of how recent the traditionally constructed facades really are.

The south side of the square features the smallish and squarish Alte Nikolaikirche (Old Nicholas Church), which originally were an early gothic court chapel and also a church for the city fathers. It now serves as the parish church for St. Paul's Congregation. The exterior features historic sandstone sculptures and a glockenspiel, which plays its forty bells three times a day. This is a nice space to pop into if you are trying to escape from the Romerberg crowds, and you can pick up a nice walking guide depicting historical churches in Frankfurt.

The Romerberg is richly decorated during the annual Christmas Market. Of course, all the booths, carnival rides and a 30-meter tall tree that occupy the square take away from the overall openness of the square that exists during the rest of the year. There is a main branch of the city's tourism bureau here, but there seems to be just a sprinkling of handy brochures here

This red sandstone church in central Frankfurt has had quite a voluminous history over the ages. Begun in 1356, it was originally constructed over the site of a Carolingian building, following the plans of architect Madern Gerthener. It is not really a Dom or Cathedral (it is actually a parish church today), but it is referred to as Kaiserdom or Imperial Cathedral because it did serve as the coronation church of Germanic kings and emperors for hundreds of 300 years. The cathedral was finally completed in 1877. Much of the Dom was destroyed in 1944 during World War II, but it was reconstructed in 1953. The complex underwent a restoration from 1989 to 1994.

The impressive west tower of the Dom originates from the 15th Century and was completed about 1860. You can normally climb to a viewing platform atop the gothic tower for some nice views of the city, but unfortunately scaffolding is shrouding the top these days. The interior is dark, as the deep red sandstone creates an earthy mood inside. Note that the would-be lines of stone are actually drawn on in white in the modern reconstruction, so this creates a bit of a kitschy look to this discerning eye. A few bits of the original interior remain, like the choir stalls and the "Altar of Mary Sleeping" from 1434.

There is a museum adjacent to the entrance in the cloister of the church, with its main exhibit of imperial robes, vestments and architectural studies. The Dom Museum is closed on Mondays.

To the west of the Dom is the Historischer Garten, an archaeological plaza with some old ruins of fortifications from Roman and Carolingian times, and a seating area designated as a rest spot for seniors, most of whom are not as old as the fortifications.

The palatial art museum, part of the impressive Museumsufer along the Main River, is located at the foot of the Holbeinsteg pedestrian bridge. Housed in the current building since 1878, this is the primary museum for those who want to see the most varied range of art in Frankfurt.

The immense and significant collection of the Städel encompasses paintings, drawings, and sculptures from various periods and schools starting from the 14th Century. Featured artists include German masters (Durer, Memling, Cranach, Holbein) European greats (van Eyck, Vermeer, Rubens, Boticelli), French Impressionists (Renoir, Monet), and Modern artists from across Europe (Kirchner, Picasso, Dubuffet, Tapies).

The Städel is one of those massive museums that you can spend countless hours and days in. If you have only a limited amount of time, try to pick a few artists or periods that you would like to concentrate on. Since you are in Germany, it may be your civic duty to peruse the extensive galleries of German art. Of course, you can just wing it and casually waltz through the galleries for a random but exciting spin of great artworks. There are occasional guided tours conducted in English. The building was damaged during World War II, but fortunately its collections were stored elsewhere for safekeeping at that time. A renovation campaign of the galleries was completed in 1999.

The Städel features a sizable bookstore, as one would expect. The Holbein restaurant is open until midnight six days a week. The museum is closed on Mondays, and it is open late, until 9pm, on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Noted Austrian architect Hans Hollein designed this Museum of Modern Art. It occupies a prime triangular patch of land a block north of the Dom, pushing Hollein to create a museum that looks vaguely like a "slice of cake". Hollein won the open design competition for the museum in 1983, and the complex building was constructed from 1987 to 1991.

One can say that the building may overpower the artworks contained within, but I like to think of the architecture as a work of art in its own right. The interiors are appropriate settings for modern works as diverse as those created by Warhol, Liechtenstein, Beuys, etc. The complex series of forty or so rooms inside are to be experienced, along with exteriors that incorporate a mishmash of elements as if they were decorative dollops on a cake slice. The north facade is like an incomplete mural, with a "balcony" on one end, and a horizontal element hovering over a modern man sculpture on the other. The stepped "point" of the cake slice is a bit more successful, though it is not quite the Flatiron Building in New York.

As usual, the museum is closed Mondays, and is free and open late on Wednesdays. The museum features a nice store and the appropriately named Triangolo cafe.

This museum, specifically dedicated to exhibitions on architecture, was a trendsetter, as it was the first significant architecture museum in Europe when it opened.

German architect Oswald Mathias Ungers designed this modern building housing the museum in 1984. He actually adapted an existing 19th century villa and inserted a four-level "house within a house" and a series of "courtyards" into the new design for the museum. The newer rationalist elements involve mostly white shapes, pure and pristine. The result is a successful and low-key conversion. A renovation of the museum in 2001 was captained by local architect Ingo Schrader.

This institution specializes in temporary exhibitions of contemporary German and European architecture. It was not meant to serve as a history of architecture time capsule, so the average passerby may not be too interested in a visit here. Architectural historians will appreciate its archives of drawings, sketches, models, and blueprints. There is an emphasis on material from the 20th century, but items from the 18th and 19th centuries are also here.

There is a cozy cafe fronting the museum, a good spot to stare at the skyline of Frankfurt. There are a few outdoor tables during nice weather. The small shop has a decent selection of architecture books available for purchase. As usual with Frankfurt museums, the Deutsches Architektur Museum is closed on Mondays. The late day is Wednesdays, when it is open until 8pm.

This colorful museum may not be the first thing you want to see in Frankfurt, but it is not a bad place to spend a bit of time if you are hiding from the elements. The building was designed in 1990 by the architectural firm Behnisch and Partners, who won an award for architecture incorporating aluminum. The modern glassy interiors promote a pleasant experience during your visit.

The current museum has metamorphosized from the Federal Postal Museum, which was opened in 1958. The current museum tries to present the developing history of communications, with different displays for mail, radio, phone, etc. There are some interesting displays of old German mail delivery wagons, mailboxes, lumbering computers. The interactive displays are fun for youngsters and adults alike. There is also an art collection with works by Dali, Beuys and Ernst.

There are actually a few computers in the basement level where you can surf the web and write e-mails for free. Of course you are expected to spend only a few minutes on a terminal as a courtesy to other users. The basement also has lavatories and storage lockers for visitors. There is a little cafe and shop on the entrance level.

There is no admission fee for the museum, and you can also pick up an audio tour phone (in English) at no cost. The museum is closed on Mondays and is open late until 7PM on weekends.

This popular shopping center is located on the Zeil, the poshest shopping street in central Frankfurt. This pedestrian street is nicknamed "The Golden Mile" and can become very congested prime shopping times. Kramm and Streigel designed Zeilgalerie in 1993.

Zeilgalerie has a gem of a viewing platform (Dachterrasse) that may be unknown to the general visitor. It is actually on the roof of the building, and it is open from 10am to midnight. Take one of the tiny elevators up, and then climb a few stairs until you are on the outside deck. There are some more metal stairs outside for an even more elevated view (note that these stairs can be slippery in the rain or snow, so take care!). You do get some excellent views of central Frankfurt, including the Dom, the Romerberg, Commerzbank, and other assorted skyscrapers. There is a discreet display pointing out some of the more notable buildings in the "Mainhattan" skyline. Incidentally, there is no fee to the viewing platform, so enjoy the free vistas.

If you are also shopping in the flashy Zeilgalerie, there are a variety of clothing stores, shops, food establishments, as well as an IMAX theater. This seems to be a popular hangout for the younger crowd, a bit edgy and hip for some conservative tastes.

British architect Norman Foster designed this tall, gray, triangular skyscraper as the central landmark for the noted German bank in Frankfurt. The tower has 53-stories with an overall height of about 259m (not including the antenna on top), making it the tallest building in Europe at the time of its completion in 1997.

The edifice was proclaimed as the first ecological high-rise, with a full-height central atrium that acts conceptually as a natural ventilation chimney. There are gardens located throughout the building that feature vegetation from around the world. Office workers benefit by having operable windows. Interior columns do not obstruct their precious views and spaces. It is an exemplary work of "green architecture" and is far from your average nondescript office block.

The attractive lobby on the main level features a cafe and an interesting selection of artworks and displays. It was amusing to see the sculpture of a fake window washer while an actual custodian was doing a spot of cleaning in the lobby. As befitting a major bank, there are also some ATM machines located here. Pick up a brochure at the lobby desk if you wish. Stare upwards and you will notice that there is basically one continuous light well above you.

For a structure of its considerable size and stature, Lord Foster's Commerzbank tower leaves a fairly quiet impression upon Frankfurt's "Manhattan" skyline. On a cloudy day, the gray tones of the building outline blend in with the skies above. At night, there is a feeling of light and transparency throughout the complex.