Frankfurt, Germany

Aug 14, 2010: Frankfurt, Germany

Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station)

Yesterday we were up at dawn packing up our van and closing up the apartment we rented in Aix-en-Provence. We dropped Kevin's girlfriend Rosa Newman at the Aix train station. Then Karalee, Kevin, Allen, Sharra, and David headed North. It was another marathon day driving just under one thousand kilometers from Aix to Frankfurt, Germany. For the last couple of hours we hit the Friday afternoon rush hour south of Frankfurt. It was a long slow haul until we finally made it to our hotel.

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We had only one night in Frankfurt. While David and Karalee have traveled through the airport before this is the first time any of us have explored the city itself. We walked to the Romerberg Square to have a German dinner. It is still amazing to drive for a single day in Europe (or even an hour) and to experience the complete change in architecture, language, and food.

We were up early as Kevin returned back to Vancouver on a different flight from the rest of us. Kevin and David walked to the nearby Hauptbahnhof, the central train station of Frankfurt. Like many European train stations, the Hauptbahnhof has beautiful architectural features. We took in the morning light before heading underground for coffee and breakfast. Then it was even deeper underground so that Kevin could take the subway from the train station to the airport.

With Kevin safely off, the rest of us headed out to explore Frankfurt. We walked through the early morning streets almost completely alone. The only thing in park besides the flowers and grass were rabbits hopping across our path.

We walked the length of Bockenheimer, one of the main shopping streets of Frankfurt. A few delis and restaurants were already open. We could have had sausages and potatoes for breakfast. We had coffee, muffins, and fruit instead, before once again heading out to stroll through the city.

Much of Frankfurt was destroyed in World War II. This included all the buildings around the central Romerberg Square. Originally built in the 15C, the buildings were faithfully rebuilt after the war. We took in the town hall, church, and the buildings where we ate the day before. Then it was on to Kaiserdom St. Bartholomaus (Cathedral of St. Bartholomew).

We walked up to the church looking at the tall imposing West tower. We walked under the tower and into St. Bartholomew admiring the tall brick arches. There were many nooks and crannies to explore, including the Altar of Mary Sleeping from 1434.

After leaving St. Bartholomew, we walked to the river Main. We strolled along looking at the church across the river, a pedestrian bridge, and many tour boats that take people cruising up the river. We walked back to our hotel, picked up our bags, loaded our van for the last time, and drove to Frankfurt Airport. Our three week adventure was over and after a nine hour plane ride we were back in Vancouver.

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