Travelling Back In Time (Part 2): Frankfurt, Germany

FRANKFURT

This post will be about our experiences in Frankfurt. This was my first trip to Germany (other than the stopover in Frankfurt Airport on the way to the United States last year), and I did not have any expectations nor impressions about Germany, except for my deep interest in the holocaust and Nazi Germany's destructive forces. Thus, when we touched down in Frankfurt on a bright, sunny and crisply cool day on 6 June, I had zero expectations and minimal anticipation.

But, after a week spent in Germany, I was impressed and fascinated. The Germans I met are highly efficient and adept, take immense pride in whatever they do, friendly but not probing, soft-spoken, very clean and polite, and process-driven. In fact, the entire country reminded me very much of Japan, and I wondered many times during the trip if these are the potent characteristics that propelled these 2 countries to be the aggressive and ambitious superpowers in World War II!

Another thing I love about Europe during summer is their languidly long summer nights. It made travelling so much easier, and we are able to extend our daily experiences to indulge in the ethereal sunlight.

In addition, Germany has one of the better and more efficient transportation systems in the world. Their cab fares are reasonable, and all the cabs are Mercedes taxis! Their subway is clean and punctual, with an excellent network across the city, and their buses are so comfortable and spotless too! It was so easy to travel all around on our own.



Taking the subway in Frankfurt



Impactful and eye-catching designs at the subway stations

Such self-initiated creativity at subway stations!



I love the quirky personalities of trams!

Some key highlights of our Frankfurt segment of the trip are listed below.

1) The Main River
The first morning of our trip was spent languorously ambling beside the River Main. Our trip coincided with major floods happening in southern Germany, which affected most of the river systems in the country, so River Main was very swollen, with fast-flowing waters overflowing to the banks.

 

It was such a delightful early morning walk in the cool air, with minimal people around us. We were literally able to smell and admire the blossoming summer flowers around us, as well as the abundance of foliage all around.

2) Heaven for musicians - Session Music
We spent the rest of the morning indulging in Hubby's favourite hobby - browsing for music keyboards in Frankfurt's suburbs. The Bees were suitably excited by the amazing array of pianos, keyboards and guitars that adorned the vast 2-storey shop, and all 3 (except for musical idiot, me!) tinkered with the pianos and keyboards.

3) The Römerberg
The historic heart of Frankfurt was breathtaking and charming. We were captivated by alluring ancient statues around the square, and browsed in quaint shops selling the most enchanting merchandise. The Bees were drawn to an antiquated water fountain, and loved chasing the pigeons around the old plaza.

The fascinating cuckoo clocks that originate mainly from Black Forest

We had alfresco lunch at a winsome German restaurant, and indulged in typical German cuisine like bratwurst (hot dogs) and sauerkraut (sour cabbages), etc. I must say I am not a big fan of German food, as there is too much meat in their cuisine! We took a lovely long lunch under the mild sunrays of a rejuvenatingly cool summer day!

4) The cathedrals
What is a visit to the historic town centre without taking a peek at the town's cathedrals? We visited 2 cathedrals that dated back to the 12th to 14th centuries (the modest Alte Nikolaikirche and the glorious Dom St. Bartholomaus).



Little Bee doing some colouring in an ethereal cathedral

We were awed by the brilliant architecture and our frazzled urban souls were soothed by the pervasive peace within these cathedrals.

 

Splendid organ pipes

5) The Naturmuseum Senckenberg (Natural History Museum)
The highlight for the Bees was the natural history museum. I had always wanted to visit a natural history museum before, but never had the opportunity to, so I was as excited as the Bees.

And we were not disappointed. We marvelled at the splendid display of colossal dinosaur skeletons, and most of them are originals from eons ago! Simply mind-boggling and amazing.

Venturing deeper into the museum, we were able to experience interactive displays on the solar system and earthquakes. There were also highly educational displays about deep sea creatures, huge exhibits of exotic stuffed animals and the evolution of the human species. Fascinating stuff indeed. Needless to say, the kids loved this museum, albeit Little Bee was a little spooked in some deeper, darker and lonelier parts of the museum. I also found it remarkable that the museum was hardly populated with visitors! We were usually the only visitors in some parts of the museum, and this was so refreshing after having arrived from over-crowded Singapore!

 

We ended the day, jetlagged, with a cosy and relaxing room service dinner, while looking forward to what the next day might bring!