Sep 21-23 Frankfurt, DE
It took about 4 hours from Freiburg to Frankfurt by IE train. The Hotel Aller was easy to find, just two blocks away from the Hauptbahnhof., which was operated and owned (inherited from her parents) by a 60ish German granny. A typical old German with mighty minds and believes. Our room was nice and capacious, with almost everything, (floor, bathroom, kitchen and furniture) renovated recently. For its convenient location, it’s much better than I expected, though not cheap per se. Just around the corner was a small Chinese grocery store. We bought some fresh vegis and fast food for the late nights, after having a terrible and expensive Korean "cuisine" the first night at the neighborhood.
The plan was radiating out from Frankfurt. So we didn’t spend too much time in the city. Half a day tops the total amount. However, it’s a rare and unique experience in Germany to walk in such a modern city like Frankfurt. Being a financial center, suit and tie are the standard dress code around the skyscrapers, which are centered around the Hauptbahnhof. Streets were wide and clean, mixed with circles featuring statues or sculptures of the famous German figures like Goethe and Schiller. (Somehow it reminded me the streets in Washington D.C. in a certain way.) One or two miles north is the famous and gorgeous Opera House, which highlights the historical and aesthetic taste of the city. Inside the narrow street southwards finds the Luxury shops like LV and DG, and luxurious shoppers driving Lamborghini (might be due to the International Auto show in town). A string of museums lies along the south shore of the Main River. I wouldn’t use the word magnificent to describe the museums as most of them were not big at all and trenched deep behind gardens and trees. Nevertheless, the botanic environment around the architecture is intriguing enough by itself. We must have, fortunately though, missed the local tourist season since lots of sights were under renovation. Hence flea markets flourished along the river bank in front of the museums. Turkeys and Arabians were touting about their half-century old goods. We wandered through and grabbed some drinks from the Turkish "boat bar", anchored and serving at the river bank. By the lure of icecream, we also covered the Roman Square, which is nice but not too unique btw.
attached is a Frankfurt topo image, the area we explored. Hauptbahnhof can be clearly seen from the map.
Gordon's Toy 