Traveling in the Covid era requires patience, awareness, and flexibility.
After Rothenburg, we had planned to visit Salzburg, Austria on our way to Vienna. But Austria was locked down. We couldn’t even enter the country until December 17th, while stores and restaurants wouldn’t open until the 20th. So Sara canceled our four days in Salzburg and re-routed us through Frankfurt am Main (pronounced “FRANK furt ahm MINE”). It’s a large city, but not part of Bavaria, so it’s full of open Christmas markets, restaurants and museums. It’s also a good starting point for our next train trip direct to Vienna.
Christmas Markets: We’ve described the general appeal of Christmas Markets in a previous post on Cologne (Click Here) but each town has its own style. In Frankfurt, the markets were lively and busy, with plenty of sausages, waffles, candy, decorations, toys, and glühwein. In an effort to minimize Covid transmission, markets were spread over a larger area than in previous years, sometimes running along the streets, through parks and pedestrian areas. Nevertheless, they were often crowded, so we wore our masks and tried to skirt the crowds.
A Walking Tour: When we land in a new city, we often enjoy, and regularly recommend, a walking tour. A highlight of our brief stay in Frankfurt was a four-hour walking tour through the “Aldstadt,” the Old Town city center. This time our guide Dave was a character who thought Goethe was over-rated. But still, he had plenty of humorous stories to share. He introduced us to parts of town that we would never have found or known about on our own, like the Jewish Memorial, the “new” old town and of course, Spiderman.
For instance, the Jewish Memorial: A memorial to the thousands of Jewish and other Frankfurt residents who were deported by the Nazis and lost their lives before and during WW2. The monument’s cube structure was built with remains from buildings in the Jewish quarter. The ground is covered in grey gravel – so visitors will always be uncomfortable and unstable.
This wall stretches around the block with small plaques bearing the names, birth and death dates and location (when known) of the 11,908 Jewish men, women, children who once lived in this Frankfurt Jewish community. The stones placed on the blocks are in keeping with a Jewish mourning ritual. We found our visit to this memorial a deeply moving experience.
“The work of remembering is a never ending process.” Frank Backhaus
A City of Architectural Contrasts. In Frankfurt the new and modern sit right next to the old — or the newly designed to look old.
Modern Frankfurt: Frankfurt is large, modern, vibrant and busy, with a skyline filled with skyscrapers. The locals often call it “Mainhattan” for its many tall buildings sitting along the River Main. It’s the “banking capital” of Germany and headquarters for the European Union Central Bank. The population is one of the most diverse in all of Germany. Frankfurt has one of the biggest/widest pedestrian shopping streets that we’ve ever seen, the street called “Zeil,” and featuring a HUGE indoor shopping mall (“MyZeil”) about 5 to 6 levels high and a floor or two under the ground floor. And there are many major Museums and so much history. In our few days, we could hardly scratch the surface.
The Historic “Aldstadt” or “Old Town” area: Medieval Frankfurt sat along the north shore of the River Main, around the Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (Dating to 13th century). Between 14-18th centuries, the Holy Roman emperors were selected and crowned here.
Like many German cities, Frankfurt was bombed in 1944, and much of the city was destroyed, including much in the Aldstat. But Frankfurt was not content to discard its city’s historic architecture. Some Aldstadt buildings survived the bombing and have been lovingly maintained. Others, damaged or destroyed in the bombing, have been beautifully recreated: brand new buildings that look Medieval. Thanks to these buildings, the Aldstadt’s main square maintains that Medieval look, even if the skyline beyond reveals quite a modern city.
Dinner in the Sachsenhausen Area: Most of Frankfurt sits on the north of the Main River. The area south of the river, Sachsenhausen, is known for museums and Apfelwein Brauhauses. Always eager to sample the local favorites, we crossed the pedestrian bridge, the Eiserner Steg, to explore this side of Frankfurt and to find Zum Gemalten Haus, a recommended brauhaus featuring traditional German foods and, of course, Apfelwein.
While a direct translation of “apfelwein” would be “apple wine,” this is not apple cider or even hard cider. Sachsenhausen’s apfelwein is somewhat sour with a 5-7% alcohol content. They serve it in glasses with ridges so that sausage eaters with greasy hands can still grip their glasses.
Sara just had to try the famous Frankfurt “Green Sauce,” a creamy mixture of herbs (lots of parsley) yogurt, sour cream and oil, served with hard boiled eggs, roasted potato wedges, or meat. It was quite delicious. They even found us a copy of the recipe in English.
Evan ordered a traditional dish of sausage with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. At Sara’s suggestion, he also asked for a side order of German potato salad. At this, our waiter bowed his head and looked Evan in the eye, a disappointed expression on his face, and he shook his head. No, you do not order German potato salad along with sauerkraut. That is no good for the stomach. Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, OK, but not sauerkraut with potato salad. We took his advice, and we laughed quite a bit over his manner. When we asked for dessert, he said “No” because it was time for him to leave, but he did send over a younger colleague, apparently still on the clock, to serve us. Our server surely contributed to the entertainment value of our visit.
A River Cruise: We also enjoyed a two-hour cruise along the Main River for a different view of the city. The narration provided on the cruise focused on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the local literary hero and author of Faust, and on his history and poetry as it reflects on Christmas in Frankfurt.
And from here, we travel to Vienna.
