I have just gotten back from an absolutely fantastic weekend away in Frankfurt. I’ve caught up on my advent calendar and can say that I am now feeling well and truly Christmassy. The markets were absolutely amazing. I drank lots of German beer and Glühwein (mulled wine) and tried eggnog, which I also loved. I can’t decide on my favourite beverage though, the Germans do know how to make good warming alcohol for the cold December nights (and days.)
Let’s start at the very beginning, (a very good place to start), we arrived in Frankfurt and after dropping off our things at the hostel, and trying some German apple wine we headed towards the markets, where on the way we saw the occupy Frankfurt camp, this was really interesting, especially for my friend Katie who is from New York so has been missing out on where it all started.
We then spent the evening at the Christmas markets, eating Bratwurst and drinking mulled wine along with buying some little bits and pieces to finish off our Christmas shopping. I had to wear a hat and scarf – it was wonderful! We also looked around Frankfurt Cathedral, which was very quaint and lovely, different to those here in Spain. The markets out there are simply amazing, so much bigger and better than anything we have in the U.K. But then again they have been holding markets in Frankfurt for over 600 years.
The next morning we
went for a walk, and a little explore, we walked up through Frankfurt’s
financial district and got to look at some amazing skyscrapers. We saw the Opera house, some gorgeous parks,
inhabited by some freaky looking ducks (30% of Frankfurt is parkland) and a
beautiful old guard tower two. We spent 2 and a half hours of the afternoon in
the Jewish Museum, which was fascinated and told the story of the Jews within Europe
from around 300A.D. until after the 2nd world war with the creation
of Israel. I learnt so much and it was also a nice break from the cold. In the
evening we headed to the markets again. More shopping, eating and drinking,
gosh the Germans like to drink, many of them were drunk by 5.30!
On our final day in Frankfurt we ate as much
as humanly possible at the all you could eat breakfast and smuggled out some
food for later in the day. We headed up to the Frankfurt stock exchange, a
really pretty building with lots of different sculptures from a neo-classical
period, and a more modern bull and bear, although the reason for this is
unknown to me. Then we headed back down into the old part of town, where at
11.30am Katie decided she wanted eggnog, I have been a bad influence.... After the first alcoholic drink of the day we
saw the old town hall, and an art exhibition inside which was pretty
interesting, and free. We also headed over the bridge and walked along the
other side of the river before heading back into the markets, then to a pub for
beers and food, and lots of free Jager... before getting the bus to the airport
to wait for our early morning flight back, which landed 25 minutes early – good
old Ryanair! And as for the rest of today, I feel some rest and relaxation is
in order.
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