Shawn's European Adventure - Frankfurt, Germany

Shawn's European Adventure: Frankfurt, Germany

Frankfurt is home to the tallest office block in Europe...and this is it to the left!
W, 1 June 2005 (Frankfurt, Germany)
I've found a museum along the Main with a lovely small garden and benches. There is a girl not far down the path from me that is practicing clarinet. There is a woman there that I think is her teacher. The girl struggles, but she is persistent.

This city is very pedestrian (and biker!) friendly. After leaving the garden I decided to walk back along the river's edge. I crossed over at the first of two foot bridges. This one is a suspension bridge and as I watched a barge pass under I could feel the bridge vibrate.

It's a beautiful city, and the wather is like early spring. The river is about as wide as the Clinch River at home, and very dirty! The buildings are a really eccentric mix of "old-style German" (very colorful and ornate) and modern, glass and metal.And they all seem jumbled together.

Wow, I'm in Germany. I think it's just slowly sinking in. Except for the language it feels like any other city at home (did I mention it feels very safe here? well, it does). I guess I expected something...exotic. What a pleasant surprise! ON the train we passed large swaths of forests and then a highway, both of which surprised and comforted me for a multitude of reasons. When we crossed the Main [River], there were mountains in the distance!

Tonight for dinner I had an amazing experience (this and the girl on clarinet are probably the top two). I was walking a neighborhood near the hostel looking for a restaurant to catch my attention. I got this voice (more an urge really) telling me to put away the map and guiding me around a block. As I rounded the corner I saw just ahead a Greek sandwich shop (I know, I'm in Germany) and a produce grocer next door. Ordering the sandwich was an experience (no one spoke English) and adding in the fruit (a tomto, 3 apricots, and a pack of dates) was almost too much food, but I think I wanted a big meal after today.

Even neater part, though, was that the little boy of the sandwich shop followed me into the grocery. He was no older than five or six, if that. He comes up to me and starts pointed at things and babbling in German, so I understand nothing. But he seemed to be making some reference to his parents' store and was trying to be funny. So we "talked" for a while and eventually started playing while I shopped. He knew the shopkeep, so I think everything was legit. It was quite fun. Then he pushed me into the road as a left. What a joy to have around.

A quote from one of the bridges (not the one listed above). After crossing a 2nd time, I found a translation of the Greek...in German! I have asked a friend to translate it into English for me.
This is one of the first monarchs of the Frankfurt area. Again, I will have to get a friend to translate the German below.

R, 2 June 2005 (Frankfurt, Germany) In a change of plans, I'm in the Römerberg today [Above four pictures are of the main Römer square. All these buildings face each other across an open courtyard.] and will do Heidelberg tomorrow (checkout is early and it will be easier to use a train locker than the hostel). Came after a leisurly breakfast (yum!) but still rather early for the sights. Walked the area to some ruins, which I think are the Roman ruins Rick Steve mentioned [See next two pictures below], but I can't be sure. Neat, even if they aren't. :) And fun buildings through here.

Cooler and cloudy today, though yesterday I noticed amonst all the people out by the river in the sun that couples are much more pulically affectionate than us. A few couples made out on a park bench while someone sat next to them (and didn't seem to care!).
The Römerberg Dom is neat, though in rebuilding it (and another church nearby) I think they simply poured concrete and painted it to look like red brick from a distance. Up close you can tell it's fake. :( But the cathedral...it's small in floor space, but large in height and overall volume. It's under construction, but I can't tell if it's for improvements or if they still want to add to it.
Found the Kleinmarkthalle for lunch. Very large and confusing! And no one I talked to spoke English. I was having trouble breaking my shell, but one stand couple was helpful. Got a sausange and rolle, then went back for fruit. The couple approached me and then made me buy something. :) But it was helpful. We managed to communicate by pointing and hand gestures and he had to hand me a receipt to understand the price. I think he short changed me by €0.05, but I think it was an honest mistake, and anyway wasn't worth the language barrier to quibble over. I'll think of it as a gift for their "help", forceful though it was. :)

Verkauf. This word essentially means "for sale". It's written on an arrow-shaped sign taped to an ad for a cafe. A group of boys started playing with it (they stole it, yes). They pointed it at two of their friends sleeping on the steps, then at each other, then one tucked it down his shirt. There's one guy that had taken off his shoes and pants...He took off his shirt and ran across the plaza so his friends could video him holding it over his midsection. (It was too funny to pass up a shot.)

Wandering along further I came across some people from India who were doing show in front of a department store. They were very good dancers, though I think the music was being piped through as a recording of some sort. But the dancing was neat.

These three pictures are from the Jewish cemetary in Frankfurt. The little stones along the outer wall that you see are markers of Jews, but I was a little unclear what the further connection was beyond that. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Holocaust, but I can't entirely tell how, as some of the markers on the wall do not list a date of death, so the people are still alive (or were at the time of the wall's building). There's a tradition of placing a stone on top of the marker as an act of memory to the deceased person, and there were many that had a small pebble on them in continuation of this tradition.
Walking around after lunch I came across a guy playing harp and singing in Spanish. We talked a bit in Spanish, then English. He's from Chile. Talked about Jennifer Lopez in P.R. singing only in English.
I spent the afternoon walking the parks that (mostly) cover the city. The picture to the left was in the front of the main bank (no pun intentded...heh heh heh...no, really). Frankfurt is the banking capitol of Europe and I found it amusing (though fitting) to see a giant Euro symbol in front of this bank (name escapes me). To give you a height perspective, it would have taken about 3 of me to equal the height of the silver poles it stands on. And we worship the all powerful dollar...;)

Now I'm at the hostel watching a chess game between Aaron (from TX) and Juan. Aaron is on the right in both pictures, Juan on the left. Originally I thought Juan was from Russia, but later he confessed to being from Uruguay...his name makes much more sense now. Juan and I ...ended up staying out at the chessboard talking to sunset (nearly 10P!), then went out for food. He's a really nice guy and somehow we started talking about American politics and comparing our governmental structures.

On to Heidelberg!

	A quote from one of the bridges (not the one listed above). After crossing a 2nd time, I found a translation of the Greek...in German! I have asked a friend to translate it into English for me.
	This is one of the first monarchs of the Frankfurt area. Again, I will have to get a friend to translate the German below.



R, 2 June 2005 (Frankfurt, Germany) In a change of plans, I'm in the Römerberg today [Above four pictures are of the main Römer square. All these buildings face each other across an open courtyard.] and will do Heidelberg tomorrow (checkout is early and it will be easier to use a train locker than the hostel). Came after a leisurly breakfast (yum!) but still rather early for the sights. Walked the area to some ruins, which I think are the Roman ruins Rick Steve mentioned [See next two pictures below], but I can't be sure. Neat, even if they aren't. :) And fun buildings through here.

Cooler and cloudy today, though yesterday I noticed amonst all the people out by the river in the sun that couples are much more pulically affectionate than us. A few couples made out on a park bench while someone sat next to them (and didn't seem to care!). The Römerberg Dom is neat, though in rebuilding it (and another church nearby) I think they simply poured concrete and painted it to look like red brick from a distance. Up close you can tell it's fake. :( But the cathedral...it's small in floor space, but large in height and overall volume. It's under construction, but I can't tell if it's for improvements or if they still want to add to it. Found the Kleinmarkthalle for lunch. Very large and confusing! And no one I talked to spoke English. I was having trouble breaking my shell, but one stand couple was helpful. Got a sausange and rolle, then went back for fruit. The couple approached me and then made me buy something. :) But it was helpful. We managed to communicate by pointing and hand gestures and he had to hand me a receipt to understand the price. I think he short changed me by €0.05, but I think it was an honest mistake, and anyway wasn't worth the language barrier to quibble over. I'll think of it as a gift for their "help", forceful though it was. :)

Verkauf. This word essentially means "for sale". It's written on an arrow-shaped sign taped to an ad for a cafe. A group of boys started playing with it (they stole it, yes). They pointed it at two of their friends sleeping on the steps, then at each other, then one tucked it down his shirt. There's one guy that had taken off his shoes and pants...He took off his shirt and ran across the plaza so his friends could video him holding it over his midsection. (It was too funny to pass up a shot.)
	Wandering along further I came across some people from India who were doing show in front of a department store. They were very good dancers, though I think the music was being piped through as a recording of some sort. But the dancing was neat.

	These three pictures are from the Jewish cemetary in Frankfurt. The little stones along the outer wall that you see are markers of Jews, but I was a little unclear what the further connection was beyond that. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Holocaust, but I can't entirely tell how, as some of the markers on the wall do not list a date of death, so the people are still alive (or were at the time of the wall's building). There's a tradition of placing a stone on top of the marker as an act of memory to the deceased person, and there were many that had a small pebble on them in continuation of this tradition.
Walking around after lunch I came across a guy playing harp and singing in Spanish. We talked a bit in Spanish, then English. He's from Chile. Talked about Jennifer Lopez in P.R. singing only in English.
	I spent the afternoon walking the parks that (mostly) cover the city. The picture to the left was in the front of the main bank (no pun intentded...heh heh heh...no, really). Frankfurt is the banking capitol of Europe and I found it amusing (though fitting) to see a giant Euro symbol in front of this bank (name escapes me). To give you a height perspective, it would have taken about 3 of me to equal the height of the silver poles it stands on. And we worship the all powerful dollar...;)