Backdated Post written while in Frankfurt in JulyFrankfurt
I’ve been travelling non stop for the past 25 hours non stop. 12 hours from Singapore to Frankfurt. Transit of 8 hours. 2.5 hours from Frankfurt to Madrid. Transit 4.5 hrs. 1 hour flight from Madrid to La Coruna.
Have not slept or eaten well in the past 25 hours. Dehydrated as the flight attendants were slack in handing out water. Could not really sleep either. The Lufthansa plane’s quite an antique to be flying. For business travelling, SQ is definitely needed.
So far I’ve been rushing to wait, and waiting to rush. I left Singapore at 2300hrs on Sat night. It is now Monday morning 0030hrs and I am still waiting in transit.
Fortunately I made a city tour at Frankfurt. It was only a 15 min train ride away from the airport. The city’s excellent to tour by foot.
I discovered the little and large churches, the museums, the opera theatres, the shopping districts. And I also saw how the city apartments are so well integrated into the entire city scape. Age old gothic buildings, majestic churches and modern museums share the land scape with uber chic apartments and quaint eateries.
And the best bit, a nice river runs past the city with many locals enjoying a Sunday jog as I was there. All this I managed to soak in the 3 hours I was there.
The train station was majestic, old preserved exterior yet ultra efficient modern interior. So german!
I especially like the apartments by the river. So scenic and yet just 5 min away from the city centre. I can understand why they say Frankfurt is among the top cities in the world to live in.
There are lots of public squares, large and small. Somewhat I could feel how centuries ago people would gather in these squares and interact much like they still do now. Except of course in the very touristed square where all I saw were touristy kick knacks. The open air cafes were aplenty and welcoming.
Had a very german pretzel.
Then my starbucks coffee. Then went in search of my elusive german weiner. Along the way I stumbled on many quaint pubs, Paulaner Am Bon was one of them. Small cosy pub tucked away alongside an old church sharing a small public square, located just in front of the city river.
As I made my way to the river several swans swam up to me in search of food I guess.
As I made my way to the river several swans swam up to me in search of food I guess.
Unfortunately I had given all the crumbs to the horde of fat pigeons in another square as I sat and ate my german pretzel. Wow didn’t realise these swans and pigeons are BIG!Walked past Kakadu a true blue aussie institution (pub) as I walked back to the train station. Took a photo in honour of my aussie friend.
Back at the station, I found the elusive german weiner. Though I wasn’t hungry from that huge pretzel I ate an hour ago, I knew I just had to try. They looked big long and juicy….. So I made my order. Lo and behold the counter staff too up a 4” roll and started to slice ot open. Wait a minute! My weiner is something like 20” long ok? How does this work out??!
So what if the sausage sticks out 4 times the length of the roll? There you see, my german weiner. Yum! Was a little oily for my liking but overall good. Not the best but good.
And I finally understood why the roll could not be of the same length as the weiner. German breads are crusty on the outside and fluffy dense on the inside. Ie these little buns pack a big punch.
No wonder that pretzel filled me up. No wonder I struggled to finish the little 4” roll. The bread was wonderful, the crust outside was well, warm and crusty. The inside of the roll had a bit of chewiness, slightly denser than Japanese bread or any of those stuff from Breadtalk.
And so ended my sojourne to the city of Frankfurt. It was a little scary at first as I went to the train station. Everything was in German! I had no idea which station to disembark, no map no nothing. Am I glad I went out to explore. It’s an easy city to navigate. Even I can navigate, so can anyone else for that matter!
I started my city walk about 8am in the morning as the sleepy city remained, well, closed. It was Sunday. What did I expect? A friendly old man on a bike waved and said hello. OK so I was the only Asian walking down the city street at 8am on a Sunday morning. He looked as though he’s out to get his morning paper.
Some streets later, another man in a car with open windows drove past and waved too. That’s kinda strange I thought. Are Frankfurters (!!) famed for their friendliness to tourists?? I dunno.
Later the owner of a grill also called and waved to me even though I was on the opposite side of the road.
Was it me or was it because it’s a lonely Sunday morning in Frankfurt they needed someone to wave to, or is it because I am a lone tourist or were they curious to see if asian tourists were as shy/rude/kiasu as everyone has made them to be? I’m curious to know too.
The only signs of life on a Sunday morning were party dwellers still thumping to the music of an underground club early in the morning. There were bouncers guarding the flight of stairs leading to the basement entry. And a long line of taxis waiting in the crisp morning air to take these party goers home.
Just 500 m away, several church bells toll as a different crowd of Sunday worshippers make their way into the chapel.
I love the contrast, the integration, the harmony of the place. Oh I also saw a public park with the wonderful smells of bitter orange and some other plants opposite the opera theatre. In between them are tram lines criss crossing the city. All this some 10 minute walk away from the church and the club.
Maybe the city reminds me of Melbourne. So quaint yet so modern, with a river running by the city. In fact I think Frankfurt is a lot like Melbourne. Maybe that’s why I like it.
And I finally understood why the roll could not be of the same length as the weiner. German breads are crusty on the outside and fluffy dense on the inside. Ie these little buns pack a big punch.
No wonder that pretzel filled me up. No wonder I struggled to finish the little 4” roll. The bread was wonderful, the crust outside was well, warm and crusty. The inside of the roll had a bit of chewiness, slightly denser than Japanese bread or any of those stuff from Breadtalk.
And so ended my sojourne to the city of Frankfurt. It was a little scary at first as I went to the train station. Everything was in German! I had no idea which station to disembark, no map no nothing. Am I glad I went out to explore. It’s an easy city to navigate. Even I can navigate, so can anyone else for that matter!
I started my city walk about 8am in the morning as the sleepy city remained, well, closed. It was Sunday. What did I expect? A friendly old man on a bike waved and said hello. OK so I was the only Asian walking down the city street at 8am on a Sunday morning. He looked as though he’s out to get his morning paper.
Some streets later, another man in a car with open windows drove past and waved too. That’s kinda strange I thought. Are Frankfurters (!!) famed for their friendliness to tourists?? I dunno.
Later the owner of a grill also called and waved to me even though I was on the opposite side of the road.
Was it me or was it because it’s a lonely Sunday morning in Frankfurt they needed someone to wave to, or is it because I am a lone tourist or were they curious to see if asian tourists were as shy/rude/kiasu as everyone has made them to be? I’m curious to know too.
The only signs of life on a Sunday morning were party dwellers still thumping to the music of an underground club early in the morning. There were bouncers guarding the flight of stairs leading to the basement entry. And a long line of taxis waiting in the crisp morning air to take these party goers home.
Just 500 m away, several church bells toll as a different crowd of Sunday worshippers make their way into the chapel.
I love the contrast, the integration, the harmony of the place. Oh I also saw a public park with the wonderful smells of bitter orange and some other plants opposite the opera theatre. In between them are tram lines criss crossing the city. All this some 10 minute walk away from the church and the club.
Maybe the city reminds me of Melbourne. So quaint yet so modern, with a river running by the city. In fact I think Frankfurt is a lot like Melbourne. Maybe that’s why I like it.
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