Germany 1 - Frankly Frankfurt

The jaded business traveler must often wish for an airport like Frankfurt’s where all his requirements and whims are catered. Apart from an underground train station, it has 102 shops, 26 eating-places, 2 pharmacies and 4 beauty parlours and barbershops. On the entertainment side, what self respecting airport can do without a couple of sex shops and three non-stop movie theatres (one each featuring German, English and X-rated movies), a bowling alley and a truly stylish disco that caters to the jet set. In a way the airport is a perfect introduction to the city itself.

Consider Frankfurt as an epitome of the new Germany, risen like a phoenix from the ashes of World War II, with a whole new lifestyle: It’s the much vaunted Wirtschaftswundur in action, with all its ramifications, such as a raw sense of power, along with an almost overwhelming aura of affluence.

Frankfurt has a great influence as the place where more German kings and emperors were crowned than any other city, but it has also strictly adhered to the motto of “more sense, less politics”. And, the emperors of today resides somewhere inside the gleaming towers of the skyscrapers, ruling their empires with a touch of little buttons on their computer terminals.

For an enjoyable first orientation of the city, I took one of those brightly coloured and decorated special trams that leave on hour-long circular tour every thirty minutes on weekends. One can hop in at any of its 10 stops. On board this happy go lucky Ebbelwei Express (Apple-wine Express); there is music, apple wine and pretzels to contribute to a genuine Frankfurt atmosphere. Remember, no fun-time is enjoyed in Germany without wine or beer.

The Hauptwache is considered as the centre of Frankfurt location wise as well as in essence of things. It is an 18^th century guardhouse reconstructed in the original baroque style and then turned into a popular café. Directly across the Hauptwache stands the 17^th century Katherin-kirche, the church where German literary legend Goethe was baptisized. A few blocks southwest is the boyhood home of Goethe. The house offers a fascinating peak at eighteenth-century life in a wealthy, commercial city.

Next to the church, and stretching in all directions from Hauptwache, a spacious pedestrian zone has been inlayed into the city centre. Somehow this area typifies what today’s Germany is all about – the Mercedes, furs, jewels, extravagant clothes, elaborate paraphernalia for leisuretime activities and perhaps more than anything else, the cornucopia of food on display. Altogether the visible level of affluence is striking.

Just at the end of Fressgasse (the food street) to the west – is the theatre area. Here there are theatres and opera halls and a number of other performance centers. Of course the Alt Oper – or the Old Opera House – a structure of grand proportion, takes the pride of place.

South of Hauptwache toward the river, on a broad square with a statue of justice, you will see three adjoining burgher’s houses that that have served as Frankfurt’s City Hall since 1405. Restored after the WW II, the three crow-shaped gabbles of the façade are the symbol of this city. This protected monument is open to the visitors. Inside there is an immense Imperial Hall (Kaisersaal) where banquets were held to celebrate imperial coronation of German emperors. There are a few brilliantly painted half-timbered houses just opposite the city hall – which are also the most photographed structure of the city. This area, called Roemerberg, is the location of city’s cultural celebrations.

East of Roemerberg is the Cathedral of St. Bertholmew, popularly called the Dom. The cathedral’s outstanding feature is a tall fifteenth-century dome and lantern tower. The Dome overlooks the excavation of Roman foundation, which has been turned into historical garden. At the square in front is the miniature Alte Nikolaikirche, a church with a 40-bell carillon that rings out four times a day.

One branch of pedestrian walkway reaches the Main River. On the bank of the river, there are eight major museums, standing shoulder to shoulder. Among them particularly highly rated internationally are Stadel Institute of Art, Senekenburg Museum of Natural History and the Liebieghaus – a museum of sculpture and oriental art.

Perhaps the most potent symbols of the new and no-nonsense Frankfurt are the new Commerz Bank building and the Messeturm (Trade Fair Tower), the no 1 & 2 tallest office buildings in Europe. Frankfurt is the headquarter of German Reserve Bank, and three largest commercial banks as well as European Central Banks. Naturally, business people from all over the world check in for the big international fairs each spring and late summer, times when facilities become strained to breaking point, and hotels and restaurants impose an official (and controversial) surcharge on rooms and even meals to take advantage of the seasonal influx.

It is not to say that the efficient, business oriented Frankfurters do not know how to relax. In fact, they not only do it but also do it with gusto. In the evening watch all those wine tavern and small intimate restaurants spread all over the city. But, Alt Sachsenhausen offers the most idyllic setting for an evening out. From the Roemerberg, cross the Main River over the Eiserner Steg (Iron Footbridge) and walk a little to reach this interesting corner of the city.

For all practical purposes it is a rustic locale, with a stage-set quality created by pretty pastel homes with steeply pitched roofs, narrow cobblestoned lanes, wrought-iron street lamps and old fashioned tradesmen’s signs at shop entrances. It is at Alt Sachsenhausen where a Frankfurter gets his chance to roaringly practice that German characteristics called Gemutlichkeit or conviviality, over big tumblers of apple-wine and food, usually seating on a community-style wooden tables set outdoors.

The last nice thing about Frankfurt, which most business travelers are finding these days, is the ease of going from here to any other city in Europe on business or on excursions to the scenic and culturally rich part of Germany, making it the most important hub in Europe.