OK so let me start by saying i was no less tired flying in business than i have been in economy. I just don’t sleep well on planes or buses or anything else moving for that matter. Although i did sleep fine on a train once, back in ‘Nam.
My hotel was just near the main train station in Frankfurt. A shuttle bus and short train trip and i was at the main station and managed to find my hotel rather easily. My room in the lovely Hotel Europa is possibly one of the smallest ever, but i have a bed and an ensuite. I’m also on the 7th floor so i’ve had plenty of exercise scaling those stairs.
Remember how i said i was no less tired than normal… My intro to frankfurt was 3 hours of sleep on my soft comfortable bed. i kept wanting to get up but physically unable to manage it.
Frankfurt wasn’t a destination I picked to visit by choice. It was however the closest major airport I could fly into, without going to boring old London. I discovered that down by the river is a lovely walkway and a series of parks linking the numerous bridges across the river. The weather was beautiful and with the exception of seeing an old man sunbaking in budgie smugglers in the park everything was quite pleasant. There were lots of boats moored along the riverbank, some were cafes or restaurants and others were tourist vessels.
I left the river bank to visit an old part of Frankfurt called Sachenhausen. Sachenhausen is famous for its Apfelwein. Its not apple cider or a wine, but it made a nice refreshment in the lovely old cobbled streets.
Frankfurt
Frankfurt
I then meandered back across the river towards the Romerberg. its an old part of Frankfurt restored to how it looked back then and full of tourist traps. It looks nice and feels authentic, but i can’t help wonder about all the cafes and postcard stalls dotted around the large open plaza.
I kept walking along the pedestrian street in frankfurt, past the stock exchange and finally to the Opera house. I then headed back to my hotel to rest my weary feet after my first day of exploring on this adventure. Frankfurt feels a bit like Sydney. Beautiful down by the river, has a majestic opera house, all the tourist old town areas, but step away from it and its just another large boring city. Tomorrow I’m driving around the countryside to visit some small old towns.