A late start and strong Turkish coffee were definitely in order, then Tom and I headed out to see some of the city’s landmarks.
After having a stroll down Bergerstrasse and getting some authentic Turkish Doner kebabs for lunch at a small café, we took the U-bahn to Römer/Dom, where the once-bombed-out Catholic Cathedral stands. It is in the local Hessian style of red & white brick, and is quite nice, although the campanile was shrouded in scaffolding while I was there. Then, we passed into the main square of old town, which was completely destroyed, save one solitary facade, during the Second World War. On that Sunday afternoon, there was quite a bit of activity around there, although a return trip on Tuesday yielded a much emptier scene, sans street performers and locals enjoying their steaming hot apfelwein and gluwein.
We then crossed the bridge over the Main River into Sachsen-Hausen, once a separate town from the mediaeval walled city of Frankfurt. There, we walked around a fairly upscale, multi-cultural old section that had many little bars that were, by and large, closed.
We stopped into one Irish pub, however, that was open, for an afternoon pint. We found the place completely deserted, save ourselves and a barmaid, who gave us an ice-cold reception to go with our ice-cold Guinness.
Upon returning to the Frankfurt side of the river, we stopped in at a shopping centre along the Ziel (main pedestrianised area), from where one could get a nice view of the city on all sides, especially the skyline of the modern commercial district, with its towering Commerzbank building – Europe’s tallest. “Main-hatten” at its best. We also stopped in at a “Nutelleria,” a remarkable little pastry shop whose sole topping ingredient just happens to be my favourite foodstuff – Nutella. It is quite ingenious, for you can have sandwiches, croissants, crepes, waffles, even cappuccinos, all made with heaping globs of delicious and nutritious nutella.
Had a relaxing evening back in Atzelberg, meeting Peter and Paul Beutel and Peter’s girlfriend Anne, for a nice meal of Wienerschnitzel – very tasty, and especially good washed down with some apfelwein.
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