Frankfurt, Germany: A stopover experience

On my way to Dublin for a work visit… I had a 6-hour stopover in Frankfurt, Germany. It’s the first time I’ve set foot on continental Europe.

I took a Singapore Airlines flight to Frankfurt (SQ26) and landed around 7:00 AM local time. First thing I did was to collect my luggage from the baggage carousel and check it into my Lufthansa flight for the late afternoon. Checking in is automated including a bag drop counter. Frankfurt airport is big!

I originally wanted to take a shower at the airport. When I found the shower area, I learned they only had one or two stalls and that there was a queue. I didn’t want to waste time (and I didn’t stink either, I was only on a plane for 13 hours lol). I left the airport and headed down to the train station to buy a day trip ticket (single person).

AND MADE A MISTAKE BY BOARDING THE WRONG TRAIN. Ended up at the suburbs and lost about an hour and a half. I’ve never been “lost” before. This was disappointing. Found my way back to Frankfurt Sur (South) and to my destination which is the old town or “altstadt” in German.

My feel of the place? It’s peak summer I suppose and the weather was warm. My first orientation into Europe was Dublin and London back in March. Temperatures at the time involved wearing layers of clothing. Here in Frankfurt, in the middle of July, I was wearing a t-shirt and a jacket. But I was sweating underneath.

The buildings definitely looked fascinating. Especially the Romer. But I had done some reading before flying into Frankfurt and I understand much of the city was destroyed during the World War and that much of what we see today is actually restored. The old town though was a delight to see. I read that it has a huge Christmas market and that the area is enchanting in winter.

Because I lost time with my detour into the suburbs… I decided to screw with my little Frankfurt checklist and instead enjoy the air conditioning, peace, and quiet of the History Museum. It’s well worth it. Containing artefacts and very detailed displays of Frankfurt’s rich past. It’s a shame I had to squeeze half a day’s worth of the museum into the span of an hour.

After the museum, I had about an hour and a half left before I needed to be back at Frankfurt airport. I crossed the Iron Bridge (the bridge crosses the Main River) and recorded a short video blog on the other end. From this bridge, you can see Frankfurt’s CBD buildings.

I walked to a restaurant recommended to me by a close friend. It’s called Gaststätte Atschel and it’s where I enjoyed my first taste of franks from Germany and a plate of chicken schnitzel. I also ordered a glass of aphelwein “apple wine”.

I could’ve taken the train back to the airport. But I didn’t want to stress myself out with the variable of not knowing how easy it is to pass through immigration. I took an Uber and had an interesting chat with the driver. The driver is a German-born Afghan who gushes about life in Germany. How it differs from neighbouring France. How he didn’t quite enjoy a visit to Afghanistan (after I asked him if he went back to his parents’ country to see how it’s like). He was recommending some places in Frankfurt known to have girls called Freikörperkultur (FKK).

LOL.

Getting through immigration at Frankfurt airport was a breeze. The boarding gate situation was different altogether though. As it seemed I was sharing a Lufthansa flight with half a school of students out on some type of excursion.

The rest in photos. I would love to see Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg closer to winter one day!