Saturday I took the train to Frankfurt from Bad Breisig…or rather three trains. I took a 6am train to Koblenz, which was the earliest one available. After yesterday I didn’t want to be late for my connection. The train was on time, and I managed to squeeze on board…even at 6am the train was full, and there were no seats. I transferred platforms (there’s an elevator for those of us who have too much luggage), and the train to Frankfurt Sud was pleasant and quick. I transferred again (there’s an escalator at Frankfurt Sud) for a five minute ride to the main Bahnhof (strain station) of Frankfurt. I arrived early at my hotel, stored my luggage and went to explore.

Frankfurt is a modern city, on the river Main (a tributary of the Rhine), and is a global banking, financial and commerce hub (including a stock exchange) with lots of skyscrapers. Most people think of Frankfurt airport which to be fair is one of the busiest in the world. There are lots of museums here too. There is a rebuilt old town which was rebuilt rather recently with half timbered buildings. There are also a lot of churches.

I walked first to the “Klein” market (small market place) which was full of fruits, vegetables, sausages, olives, meats (I didn’t see fish), cheeses galore, spices, plants and seeds, and bread shops. I picked berries and olives.

Next I walked to the “new old town” past churches and shopping centers and walked into quite a few churches. Churches I’ve seen in Germany so far seem austere inside compared to those in Spain or France, but are nonetheless quiet and peaceful interludes.

Then I walked to the riverfront, where there were lots of boats waiting to take tourists on 1, 2 and longer trips along the Main. I walked over the old pedestrian bridge and along the waterfront on the other side which was busy with joggers and bicyclists. It was nonetheless quiet and peaceful near the river.

After walking back across a different bridge, I wandered around a shopping center for a bit, took the elevator to the top where there was a nice view of the city from the terrace, picked up lunch (and bought some chocolates…there was a HUGE selection in the basement of the Galleria, then it was time to walk back to check into the hotel. Since it was Saturday, and everything would be closed on Sunday, I went shopping in the afternoon, then decided to try and go to Tennis Point (it was on my itinerary from the beginning, but I waited late to go there). It closed at 4pm and I got on two trains going the wrong way before finally getting on the right one, then ran from the train station 10 minutes to get there at 3:59. They were nice enough to let me in. I got some clay shoes (greater variety there than in USA) and took the tram back to the center without incident (why I didn’t do that to begin with…). I had purchased a 9 euro ticket online via the DB Navigator app, so didn’t have to worry about buying any tickets for this trip. It’s good for a month for all local transport.

The cafes in squares throughout the city were bustling on a Saturday, and there are nice, shaded squares, mostly with a statute, scattered throughout the part of the city I walked through.

My room is next to the gym here (coincidence?) and there was a random photo of Chris Evert on the towel rack.

And that’s a wrap on Frankfurt. Sunday I may go to Heidelberg…or just explore the parks in Frankfurt, then back to the USA.