Marc and I flew out of Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey at 4:05 pm July 4, 2012, and we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at 6:24 am July 5, 2012.  This is now my third trip to Germany.  While I have been to Dusseldorf and Munich on separate visits before, I really have not stepped on German soil since 1998.  I am happy to be back. I suppose I would be enjoying the trip even more if only I hadn’t such a bad case of jet lag.  Although I was glad to have flown to Europe this time around after making a two day stop in NYC, I cannot believe it is taking me a lot longer to adjust to local German time.  Both Marc and I have been taking naps late in the afternoon and then sleeping only two to three hours a night.  We are like walking zombies during the day as we go about sightseeing in an otherwise beautiful city.  I do like Frankfurt.  I just learned that the city is also known as Bankfurt to many locals due to its plethora of banks everywhere.

Our arrival in Frankfurt was smooth.  We went through immigration in minutes and then we took the local train to downtown from the airport.  We each paid five euros for the short trip to the Main Hauptbanhof downtown.

Here are scenes from the Hauptbanhof or Frankfurt’s Main Train Station:

There were passengers all over the station.  It was very busy with tons of people, but it was not suffocating at all.

Marc and I had to pass through the station each and every time we went to the city center from our hotel and back.  I particularly liked the bakeries and patisseries inside.  I cannot tell you enough how tasty the bread and pastries were.  They were cheap too.  Some sold two pastries or bread slices for a euro or just 1.50 euro average.  I must say, these delicious treats were the main culprit for my five pound weight gain from our month long vacation to Europe this year.  Food was definitely cheap and some even cheaper compared to San Francisco prices. I never thought there would be a place in this planet besides the US where big food portions were served until we returned to Germany.  Boy were they twice as big.  One thing that struck me big time was the slimness of the people even the middle aged men.

Kaiserstrase

This is the street directly in front of the Frankfurt Main Train Station.

We just walked to our hotel, The IBIS Frankfurt Centrum, from the station which was 500 meters away.  The hotel while centrally located was still a good 10-15 minute walk.  It is a good thing Marc was so good following directions.  We arrived in the hotel without fumbling along the way.

I couldn’t believe how cheap the room was.  It was only 59 euros a night.  Granted it was small and the amenities very basic (two bath towels and all purpose liquid soap for hair and body), I was extremely satisfied.  It was very, very clean.  The sheets were crisp and they smelled nice too.  There was no internet connection in the room but the lobby had.  That’s where everybody congregated every morning to check emails and do work.

The hotel was full and busy with visitors from all over the world.  I saw and heard lots of Spaniards, some Brits and Aussies, and lots of German tourists as well.  The hotel was particularly busy due to the Triathlon taking place in Frankfurt over the weekend.

Our room at this IBIS Hotel was #432.

The closet and entertainment center at the foot of the bed

Section in the closet for hanging clothes

The shelves

The flat screen TV with lots of cable channels, the BBC World, CNN Europe, NHK World, TVE Spain,  RTE Russia, Dubai TV among them

The lamp.  There was one each side of the bed.

The sitting area and desk

The seat

The bathroom was very small but clean.  I especially liked the wooden flooring.  It gave the bathroom an extra clean feel.

There weren't many amenities provided except for liquid soap which was good for both body and hair wash.  There were two towels and another towel to place to the floor right outside the shower doors.

The shower stall

For travelers on a budget, IBIS is a definite good choice in Europe.  One condition we had for our hotels on this our trip to Eastern Europe this summer was the airconditioning inside the room.  We had it and we couldn’t be happier.

Here's the view from our hotel room

The Westhafen Building by the river

The hallway in our floor.  It had a cave like feel given the texture of the walls.

The Westhafen Building near our Frankfurt IBIS Hotel

The Westhafen Building is just a few steps away from the hotel.  This interesting building is said to be in the shape of a drinking glass for Frankfurt cider.

I have heard of so much about Germany, yet I heard very little about this city.  All I knew is that it was a financial center.  That was about it.  Like many cities in Europe, the train station was the main landmark for many tourists from which to explore a city.  We did just that.  We returned to the train station, checked it out some more, and exited through the main entrance facing Kaiserstrase.

While part of my travels abroad is shopping, I knew beforehand I couldn't shop for any more souvenirs.  My condo is full.  Clothes shopping was also out of the question since German sizes are way, way, way too big for my frame.  Shoes were the only things I thought I could buy.  I was surprised to see one of my favorite shopping stores from Japan, MUJI.  In Japan, I could always buy something off the rack and without alterations.  We went to try a summer linen blazer in beige, sadly their small was a tad too big.  The store chain evidently altered their sizes to adapt to German physique and height.

Can you believe it?  A MUJI in Frankfurt!

We saw a Mercure Hotel and a Ramada.  If one were to talk about centrally located hotels, these two were.  Here's the Ramada Hotel along Kaiserstrase.

Scenes from Kaiserstrase and some of its cross streets

One of the countless bakeries and patisseries responsable for my weight gain.  Damn these places.  How can they bake those fantastic bread and cakes?  We need lots of these in the States.

The Euro International

This shop looked truly elegant inside.  It was a place where custom made shirts were made.

Upon arrival in the city center, I couldn’t help but notice the presence of Commerzbank throughout the city.  Some were just a few blocks away from each other.  Many of the Commerzbank buildings looked very grand.

This is another Commerzbank branch.  Just not sure if it is the entire building or just part of it.  Anyway, I also had to take a picture of what looked like a wooden chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Isn’t this beautiful and artistic?  Come to think of it, now it looks like a beehive to me.

The Gutenberg Monument in Rosmarket.  Right behind it is another branch of Commerzbank.

Here I am loving my stay in Frankfurt.

The statue of Gutenberg up close

This was the plaque with information about the Gutenberg monument placed on the ground.

The Goethe monument was close by.  Marc and I visited only one museum in Frankfurt during our stay and it was the Goethe House and Museum.  It was so worth it.  It was small but beautiful.  I just had to visit the house he was born in.  After all, I have seen so many Goethe Cultural Centers all over the world.

The Alte Oper in Frankfurt Am Maim or Frankfurt Opera House

Marc in front of the Alte Oper or the Opera House

Another view of the Alte Oper with the water fountain in front of it.

This is the Hauptwache.  It used to be a police station with a prison in the 1800s.  Now it is a café frequented by locals and tourists alike.

In front of the Hauptwache

Close up views of the Hauptwache’s black tiled roof and ornate décor right above the main entrance.

The Ratskeller in Romerberg

Another view of the Ratskeller Building in Romerberg

The façade of the Ratskeller

More scenes from Frankfurt’s most famous square, the Romerberg

The Rathaus in Romerberg

Deciding whether to buy postcards or not for my photo albums

The Euro sign with the Euro Tower in the background

In front of the Euro sign and Euro Tower.   This sign and symbol was actually located in a park that was likewise the site of the Occupy Frankfurt movement.

A view of the St. Katherine Church from atop the Galeria Bar and Restaurant

This was the German Chain of Department Store where Marc and I had dinner on our first night in Frankfurt.  Though this picture was taken around 8 pm, the sun was still up.  In fact, it was still bright in Frankfurt until 10 pm or so each night.

On our second full day in Frankfurt, we hit the downtown area once again to get a better lay of the land.  By the day’s end, we did visit the majority of the most important historical landmarks in the city.

The impressive Frankfurter Hof,.  This is the hotel to stay in Frankfurt.  It was posh indeed.

In front of the elegant and uber upscale Frankfurter Hof

St. Paul’s Church in Romerberg

Inside St. Paul’s Church

The altar inside St. Paul’s Church

The organ

The pews which also looked like students’ desks

Bear in mind that this church was also the site of German Parliament ages ago.

Flags from different German provinces adorned the walls of St.Paul’s Church

Scenes from the archeological garden next to the Archeological Museum

This section of the city contains the ruins of old Frankfurt

Right around the corner where the Archeological Gardens is the Dome Tower and

St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral

The Dome Tower of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral

One of the cathedral’s side entrances

A view of the rear of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral

A sculpture of the crucifixion of Christ

Religious icons adorn one of the side entrances of the cathedral

Another view of the tower

More sculptures on one of the side walls of the cathedral

The nave of the cathedral

Another scene inside St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral

This was a Catholic cathedral and there were young men praying the rosary here.

Some artwork inside the cathedral

Now this is the altar inside the Lutheran church nearby named the

Alte Nikolaikirche

Unlike the Catholic Cathedral which had lots of décor, this church was very minimalist with no statues or relics of any kind.  Very Lutheran.

The organ inside the Alte Nikolaikirche, a Lutheran Church

The Goethe House and Museum

The entrance to the Goethe House and Museum

Marc and I each paid 7 Euros to get in.  It was worth it.  It is a shame museums in the US charge a lot more for admission making it rather inaccessible to many people.  I like the way Germany and many European countries do it.  Very reasonable.

Back to the Goethe House and Museum.  This is how it looked inside.

The sink and the water well

A picture of Goethe at the age of 27

The dining room.  I don’t think the rooms were recreated in the way they originally were hundreds of years ago.  The house and museum did have a lot of period furniture.  The old porcelain heaters reminded me of the ones I saw in a palace in Salzburg over a decade ago.

The sitting room

The flight of stairs leading to the upper floors.

The music room.  Can you see the Harpsichord?

The harpsichord

One of the heaters

A really old grandfather clock.  Despite its age, it manages to tell the date.

Inside the room full of paintings

The patio

There were many churches in Frankfurt.  Given that their names were all written in German,, we had to take pictures of the signs posted by their main entrances so we would remember them for this blog.

The Liebfrauenkirche

Shopping in Frankfurt

The Zeil shopping area

Inside the mall named MY ZEIL

Other scenes from the futuristic designed mall

St. Katherine’s Church once again

The altar inside St. Katherine’s Church

The altar up close

The organ inside

Standing next to the bull in front of the new Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Marc holding the bull by the horns

Now with the bear

The New Frankfurt Stock Exchange Building

We tried to see as much as we could given our jet lag.    At first I thought Frankfurt was one sleepy small town.  On the Thursday we first walked all over the city, there were very few people around.  The streets seemed deserted and it was quiet everywhere.  Little did I know it was big and cosmopolitan.  I will always remember the well dressed men in town in their suits.   They all looked so elegant and rich.

As of this writing Marc and I are stuck in an inter city train bound for Berlin.  There was one train that had mechanical problems and the passengers of that train had to board ours.  Now the train is moving once again and finally on the way to Germany’s premier city, BERLIN.

I’ll see you there.