Day 2 – Frankfurt am Main

April 19, 2026

No matter what one tries, moving so many time zones in a short time takes impacts one’s sleep and other bodily rhythms. Getting to sleep was not the problem but staying asleep was. Two nights in Frankfurt was to help recovery from the trip so that we can enjoy the days that follow.

We spent the first half of the day meeting Bev’s siblings at the station which was only 15 minutes away. They each arrived at different times. In between meeting Graham we went for a walk into the centre of the city. Where the giant Euro symbol sits in Willy Brandt Platz before finding a nice place to have semi-adequate flat white.

After collecting Trish from the station we took her through to the new Old Town. We had visited it 18 months ago. It was rebuilt in the style of the buildings that existed there prior to the bombing in 1944 by the British which destroyed much of the city. The only original building is the Cathedral of St Barthlomew. It has quite a spire and for €3 we were allowed to climb the 328 steps to the top, winding our way up a spiral that threatened to cause a bit of vertigo when looking out the little portholes. The climb was worth it providing us with a magnificent view of the central city and the Main river which cuts through it.

Just below top of the spire

We walked back to the hotel along the river. It was cooling down and there was light drizzle about meaning no standing around to enjoy peace of the river.

It is a city that is very much for residents and in a day or two one could see most of the sights. They have a plethora of specialist museums but we just wanted to be outside in the fresh air.

One of the differences we noticed, but it could have been where we were staying, were the rough sleepers. Some had taken up residence outside our hotel until the police came along and moved them on. It is always sad to see them many of whom have not only housing problems but alcohol, drug and mental health issues.

The city seems to be quite “green” in that there are parks in and around the city. There are trams and an underground. People seem to use the public transport as means of getting around. There is a great cycle network and the number of cyclists using it were significant. If only we could have that level of commitment by our politicians to such modes of transport. On the other hand, given Germany is a major producer of EVs, but I didn’t see very many.

At our hotel there was a great happy hour which had all drinks at 50% including a bottle of wine. As is our tradition when travelling we tried the local beverages. They were quite good.