The company travel agency sent me a list of potential hotels all near our office, so I researched online and picked the Mercure City Center on Kaiserstrasse. While researching the hotels I found out that both our office and the hotel were near the "red light" district in Frankfurt, but I hadn't realized just how close the hotel was.
A lot of the hotels are clustered near the Hauptbahnhoff (main railway station) which is very convenient. Unfortunately, that area is also the area where there is the red light district, a large number of bars and restaurants, and from appearances is also where some of the lower income housing is. I don't think it's dangerous (I saw single young women tourists and locals walking around that area alone at all times of day), but there are definitely some less savory aspects of society on display. Less from the nearby red light district, much more so in the large number of drunk people (both young and old) walking around with open containers, and the beggars (who don't usually beg, they just sit there with a cup). But on at least one night while walking around I came across a couple of the poorer folks who just laid down on the sidewalk and went to sleep.
Also, because the district contains what I would guess was lower-income housing, it's noisier at night. The picture below is the view out of my hotel room window.
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| The view out my hotel window |
Now, don't get me wrong and think I didn't like Frankfurt. I actually loved it and I would love to go back or even live there (it's EXPENSIVE though). Just take the tip that if you need a hotel in Frankfurt, stay that the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof instead. It's only 1-stop away from the Hauptbahnhoff on the U-bahn (subway) or even a walkable distance. It's in a MUCH nicer neighborhood, is in a beautiful old building, and is actually located centrally between the Zeil (shopping area), the old town, the business district, and the bars and restaurants near where I was.
Also, my co-workers in the Frankfurt office were wonderful, and hotel staff at the Mercure were fantastic. If not for the noise and the neighborhood, it would be a pretty good hotel to stay at. However, if you are dealing with a wheel-chair, don't stay there (or any of the hotels in older buildings downtown) as the passages can have some steep ramps and stairs just as you move about.
Anyway, read on for more initial impressions and then come back for more if you are interested. I expect to have about 6 or 7 posts with pictures from my visit.
There is a "ring park" that circles the main downtown area of Frankfurt. It seemed like a popular place for a lot of the business folk to enjoy the sun or shade on their lunch breaks. In the center of one section of the park, just north of the European Central Bank (ECB) building, there is this stature of Schiller. He's not Frankfurt's favorite son (that seems to be Goethe), but I did see enough references to think he's at least fairly popular (even if he was born closer to Stuttgart) for a historical figure. :)
Directly south of this statue is the part of the park that is directly in front of the ECB. And currently there is an "Occupy Frankfurt" camp there. When I saw the board below, I just had to laugh and take a picture. It's certainly true to the original Monopoly theme.
On both sides of the Main river (which runs right though downtown) there are large pedestrian zones. While out Saturday walking around, I snapped this picture of the south bank and all the kids stuff they had going on. I don't think is a permenant installation, just something that was going on. But if you had young kids, it sure seemed like a popular stop.
For some reason, I haven't had much like finding a good burger joint in Poznań. So when the hotel front desk recommended Kakadu's across the street as a good place for burgers, I just had to try them. It's one of those strange restaurants that seemed pretty common on an international city like Frankfurt. It was run (and owned I think) by an Indian gentleman who had come to Frankfurt from Australia (thus the name). They not only served burgers, but also Kangaroo meat (in wrap or burger form) and crocodile meat (in steak form). The portions were generous, but not cheap.
This monster burger below is called the Outback Burger and was what I tried on Wednesday after I arrived. Luckily, I hadn't eaten anything yet that day, so I was starving by around 4pm. This was so much food that it was all I ate that day. What that is is a large beef patty, a full slice of pineapple, thick slices of tomato, cheese, onion, lettuce, a couple of strips of bacon, and yes, that is a fried egg at top. The potato wedges were pretty good too. But yes, that is a full days calories (and probably then some) in a single meal.
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| The Outback Burger from Kakadu's |
While wandering around I also went by a grocery store. This is something I always do when traveling so that I can get water, tea, and snacks to store in the hotel fridge and not pay the insane prices hotels charge. The two yogurts below don't appeal to me at all, but I just had to take pictures as I'm sure some others might find them interesting. Those are liquor-flavored (or containing actual liquor, my German isn't good enough to tell) yogurt. I'm sure some folks out there might really like these. :)
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| Yogurt with grapes and Jamaican Rum |
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| Yogurt with apricots and Amaretto |
Anyway, that's it for this first post. Have a wonderful day and enjoy!
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