As some of you may know Jess and I did our first real solo traveling just a few days ago, she in Spain and France, and myself in Frankfurt. Since Jess is so good about writing about our experiences, I figure I was the only one in Frankfurt so the job this time is up to me. The main reason I chose Frankfurt is that it has the third largest airport in Europe and the tickets were significantly cheaper. For anyone looking at cheap travel to Europe, Condor Air is extremely affordable (couldn’t tell you about the quality, I needed a round trip ticket so I got stuck with American, a horrible airline).
I only spent 2 days in Frankfurt, which was enough for a good portion of the cities main tourist attractions. Frankfurt is Germany’s most diverse city, which was very evident. I found frankfurters to be really very pleasant and I got by without speaking German fairly well (a lot of pointing and using Spanish from time to time).
Frankfurt felt a lot like Lyon to me, with its central river and various bridges and street-car system, but is not as grand or beautiful looking. Frankfurt is a blend of old and new, so you have quaint plazas next to skyscrapers.
In terms of food, Frankfurt is obviously known for its sausage, which I helped myself to on numerous occasions. Pork sausage is quite a bit more costly in Frankfurt than in Spain, but a little cheaper than in France. Most of my sausages came from mobile trucks established in various farmers markets (there are markets Fridays and Sat every weekend during the summer). The best ones I thought, were the smoked pork sausage you can see in one of my pictures. My most common meal was an apple, smoked sausage and some dark rye bread with fennel seeds
The markets also have excellent little mobile bars and wine booths; one of which I had a lovely glass of white wine from Germany for about 3.30 Euro.
Frankfurt is however known for its apple wine, which is pretty much like American cider but is more sour tasting; it was not my favorite thing. I never really got a chance to try many beers, but I’m not much of a pils fan anyway.
In general, Frankfurt seems like it is maybe a better city to live in than to visit. You often have to stumble across the sites as signage is scarce and there are a limited number of tourist offices.
I don’t know if I would go back unless I needed the airport, but it was a nice city to visit and the markets were great.