I arrived Tuesday 20 June 2023 feeling nervous. I had tried to memorize YouTube video on how to get from Flughaven (flight harbor) to Haupbahnhof on my own. The RMV ticket machines were not really in English but luckily I was right by a ticket office. S-bahn (suburban light rail) to Hauptbahnhof was easy and I went straight to Tourist Info office for good help and lots of brochures.

I had been fretting that the reservation that I had PAID for a month in advance would not be honored. 180€ per night 540€ total. Had to walk down Muchener Strasse narrow, dirty, crowded but room on top floor, delightfully chilly, interesting shower

I was so hot in the muggy June weather, schlepping the bags wearing long sleeves, a vest and two shirts. I took a cold shower and set out cruising for Euros, beer and dinner. Got 250€ from the train station ATM which perfectly charged my Wells Fargo savings account $332.51. Found a doner place with outside seating and sat next to Evan from Australia who helped me order a delicious meal and a lager beer. The restaurant only offers one kind of beer because muslims frown on drinking and it is called “pils.”

The weather was clear on Wednesday, the Summer Solstice, so I visited the top of the tallest building in Frankfurt, the Main (mine) Tower. Instead of taking Rick Steves walking tour through the red light district, I waited 25 minutes for hop-on/hop-off bus but gave up and walked the 15 minutes, past the Euro offices to Main Tower, afterwards visiting the lobby of the adjacent building to see the Bill Viola video artwork in the lobby.

I was hoping to get a sense of direction from the top of the tower but I could not see Römerberg (center foreground in stock photo above) because it was blocked by a new skyscraper is being built, but I was happy to see the train station.

I was surprised, when I was making lodging reservations for Frankfurt, that the price I had to pay was triple the going rate week before and for my visit few rooms were available. I am guessing what drove up the rates was the summer solstice food event at Opera Platz which I could see setting up from the Main Tower. I checked out Opera Platz t was still before noon when I walked through the fancy shopping district of Zeil or Hauptwache or Konstablerwache before took the S-bahn back to hotel for nap. At 3:30 took the hotel desk recommended taking the U-bahn (oo-bon, underground city metro) to Rómerberg which was efficient but traveling underground didn’t give me any orientation. My jet lag was kicking in despite buzzing from the strong, delicious morning coffee. I was disregulated and tired.

I intended to eat at Kleinmarkthalle, but I didn’t realize it was behind me, across Berliner Strasse in Altstadt (New Old Town). The U-bahn put me in Römerberg, rebuilt in 1983 to look like the half-timbered houses of yore. It may have been intended as a gesture toward history but it is more like a purpose-built tourist attraction and I was overcharged 8,50€ for a curry-wurst.

Holy Roman Emperors were elected at St. Bartholomew’s, called Kaiserdom (Imperial Great Church) locally. Portable artwork survived the Allied bombing in WWII and I finally grasped that the very old, carved altarpieces were designed to be portable, painted on both sides so they are beautiful even when closed.

Römer is the Town Hall which faces central statue of the goddess of justice without her customary blindfold. This market square was the birthplace of the city where trade fairs were held as far back is the 12th century. Banking in Frankfurt dates back to 1405. Today the Römer houses the city council and mayor’s offices.

I also visited the big red St. Paul’s Church (Paulskirche) which was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt. A smaller church told the story of Martin Luther in the 1500’s and is a stop on a Luther pilgrimage route. I was headed toward the river to cross Eiserner Steg footbridge. Looking back, I could see the Röm. I considered walking over to the area with the nice restaurants (Sachsenhausen) but I was tired and saved that for another day.

I share the hope of many who venture across dark waters to meet people from different cultures and languages. This Greek inscription from Homer’s Odyssey might allude to Frankfurt’s beginnings as the furt (ford) where the Franks (early French people) crossed the river to reach the marketplace.

“while sailing over the wine-dark sea to men of strange speech.”