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The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip!
Enjoying your
Visit to
Frankfurt am Main
By Mark
Kolakowski
Copyright © 2008 by the author
Excellent
Public Transit
Frankfurt am Main (hereafter referred
to as "Frankfurt") has an excellent public transit system, called
the RMV, consisting of buses, trams (streetcars or trolleys),
subways (the U-Bahn) and suburban commuter rail (the S-Bahn).
One-way tickets, available from vending machines, cost 2.10 Euros as
of this writing. If you plan to take 3 or more rides in a day,
consider buying a day pass (Tageskarte)
that costs 5.60 Euros.
If you are going to stay for 4 or more days,
get a weekly pass (Wochenkarte)
for 20.60 Euros. Unfortunately, the weekly pass is not available
through the vending machines. You have to go to an RMV service
center, such as the one at the Hauptwache station in central
Frankfurt, at which many U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines cross.
If you are in a group of 2-5 people, you can
get a group pass that
costs less than 2 individual passes. The daily group passes are
available through the vending machines, but the weekly version only
can be obtained at RMV service centers.
Museums
Frankfurt has many excellent
museums. My favorite museums
were these four:
Staedel (the main
art museum),
Liebieghaus
(sculpture, though this turreted mansion itself may be the real
star)
Seckenberg (natural
history, with a great local fossil collection)
archaeological
museum (with Roman artifacts from the area, in an old Carmelite
cloister).
There are two museum discount cards
worth considering. The Frankfurt Card
is available either for one or two days, for one person or for a
group of up to 5. It combines unlimited transit rides with discounts
at museums, tours, river cruises, the zoo, the botanic gardens,
stores and restaurants. You can purchase it at the airport, the RMV
service center at Hauptwache, the main train station (Hauptbahnhof),
the tourist information office in the center of the old town (the
Roemer), or in select hotels.
For an individual, the Frankfurt Card costs
8.70 Euros for one day and 12.50 Euros for two days. For a group (of
up to 5 people), it costs 15 Euros for one day and 24 Euros for two
days. This is an unbeatable bargain.
There also is a
Museumsufer card that costs 12 Euros, giving
discounted admission to most museums around town for two people for
two days. It is available at all the participating museums.
Excursions to Suburbs of Frankfurt & Nearby Cities
Overlooked in many guidebooks is the nearby western suburb of
Hoechst,
reachable by the S1 and S2 S-Bahn lines, and in the same RMV fare
zone 50 as central Frankfurt. I
found it in the handsomely illustrated Frankfurt City Guide.
This was a most worthwhile half-day outing.
Wiesbaden, the noted
spa town, is at the end of S-Bahn lines 1, 8 and 9. It’s in a
different fare zone than central Frankfurt,
so expect to pay a higher price than for close-in trips on these
lines.
North of the city, S-6 terminates at
Friedberg, which has an
interesting fortress at the north end of town.
The vineyards along the
Rhine, west of town, are most picturesque. Go during the
week in the warmer months, to avoid the huge weekend crowds. The
town of Ruedesheim is a
worthwhile stop. Consider taking the cable car up to the monument
above town, to get a panoramic view of the vineyards.
The Herbert Bretz winery, across the
Rhine
from Ruedesheim in Bingen
(accessible via car ferry), is also worth a visit. A family owned
and operated business, Bretz’ proprietor Andre Syre is very
personable, knowledgeable and fluent in English. His enthusiasm for
wine is infectious. Their website,
www.weingut-bretz.com is
only in German, but you can contact them via e-mail if you are
interested in paying a visit. Among other things, they sell a
product called Federweise, immature low-alcohol wine that
is very effervescent. It is only available on draft in local wine
bars, not bottles, and only during the harvest season.
The university town of
Heidelberg makes for
a wonderful day trip. Hourly trains depart
Frankfurt’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof) and take
about 80 minutes. Besides seeing the famous Schloss, or
castle, take the Bergbahn railway to the top of the mountain behind
the Schloss, for an outstanding panoramic view. Bus 33
takes you from the main rail station to the Bergbahn station. Be
sure to visit the tourist info office just outside the main rail
station for maps and directions.
While in Heidelberg,
consider eating at Kulturbrauerei Heidelberg on Leyergasse 6 (www.heidelberger-kulturbrauerei.de).
It’s a warm and inviting beer hall with reasonably-priced
local cuisine and excellent beers brewed on site.
Food and Drink
Besides beer and wine, Frankfurt
is noted for Apfelwein, or apple wine. Also colloquially
called Ebbelwei, this is a low-alcohol, very drinkable type
of hard cider. Many drinkers like to mix it in their glass with up
to 20% sparkling mineral water. Apfelwein bars sell it by
the glass or by the jug (usually 1 liter), or Bembel. It’s
cheap, at only about 1.30-1.60 Euros per 20cl glass in most places.
Adolf Wagner, at Schweitzer Strasse 69 (www.apfelwein-wagner.com),
is a classic place to enjoy this tipple, plus regional dishes like
Frankfurter Gruener Sosse (Frankfurt
green sauce) and roast pork shoulder. The latter dish is quite
large, enough for (in the words of a local man sitting next to me at
one of the long tables) two people and a dog.
The green sauce is a refreshing blend of
parsley, sorrel, dill, chives and other green herbs, with some dairy
binder (yogurt, mayonnaise or sour cream) and served over potatoes
with sliced hard boiled eggs or beef. It’s a popular light summer
dish, great all year. Boiled potatoes are the standard, but Adolf
Wagner goes one better with roast potatoes.
Gerbermuehle (www.gerbermuehle.com)
is a renowned inn and restaurant south of the
Main and east of the central city. It has a scenic
location on the river. For an appetizer, try the Handkaese mit
Musik (hand cheese with music). What’s this? A moderately
pungent cheese marinated with onions. This is another renowned local
dish. The quaint name points to the fact that it’s liable to produce
a bit of intestinal gas. Gerbermuehle also has particularly good
Sauerbraten (German pot roast). The dessert pancakes are
excellent, as is the chocolate mousse.
The Cafe im Literaturhaus on Bockenheimer
Strasse 102 is in a old villa that is the headquarters of a literary
society. It has a good wine and beer list, and the beef Rouladen,
rolled, braised beef simmered in gravy, is especially tasty.
The Klienmarkthalle (Little Market Hall) off
Hasengasse has vendors of fresh produce, cheese, bread, meats,
seafood and sweets. It’s a great place to grab a quick lunch or
snack, such as at one of the hot sausage vendors.
Throughout Frankfurt
are several bakery chains that offer solid value in baked goods of
all types, from pretzels to chocolate croissants. These include
Back-Factory (good chocolate croissants) Weiner Feinbacker (Vienna
Fine Baker), Eifel
and Brotbacker (Bread Baker, my favorite for pretzels, featured at 3
for 0.99 Euros).
The Nordsee (North Sea)
seafood shops are also surprisingly good, especially for their
Matjes herring sandwiches.
Tipping
One of the unresolved mysteries from my visits is the matter
of tipping in restaurants, bars, beer halls, etc. All the guidebooks
that I read said essentially the same: whereas a service charge is
embedded in the bill, Germans customarily leave a tip of up to 10%.
Still, locals often reveal a puzzled look when a fellow diner leaves
a few Euros on the table.
Bread & Water
Unlike restaurants in the U.S., German and Austrian eateries do not
dispense free tap water on demand, despite having safe, potable water
virtually everywhere. Instead, if you ask for water, you will get
bottled mineral water, for which you naturally will be charged.
Likewise, if you see bread or pretzels (the large, soft, baked variety
are a beer hall and beer garden staple, called “Brez’n”) on the table,
expect to pay per piece for whatever you consume.
To make
hotel reservations
for Frankfurt and other cities in Germany, please
click here.
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