Apfelwein, Outdoor Festivals, and Business in Frankfurt Germany

The Eiserner Steg (Iron Bridge)

Bryan often travels for work. Occasionally, armed with his trusty little Sony camera (affiliate link!), he takes photos and sends me his thoughts on some of the more note-worthy restaurants he has visited. Other posts I’ve written for places he has visited (but I have not!) are Sushi Yoshitake (3-Michelin stars) and Sushi Kanesaka in Tokyo, Luce in San Francisco, Olo in Helsinki, and The Square and Sketch in London.

Other posts in the London & Munich series include The Square, Sketch, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Exploring London by Foot, Alain Ducasse, Marcus Wareing, Classic Munich Beer Houses: Hofbrauhaus & Wirtshaus, Viktualienmarkt and De Pschorr, Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden, Visiting the Residenz and lunch at Spatenhaus, and Weinstephaner Brewery – Oldest Brewery In the World.

Alas, our fun European adventures were coming to an end.

After spending a week together in London & Munich, Bryan and I parted ways in Munich. I returned to Boston to prepare for a food photography workshop I was running with an out-of-town friend. Bryan continued his European adventures by heading over to Frankfurt for some more business meetings. During his week there, he had many opportunities to try the local food and drink, as well as explore the city a bit.

Frankfurt is first and foremost a financial city. In fact, it is the largest financial center in all of Europe. It’s one of the few European cities that has so many skyscrapers that it actually has a skyline. People sometimes call in Mainhattan, referring to the “Main” River on which the city sits and its functional and visual (aka, having a skyline) similarities to New York City.

But Frankfurt isn’t all business. There’s definitely a lot of charm as well.

The Old Town, filled with unique timberframe buildings, is a popular with locals and visitors alike. Before it was destroyed in World War II, it was famous for being the largest timberframe town in Europe. Much of this area has since been rebuilt and it’s especially popular for Christmas markets and other public events.

Alt Oper, formerly an opera house, was heavily bombed in World War II and actually sat in disarray for over 35 years (called “Germany’s Most Beautiful Ruin”) before it was finally rebuilt in 1981. Today, it’s an active concert hall for the city of Frankfurt.

Another fun excursion (and photo-op) is to take a walk across the Holbeinsteg Bridge, a pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the Main river.

Another famous pedestrian bridge is the Eiserner Steg (Iron Bridge), which is used by 10,000 pedestrian daily (!). You can see a photo of the whole bridge at the top of this post.

The local specialty in Frankfurt is Apfelwein, literally “apple wine”, a type of tart apple cider that’s about 5.5 – 7% alcohol.

In the summertime, outdoor festivals are popular.
 
It’s fun to just walk around and sample a lot of German specialties in one sitting. At left, a traditional pretzel topped with mustard. At right, a street vendor grilling all different types of meat in a cart.

And if you’re tired? Take a break and sit along the Main River while enjoying views of the skyscrapers across town.

Bryan didn’t have much time to enjoy as many activities due to his many work meetings. However, there are plenty of excellent museums to visit, tons of modern architecture to see, and lots of food.

Up next: the last post in the London/Munich series – our one “fancy” meal at a Michelin starred restaurant. Stay tuned!