Germany: 16 Dezember 2009

We started the day with a trip to the Frankfurt Cathedral, also known as Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral. Frankfurt Cathedral is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time. I have included a photo for your reference.

Located just in front of the cathedral are the remnants of the original structure from the Merovigian time. Here’s a picture of me standing along the connecting wall.
After we visited the Cathedral we headed back over to the indoor market (Kleinmarkthalle) to see the local fare and try a wurst. (Gotta love the wurst if you head to Germany.) Here is a picture from atop the produce aisle. This was just one of many loaded with nuts, meats, fish, fresh flowers, garden plants, ethnic foods, breads and sweets. (I think I'm hugry again.)

After the indoor market we headed to the Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmärkte) during the daylight hours. This was much more enjoyable than the evening before when we were stuffed in like tightly bound wiener schnitzels. (I am not a fan of such experiences since I’m an entire head under everyone else.) Today’s visit turned out to be quite a bit roomier – wünderbar! I have included a few additional photos here too.
Check out the chocolate mice. They are so cute in the case! (I had to make this photo larger so you could see the mice.)And don’t forget the gobs and gobs of gingerbread. Although, I have yet to actually find fresh gingerbread. There are hundreds of these pre-made varieties, but who wants that in Germany of all places? (All of these hanging items are individual gingerbread cookies.)These pretzel men seemed fun. (Sort of like Stay-Puff, but....different in an equally creepy sort of way.)

Just as we completed our Market loop, we thought we better stop for a Langosch – Germany’s version of an elephant ear more or less. (Yes, it is as good as it looks.)

Just outside the market we found this nutcracker that made a formidable guard for one of the pricier gift shops.

Strolling the streets we came across a UPS truck – auf Deutsch. While you might not be able to read the side of the truck, it’s telling you that UPS delivers worldwide. (Yep, they sure do.)

We made our way over to the Opera House and Opernplatz. This photo is from a lighted fountain just outside. It was quite beautiful, and we enjoyed watching a small child run thought the fountain to touch the lights. Ah, to be young again and uninhibited.

We spent some time strolling through Frankfurt’s residential West End, but there wasn’t anything particularly memorable about that area so we don’t have photos. We did enjoy a warm drink and Belgian waffle at the Café Australia (but ironically never saw one of these IN Australia; weird).

We finally made our way to dinner at Fichtekränzi and shared a table with two locals. This was quite fortunate for us because they provided a wealth of knowledge and lively discussion about world politics, travel and the differences between Europe and America. (They’d never been to our side of the pond in the U.S., and in fact, felt North America and South America to be synonymous.)

German word of the day: Tschüss (tch-uss) – An informal good – bye (see ya).

On that note, Tschüss!