Frankfurt was a city added on because it was between Amsterdam and Italy. We didn’t have any concrete plans for the city. First, we checked our bags at the hotel, and one thing I noticed about Germans is that they are very nonchalant. On the train the conductor just took our word when we said we had seat reservations and rail passes. Then the concierge took our bags without checking if we stayed at the hotel. Then tickets were not checked the whole time we were using the trams and the metro.

Frankfurt Natural History Museum

The first stop was the Natural History Museum, which was slightly expensive but still interesting. Some sections had English translations, but many exhibits were in German. We did have our phones, so we translated some of the sections and understood most of it. The most interesting part to me was how fossils and casts are created. I didn’t know that most Natural history museums have cast dinosaurs, as real dinosaur bones are rare. We also looked at the rock collection which they specifically opened for us, so we saw this blue green rock which I found pretty.

I also learned about some of the innovations that are happening in medicine based on nature and how urbanisation affects the native wildlife in Frankfurt, like birds making nests out of cigarette butts.

Romerberg

After the natural history museum, we went to Romerberg, the town square, where the Christmas market can be found during Christmas. It was also the site of the Nazi book burnings, but I didn’t know about that at the time. When we were in the square, some protests were happening, but the signs were in German, so we didn’t understand. There are many tourist shops, so we walked more after my sister got her magnet.

MyZeil Shopping Centre

We ended up at a mall on our walk and metro ride, so we wandered around, it was huge! We went to some of the stores we don’t have in NZ, like Abercrombie & Fitch. We decided to have dinner at the food court. I had a paneer bowl and the obligatory bubble tea. While Janki had Chipotle. We brought some snacks to try, then called it a day.

Summary

The next day, we got to the train station pretty early. I had a chocolate cake because I wanted to have one while in Germany. It was ok, a bit dry, but it was from Starbucks. The we were onto Switzerland, if I were in Frankfurt again, I would put more thought into the places I visit, maybe see some museums, and take time to appreciate the architecture more. But for now, please accept my frank apologies.