#romer

Now if you know Frankfurt, you’re probably asking yourself: “Of all the German cities, why THIS ONE?” If, like me, you’ve never been to Frankfurt, this seems like a perfectly reasonable city choice. Not as popular as Berlin, but sure, it’s one of the major German cities, it has to have something interesting to see. Right? Well, kind of. It has a couple of interesting things, but after a half day of running around the place, you’ve pretty much seen everything. For fun, I’ll go ahead and list them here:

The old city - pictured above - is very cute, but after the brutal bombings the city suffered in the world wars, a large majority of it had to be reconstructed. I still think it’s quaint, some reconstructions are better than others, and some people took the liberty of making modern interpretations of the old houses, which I thought was fun. As an architecture student I understand that most European architecture is built around restoration and renovation, and there’s a lot of value to working with the constraints of context. But my dad was very upset that it wasn’t real, and that sentiment seemed to follow him through the rest of the day, as he scrutinized every building for any sign that it might not be as old as advertised. Definitely not for everyone.

Bartolomeu’s Cathedral - Again, ok for your average architecture nerd, not great for someone who wants to see something “real”. As my eloquent father pointed out, the exterior looks older than the interior. It’s true, the inside is very simple in comparison to the more crafted exterior, and the “exposed brick” is painted on. My guess is that what was inside - statues, paintings, etc - has been redistributed to other museums or sold for money. But the basic layout and structure is still there. Your friend the historical architecture nerd can still have fun here.

The Goethe House - This one takes an hour or two. I would definitely say if you head to Frankfurt you should go there. It’s one of the few things my dad didn’t hate, and it gives a glimpse of what life was like living in this city a while back. For rich people, anyways. It’s a lot more informational than the Cathedral of the old city, mostly because it actually has information about the place written in languages other than German.

There’s also a fun bridge and a neo-gothic cathedral on the other side of the river. And, a surprising twist, the mayor’s office is part of the relatively untouched old buildings. It’s not in the guidebooks, but you can just walk in and no one will stop you. I wouldn’t spend too much time there or bother too many people - this IS a functioning government facility (duh), but you can take some pictures and admire the courtyard views. It’s really quite pretty.