The fourth profile in my series about the unjustly Unsung Cities of the world is about forthright Frankfurt am Main.
As with Köln, the last city I profiled in this series, it was work that led me to Frankfurt – and indeed to a number of other German cities. I actually spent all of April 2018 floating across Germany staying a few nights in six of the countries biggest towns.
The next couple of Unsung Cities profiles will be about two other German I visited during that trip.
Before my visit last spring, I’d never been to Frankfurt before. As the leading global financial hub and the seat of the European Central Bank, it has a reputation for being stuffy, boring and bland, pleasant enough if you have to go there for work but unworthy of consideration as a city break destination. The thing that struck me about Frankfurt was how it didn’t match that reputation at all.
Lucky to be there during a few sunny blue sky days, I had a lot of fun strolling around this pretty stretch of urban life slung along the River Main. I liked how modern aspects of Frankfurt was brashly modern but medieval quarters and historic structures were preserved beautifully and held their integrity within the cityscape as a whole.
Folks were friendly and easygoing. Most retail exchanges were met with warm smiles and clear expression that I was a welcome customer and that my money and time were appreciated.
Food was amazing too.
Two of my favourite meals of 2019 were enjoyed while in Frankfurt. One of those was dinner at Heimat, a tiny wine bar set within a refurbished tram stop. The restaurant’s knowledgeable and super friendly staff, fantastic wine list, and open kitchen creating big flavoured dishes all impressed immensely. More at heimat-restaurant.de.
The other was a hearty lunch of cordon bleu with gravy and potatoes and a side salad served at Metzgerei Tombers, a humble little family-run butcher shop in the old part of Frankfurt. Check out its Facebook page for more information: facebook.com/dieter.kerstin.
Great pizza at Pizza 7 Bello near the main rail station and especially yummy ice cream (a scoop of carrot/agave/ginger with a scoop of walnut) at Bizziice Ice Cream Parlor Organic Gelato Sachsenhausen pleased as well.
– pizzeria7bello.juisyfood.com
– bizzi-ice.com
Other dining experiences (most of which were of the happen-upon variety) was tasty too. I got the sense there’s plenty more to explore as a foodie in Frankfurt and I would not be averse to heading back there for a forage.
I wouldn’t be against a trip for more cultural stuff as well. I was kinda slammed during the day without time to check out the city’s wealth of museums and cultural attractions. But walking through the city simply taking in what I came across was largely satisfying. I’d be up for a bit more of that too!
Keep an eye out for more posts to come in my series about Unsung Cities.
