AUTUMN IN THE PYRENEES AND GERMAN RIVERS: Fairwell via Frankfurk

Our last two days are spent in Frankfurt, Germany's 5th largest city, a combination Old World charm and no-nonsense modern architecture.  Known for its financial center, this is a city of 700,000, 25% of which carry foreign passports from 168 different countries. We see the diversity at our hotel every morning at breakfast. The room is crowded and often we share tables with people who speak languages we don't even recognize. 

Frankfurt is home of the European Central Bank.  The Banks's two silver high-rise buildings are called "credit" and "debit".

The main train station, handles 350,000 passengers each day; 24 platforms accommodate 1,800 trains daily.  It is a 12 minute train ride from the airport to the train station.

On both sides on the Main River are nine museums (more than the arts districts of Dallas and Fort Worth combined) along tree-lined streets.  The city devotes 11% of it's budget to the arts and culture.

We went on a self-guided walking tour using the audio device we rented from the tourist office. By lunch time we had wandered into Romerberg Square, the market square that was the birth place of the city - the first trade fairs were held in the 12th century. The Romerberg Hall (Center) was where Holy Roman Emperors celebrated their coronations; today it houses the city council and the mayor's office.

Romerberg Hall, center.  "Art" in the foreground.

We didn't pay to go in the cathedral (below) but did go in a Protestant Parish Church from 1150.

Protestant Parish Church, 1150

With this trip concluded, the blog will shut down.  Unless we change plans, there will not be a blog until next September when we lead a ride from Prague to Vienna, and possibly on to Budapest.