Frankfurt

Thanks to the odd scheduling of international travel, on the way back from Uganda I had an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt.  Frankfurt is a pretty big airport, but I quickly realized it was only a few minutes from the city center.  The adventuror in me wondered if an eight hour layover for an international flight was enough time to: de-plane, go through customs, do a tour of the city, come back through security, and fly again??  Fortunately I found a tour company called Franfurt on Foot that helps you do just that!  I made my way through security and met Jo, an ex-pat from Ohio that now lives in Frankfurt and does these tours.  She was great, and after a brief train ride we set out on foot to explore the city.

This was my first time in Western Europe (my only other time in Europe was on another layover in Turkey, interestingly).  I figured Frankfurt would be a pretty modern city since it's the center of banking in Europe; however, it has a lot of contrasts.  You'd see big modern skyscrapers next to 300-year-old cathedrals.  My favorite part of the city, and what I didn't expect to see on a brief walking tour, was the Holocaust history sites.  They were quite moving, and really remarkable to see.

Below are some (unedited) pictures from the brief trip.

An example of contrast

The pedestrian market downtown

Wherever I go, I find vegetables!

A Jewish Ghetto was located behind this wall.  Now they have turned the area into apartments, but it still maintains much of the original architecture.

Holocaust memorial

Names of those that were killed

Yep, that's who you think it is!

City Hall, where you must go to get married.  There were two weddings out on the steps just while we were walking around.

Book burning memorial

These two photos were in a monastary downtown; they are murals depicting the life of Christ and I thought were some of the more beautiful I've seen.

And how could you come to Frankfurt and not eat a Brat?!