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The medieval architecture of Frankfurt's Alstad neighborhood
is seen from the Iron Bridge. |
Travel, my favorite thing to do, has nearly ground to a halt this year. COVID-19 hit the fan just as we returned from a month in Sicily, and many of our plans have been put aside for this year, at least. However, we did spend a week at a language school in Germany this summer. Englischhausen, a branch of the Diverbo English-language program in Spain for which we've volunteered twice, offers Germans the chance to improve their English skills, guided by a team of volunteers. The program in which we participated this year is in Laubach, Germany, about an hour from Frankfurt.
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A paddle boarder and cyclists enjoy a Sunday morning along the
Main River in Frankfurt.
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Except for a quick jaunt to Kehl, a small city within walking distance of Strasbourg, France, this is our first trip to Germany. We travel to and from Frankfurt by train: Marmande, Paris (transferring stations there), then Frankfurt. Although I'm a little nervous about traveling, my concerns are unfounded. Everyone is wearing masks and keeping their distance. Except for a crowded subway ride across Paris and a 90-minute wait at Gare Montparnasse on the return trip, I feel pretty comfortable.
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Frankfurt's skyline is a mixture of old and new.
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'Love locks' are hung along Frankfurt's Iron Bridge, one of
the most famous pedestrian bridges in Germany.
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Our train arrives in Frankfurt just before dinnertime, so after we check in to our hotel, we go in search of food. The desk clerk directs us to a street a couple of blocks away and we end up having a delicious Italian meal at an outside table.
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A bunch of bunnies graze on the lawn of the European Central
Bank headquarters in Frankfurt. |
We don't have to meet the Englischhausen shuttle bus until noon the next day so we spend a beautiful morning exploring a bit of the city, choosing our walking route up one bank of the Main River and down the other. We're mystified by the amount of liter we see, particularly next to the trash cans along the river. A happier surprise: Frankfurt parks are populated by rabbits instead of squirrels. Who knew?
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We have no idea why litter is strewn around nearly every
trashcan along the Main River in Frankfurt.
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Our limited time here means that we won't explore any of the dozens of museums along the riverfront. If we come back, we'll invest in Frankfurt Museum Embankment cards allowing entry to 34 museums.
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The Europe's Central Bank is located in Frankfurt.
Its headquarters were completed in 2014.
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From the street, we can peek inside Frankfurt's archaeological
garden/museum.
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For the next week, our home is a small countryside hotel in Laubach. Here, the 10 volunteers and 10 students talk, eat, perform, and talk some more. We are always amazed at how much the students, who start the week with a high level of English, improve their skills. It's exhausting for everyone, but we've made some good friends during these weeks. I have to admit: I've never actually known anyone who is German, so I ask plenty of questions about their customs, history, life styles and pop culture. A typical conversation might include: "So, what are German WWII movies like?" or "Who does the cooking in your family?" or "Is it inappropriate to compare Trump to Hitler?" (It isn't.)
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The castle Schloss Laubach was built in the 13th century.
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One morning, we all walk to Laubach for a tour of the village and a fascinating history lesson. There's a castle and a huge private library here. If we had been able to enter the castle's Solms' library, we would have seen 120,000 books, but not the original Gutenberg Bible, which the town donated to another museum in exchange for new roofs of its historical buildings.
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Solms Library in Laubach, Germany, contains one of Europe's
largest private collection of books.
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This colorful Baroque organ can be found in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Laubach, Germany.
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On another walk with a new friend who grew up in East Germany, we stroll through a forest in which people have buried the cremated remains of their loved ones. Discrete wooden plaques are placed on trees with the deceases' names and other vitals. It's a serene alternative to overcrowded cemeteries. Plus, in Germany, ashes must be either buried or scattered at sea — it's illegal to keep grandpa's ashes in an urn on the mantelpiece.
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Frankfurt's Römerberg is an iconic medieval plaza.
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Old Saint Nicholas Church in Frankfurt
has 51 bells.
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Hauptamt Verstanstelle is a municipal office building in the Römerberg section of Frankfurt.
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Brockhaus Fountain is located on the Zeil pedestrian promenade
in Frankfurt.
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We have one more afternoon and evening in Frankfurt after our Englischhausen stint is done. We walk through the grand Römerberg plaza, and continue on in search of some authentic German cuisine. Fortunately, we stumble onto a street that is lined with food trucks. Here, Ken finds some liverwurst to take home, and we eat sausages sandwiches and wash them down with
apfelwein (apple wine).
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Since we're avoiding crowds, we admire from afar this biergarten
in Frankfurt.
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I'd been disappointed with the desserts served at the inn in Laubach, so I'm on the lookout for a place where I can score something gooey and fattening. We can't find an open pastry shop. However, the Frankfurt train station as a bunch of them, so my sweet-tooth fix is finally satisfied with a chocolate-cheesecake morsel, which I savor on the train ride back to France.
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Ken enjoys his first authentic Frankfurter accompanied by a
glass of apfelwein.
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