At the beginning of December 2018, I spent a weekend in Frankfurt. It wasn’t one of my regular weekend trips, though. Quick explanation: I am a member of a sorority. You are active when you’re in school and then you become alum once you graduate. After graduation, you have the option of joining an alumnae chapter, and I decided to join the European alumnae chapter once I knew I was moving to Spain. Someone proposed a trip to Frankfurt to see the Christmas Markets, I said yes and pretty much next thing I was on a trip with four women I’d never met! Yes, when I put it this way it sounds crazy, but I promise it’s not.

So obviously this trip was different from my regular travels because I was staying in a hotel (!!!), traveling with others, and there to see one specific sight rather than try to see the whole city. I actually didn’t think about these things until I was on my flight back. Maybe I didn’t expect to feel the difference?

So here’s my travel journal from a weekend in Frankfurt, plus some handy tips for you at the end!

Day 1:

I actually left Madrid fairly early, so I landed and checked in to the hotel around noon. There was plenty of time before anyone else arrived, so I decided to do a bit of sightseeing on my own! Our hotel was near the train station, about a 15 – 20 minute walk from the city center, so I headed over on foot. I’d read about Zeil, a nice outdoor shopping area, so I headed that way. Cold and hungry, I ate tomato soup and french fries at Zeil Kitchen. Sorry, I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures! I popped in a few stores I know we don’t have in Madrid and headed back to the hotel.

At this point, everyone had landed, so we got dressed and walked over to Romer to see the Christmas Markets in action! I tried gingerbread, glühwein and saw Romer square – you know, the one everyone takes a picture of.

One of the ladies on the trip actually lives and works in Frankfurt and was able to give us a quick tour of the European Central Bank. Guys. So cool. We all know I’m not huge on corporate life but woah. If I had to work in an office anywhere, it would be there. The building and facilities are stunning.

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After our quick tour it was time to get a traditional German meal in; it was my first time in Germany after all! We headed to Dauth Schneider, which was clearly a very happening local spot. First impression: yikes, man cave. Seriously, we walked in to at least ten six-person tables of just dudes who all looked up and watched us walk through to the back of the restaurant. I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life. Like, where were the women? Oh. In the back. It was like the front room was for men, the back was for women and then the side was for groups? This probably wasn’t intentional but that’s what it felt like.

Fortunately the beer, food and company were great, so that awkward moment passed relatively quickly. After dinner was a teeny bit of walking around and then bed!

Day 2:

Saturday was it, it was the big day: Christmas Market day! We had basically two plans for the day: to visit all the markets and go on the tour of Frankfurt we’d all signed up for. So we slept in a bit (thank heavens, Friday was exhausting for me!) and headed directly towards the markets. First stop was ‘breakfast,’ which for me meant coffee and a bratwurst. When in Rome, you know? Oh yeah. Had to get the ‘schaumkuss,’ which is basically a giant marshmallow covered in chocolate. The version I got was a raspberry marshmallow dunked in dark chocolate with little raspberry pieces. So. good.

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We walked around a bit, scoping out the markets and vendors before heading to our tour. The tour was of the old town and its architecture, which I could probably do a separate post on. Maybe I will! Frankfurt is odd in that it’s obviously an old city but so much was destroyed and left untouched for so long that it’s only recently been rebuilt, unlike so many other European cities. Most European cities I’ve been to pretty much did all the fixing immediately or shortly after WWII, but Frankfurt has taken its time and is still in the process of setting up some museums.

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After the tour finished, we popped over to Galeria to sit, warm up a bit and have a snack. Those walking tours in windy cities at 20-something degrees (fahreinheit) can really wear you out! I’m normally not one to stop, but am glad we did. The view from atop the Galeria is stunning!

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Once we got our energy back, we headed down to do some more Christmas market shopping. I wasn’t there to buy trinkets but I was there to eat all the things! Hot chocolate, chocolate covered mandarins. Yum. We got together for some glühwein, but I didn’t have any. This is almost sac-religious but as it turned out I wasn’t a fan of the German glühwein, it’s too strong!

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Then we did more Christmas market shopping, eating and carousel riding! Realistically I spent the evening window shopping and eating. There are several markets to walk through, so it takes several hours! Dinner was reibekuchen (potato pancake) with salmon and a really strong garlic sauce. It was delicious. After more Christmas markets shopping we met up at an Italian wine bar called InCantina with some friends for some wine. Some delicious wine. Walked home, in bed at midnight, which seems early but man was I tired.

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Day 3:

Our initial plans for this trip included a night out on Saturday, so we didn’t make any plans for Sunday morning. Even though we didn’t end up going out, we still slept in a bit, thank goodness! We had a quick coffee in the lobby – because hi my name is Kristina and how am I to make it to 1 pm without a coffee??! Yeah.

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A brisk walk later and we made it to brunch at Druckwasserwerk, a restaurant in what was once a hydraulic power station. I would call this a very European brunch, with several yummy cheeses, breads, sliced meats and desserts. While there was an omelette station, it was very different from a typical American brunch. The food was delicious and the restaurant itself was really cool too!

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I still had several hours to kill after brunch, so I walked along the river from the restaurant to the famed Iron Bridge, back into Romer and it’s Christmas Markets and into Frankfurt Cathedral. You know me, I have to go into at least one cathedral every time I’m visiting somewhere new!

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After stopping in the Cathedral, I made my way through the Christmas Markets back to the hotel, to the train station to catch my flight home. It was a wonderful weekend and I’d love to go back and visit again!

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Tips for Travelers:

• Pay attention to where you’re staying. We thought it made sense to stay near the train station, but it didn’t end up as central as we would’ve liked, especially considering how cold it was! I’d try staying more central, near Innenstadt or Aldstadt.
• Frankfurt is where the European Central Bank is headquartered, so it is a very international city. While I’d always recommend trying to learn at least a couple key phrases in the native language, you don’t need to speak German to visit.
• Remember the daylight hours in winter, the sun set between 4 – 4:30 pm, which limited several activities. Winter in Frankfurt can also be quite cold, windy and a bit wet. Plan accordingly!

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