A walk around Seckbach

As it was a school day, Harmjan and Kristian all left the house very early. Niklas also left early for his first day at a new job. Gaby and I had decided the night before that we would go for a walk around Seckbach, where the Dams live, to places like the Huthpark and Lohrberg.

I've added a few photos to my Flickr set for Frankfurt, which contains all my favourite photos from the city:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157645071016228/

We left at about 10:30 to go for our walk, which took us through some typical Frankfurt parks. They aren't havens in the middle of the city like in Paris, they are more like places for people to walk, jog or come with their kids and pets.

After visiting Huthpark we went walked along what was apparently a designated path right next to a field where potatoes were being grown. Gaby said that there are many different types of fruit and vegetables that have been grown in the parks over the years:

An invisible path next to a potato field

We then went directly to the Lohrberg. The park has very good views of the centre of Frankfurt, and in summer the leaves of the trees are a fantastic colour. Also in the park is the only wineyard in Frankfurt, owned by the city, and an area where a company grows apples and runs all sorts of events related to apple picking and production:

 Views of the city centre from Lohrberg, and the apple growers and wineyard.

Once we got back home, I also took photos of the Dams' garden. I'd previously only seen their garden and the Lohrberg during winter, when there was only white, and certainly no plants growing:

The Dams' garden

Their house is also fascinating. It's got three storeys, each with a few rooms, and very typical narrow and steep staircases. There's also an interesting story behind one of the paintings there. It was painted by Australian artist Marian Rennie, who also owns a farm/restaurant in Victoria. The painting was obtained by Niklas while he was in Australia working at Rennie's farm picking fruit.

 

The steep steps and Rennie's painting

That's all from Frankfurt, my next stop will be Berlin.

Frankfurt Altstadt by foot

Today I was given a city tour of a very different kind by my hosts, Gaby and Harmjan. Be sure to check out my Flickr set for Frankfurt, which contains all my favourite photos of the city:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157645071016228/

Last night I was finally able to get a full night's sleep, mainly because our planned tour didn't start until mid-afternoon. I was able to churn through some photo sorting after I woke up at about 9 o'clock. Gaby, Harmjan and the rest of the family only ever get to sleep in on Sundays, so we didn't have breakfast until about 11. We had a typical large breakfast, which consisted of breads, cheeses, meats, spreads, yoghurt and the like. After eating so much last night, none of us was very hungry.

Gaby and Harmjan are part of a parents' association, and today they had organised a tour around some of the more famous churches in Frankfurt's Altstadt, or Old Town. Our first stop on the tour was the Römer, which is the central part of the Altstadt, containing the Rathaus (City Hall) and the Alter Nikolaikirche, and is full of beautiful houses. For nearly a millenium, caesars would be crowned at the nearby Frankfurter Dom and be transported to the Rathaus, where they would have a celebratory feast. During World War II the entire town was bombed and only the Alter Nikolaikirche and one of the many houses remained standing:

The Römer

On our way to the second church we also passed Paulskirche, which was once an official government meeting point, and is now a place where government visitors, such as the President of the United States, first come to when visiting Frankfurt. Here are some of the other churches we visited:

 The rest of the churches on the tour

Finally we arrived at the Frankfurter Dom, which is the most famous and most frequented church in Frankfurt. It's very red on the outside, and is the place I mentioned above where the caesars were crowned from 800 to 1800. The clock tower is 66 metres tall, and has only recently re-opened to the public after a 20-year closure. The narrow stairwell goes around and around and has 328 steps. It makes you very dizzy very quickly, but once you get to the top the views of Frankfurt are magnificent. You can see the River Main on one side of the tower and the city centre on the other:

View of the Main and the new town from the Domturm

I spent plenty of time up the tower, and when we went down the three of us went to Café Mozart, where we had a typical German afternoon tea of absolutely enormous slices of cake. After a grapefruit juice and chocolate cake later, we headed for the Mainturm (Main Tower). The Mainturm has an open observation deck which makes the Dom's clock tower look like a toy. From the tower you can see all the way to the mountains some 100 kilometres away, as well as to the airport and to Hanau, which is the next town to the east:

A view of Frankfurt from the Mainturm

After we came down the Main Tower, we then saw a couple more attractions, including Frankfurt local Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's house, before heading back home, where Gaby made a delicious spinach- and tomato-based lasagne for dinner.

That's all for today. Tomorrow I'm on my second high-speed train, arriving in Berlin just in time to watch the second half of Germany's first World Cup match. I'm told that it's a fantastic spectacle at the main viewing area in Berlin.

Servus aus Frankfurt

What a day that was! There was no sightseeing but it was still a fantastic day.

After getting into Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (central station), I was picked up by Harmjan, my host father, where we got the U-Bahn to Seckbacher Landstraße and then drove home. Harmjan is Dutch, and was very happy with the result in the World Cup, where Holland as underdogs unexpectedly thrashed Spain 5-1.

The Dams' house is a little over 300 years old - when you think about it, it's even older than Australia. It's a typical German house, with three storeys, small rooms and very tight, steep staircases. Johannes is the only one in the family not here - he's in Portugal until next week.

For lunch we had a variety of breads, cheeses and meats. It was great to sit down and talk about what everyone is doing - we exchange New Years' letters, but aside from that none of us knew what the other was doing.

Niklas, one of my host brothers, drove out to Bad Vilbel where we met Gaby's mother, Helga. Helga had prepared coffee, strawberries and cake, all of which were delicious. Helga is a delightful person, and it was also great talking to her, because she speaks barely a word of English, so we were talking in German the whole time. Helga is 80 years old and still has the energy to keep a magnificent garden full of roses and lavenders, and leap up a bookcase to fetch a book with her travel photos. Kudos to her.

At about 6 o'clock, the three of us drove into Bornheim. My host parents Harmjan and Gaby are in a choir called Randale Vocale - they were singing when I first visited in 2008 and are still in the choir today. This afternoon they performed at a concert in a church. They sing all sorts of music, from classical to alternative to Brasilian music.

We then went to eat dinner at a Croatian guesthouse, called Gaststätte Wolffhardt. This is the sort of place where everyone knows everyone, and they are so generous. Something you don't experience in Australia is the fact that bread is continuously brought out for free, but you have to pay for any water you drink. We each ordered our own main, and everyone gets a plate full of salad to go with the meal. At the recommendation of Niklas, I ordered a sampling plate of meats that came with some sauces and french fries.

After we finished our mains, the owner (who was a friend of the Dams) gave us dessert gratuit "just because I was Australian". Add raspberries and pfannkuchen (rolled pancakes) to a sampling plate and I was full to bursting. At a guesthouse they also provide you with a free small alcohol, water or juice to wash the meal down with. The friendliness of this place was unlike anywhere I had been before.

Bis bald everyone. More updates tomorrow.