The Christmas market is...
by kfh1
The Christmas market is excellent in Frankfurt and it starts from late November. There are many snacks and beverages on offer - not least the famous Glühwein. It is particularly good if you are with your family or a group of friends. Truly unmissable !! I worked and lived in Frankfurt for seven months between November 1999 and June 2000. The fondest memory I still have with me today is getting to know a lot of people in the Volkhochschule when I studied German 2 evenings in a week for nearly 6 months. I got a chance to get to know people from different countres and I am really happy that some of us still keep in touch.
A local favourite
by Manara
Äppelwoi, Äppler, Appelwein, Ebbelwoi, Ebbelwei, Schoppe, Stöffche are all names that can be used in Frankfurt to indicate the most typical local drink: apple wine.
I am not an expert of cider, but I enjoyed several glasses of Apfelwein before and during a dinner at a typical “Apfelweinlokale” and I found that its fresh, slightly acidic taste goes together well with most foods.
I learned that this Apfelwein is made only from apples, of the varieties "Schafsnase", "Trierer Weinapfel", "Rheinischer Bohnapfel", "Kaiser Wilhelm", "Bittenfelder", "Brettacher" and "Roter Boskoop", without any addition of other fruit. Its contents of alcohol is around 5 or 6 %.
The jug you see in the picture is a miniature copy of a Bembel, the typical jugs used to serve Apfelwein. It is made of clay, cooked at 1200°C, and glazed with salt. It is traditionally decorated with a blue design on a grey background.
JP Morgan Chase Manhattan Run
by amyhenderson
If you are lucky enough to have yourself an office job in Frankfurt (I say this, because unemployment rates are up), then you just might be interested in participating in the annual Chase Manhattan (now JPMorgan) fun run. It's all about sport & business going hand-in-hand, a reminder that life is not and should not be all about working. It's about team work and well being. You can register for a team or individual on their website.
In any case, it's good fun (if you like running I suppose) and it's a great atmosphere.
It takes place every year, some time around June. It's a 5km run through a mostly financial hub of FFM. Apparently it's pretty much Europe's biggest road race of it's kind. 3 years ago they had about 50, 000 runners, who knows what they are up to now!
Argh, you will laugh at my 1st experience of this race. I had not been living in Germany long and spoke maybe only 2 words of German. This did not include the German word 'finish' - Ziel. When I was coming to the end of the race, I still had some bursts of energy, so I thought I would run as fast as I possibly could. I kept seeing these signs to 'Ziel' throughout the race, thinking it was directing us to a place in the centre called the ZEIL. I must have looked pretty funny sprinting past and through the Ziel, towards the Zeil. I think I ran almost an extra 1 kilometer... and then I realised I must have run completely past the finish... Uuuppsy... what ever you like to run in - even if it is your penguin suit!
Take a day trip to Buedingen
by Phillylawyer_19107
Buedingen is a charming town about 35 kms west of Frankfurt. It has an intact old town with beautiful buildings out of the last 500 years. Walking through there is like traveling back in time. Just enjoy the city and the castle park or discover the more recent past in the 1950s museum. I put up some more detailed tips on my Buedingen travel page, but basically this is not a place where you visit several sights - its a town where you can just wander through, enjoy the atmosphere and marvel at the beautiful architecture there.
Ordnungsamt (Bureau of Public Order)
by Nemorino
This is a city bureau which keeps order by issuing permits for things, or not. For instance if you want to hold a street fair or festival in Frankfurt, these people will issue a permit (or not) saying where and from when to when and how late and how many decibels.
Optimists can apply here for a fishing license, and motorists who get caught blocking our cycling lanes can pay their well-deserved parking tickets.
For foreigners who come from countries outside the European Community, this is the fateful building where residence permits are granted, renewed or refused.
The other thing I can tell you about this particular Ordnungsamt is that they have the worst canteen I have ever eaten in. My office is just a couple blocks away, and before our fantastic new canteen was opened we used to eat lunch here sometimes. It was absolutely dreadful, so it's no wonder the bureaucrats who work here are often in a bad mood. (Actually I know a couple of them, and they are perfectly nice people when they don't have indigestion or something. Opera goers, by the way.)
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Modern architecture by the Zeil
The campanile and entrance from afar
a clean well-lit space
Felsenmeer
