Europe's Layover

Although it may seem like Prague was our last stop on the trip, we still had one more night and one more city to visit, Frankfurt Germany.  Frankfurt, to most travelers, is more of a layover than anything else and that is really all it was to us.

We arrived early afternoon and departed the plane to a rainy, 45 degree day and it did not help that we were all still licking our wounds from the night before.  I had known there was not much to see in Frankfurt so I was not all that disappointed we did not have a lot of time to walk around.  This isn't because Frankfurt doesn't have much to offer culturally and historically, but it is due to the fact that almost 80% of it was destroyed during the war.

The skyscrapers of Frankfurt. 

Unlike Munich, that was rebuilt to it's former self after the war, Frankfurt was rebuilt into the modern age, providing the most dominating skyline of skyscrapers that Europe has to offer.  It is also the most centralized business hub in Europe outside of London.  That is exactly how Frankfurt felt, a giant business hub and we were there on a Saturday...there was no one there (imagine walking around the Chicago loop or Wall Street on Saturday).  I will take into account the weather being terrible, but there was hardly anyone around.

The Euro sign you might recognize from business news

Despite the weather, we still made it to the remaining old town of Frankfurt, it is about the size of the main square in Prague...maybe a little smaller.  Although it was small, it did have an old-style German feel to it.  Pointy timber framed houses that would fit perfectly as a ski chalet made up most of the square along with the Saint Nicholas church.  Since the weather was crappy and there was not much to see, we saddled up in a cozy little restaurant for one last German meal.  I of course went out in style with a large pork knuckle and a classic German beer.

In the heart of Old Town in Frankfurt.

Although it was not the most exciting city to spend our last night in Europe, I am still glad we got to see it. We also had to get up at 5:30AM the next day so it was fine that we were not in Prague partying the night away.  I am sure I will pass through Frankfurt again as it is a major gateway to Europe.  If for some reason I end up spending a night again, I know where to get a good pork knuckle and beer.

My last meal of the trip.