"Frankfurt am Main" Frankfurt am Main by lukec

Frankfurt am Main was a stopover for Irena and me travelling back from South America. Since our flight from Santiago arrived early that cold December day and our connection to Slovenia didn't leave until late in the evening, we spent the whole day there, so we got the basic feeling of this city. Tired as we were after quite a rocky 17-hour flight, we weren't exactly all eager to see the city, so we lingered and rested at the airport at first, but in the end we decided to take the train to the centre after all. And I'm glad that we did, because the Christmas atmosphere was a great entertainment compared to the usual airport stuff and it was also a great welcome back to Europe. Even though we were in Germany, it all felt strangely familiar and almost home-like. So I guess that coming to Frankfurt from South America was when I experienced that European identity is not a hollow word on my own skin for the first time.

Frankfurt is a major financial hub in Europe, and ever since the European Central Bank moved here, it's become a kind of a financial capital of EU. The high skyscrapers of large financial institutions gave it the nickname Manhattan of Europe. Besides the skyscrapers, there's also the restored old town worth seeing. We came there during the pre-Christmas time, so there was a Weihnachts fair on the main square in the old town, and we were more than happy to indulg in some Gluhwein and local food.

For the time being I'll just put this picture of the beautiful Frankfurter night skyline (now you see why they've nicknamed it Manhattan) and later I'll add some more photos of the Old town.