Frankfurt am Main Sports & Outdoors Tips by Nemorino Top 5 Page for this destination

Cycling and jogging by the river

People flying in to Frankfurt from other parts of the world often ask me what I suggest they could do here during a brief visit, and the first thing I always recommend is that after sitting cramped up in a plane for many hours they should get out and have some exercise by cycling, jogging, walking, or in-line skating along the left (south) bank of the Main River.

The regional cycling routes M and R3 lead right through here along the left side of the Main River, that is the south side or Sachsenhausen side, also known as "dribbdebach" in the local dialect, as opposed to "hibbdebach" which is the right/north side where all the big buildings are.

This (left) side of the river is also known as the Museumsufer or Museum Bank, because many of Frankfurt's major museums are located here.

Second photo: The city of Frankfurt has been fixing up the river bank very nicely in the past few years. On this side (which is the left / south bank) you can now cycle from Offenbach to Schwanheim without stopping, and have great views all along the way. The tallest-looking buildings in this photo are, from left to right, Westendstraße 1, Silver Tower, Gallileo, Skyper, Eurotower and Commerzbank Tower. For details and photos of the individual buildings, please have a look at the Frankfurt Skyline Countdown on my Land Hessen page.

Third photo: Sunbathers on one of the new grassy areas on the left bank. The suspension bridge off to the right is a pedestrian and cycling bridge called the Holbeinsteg, which leads directly from the city center to the Städel art museum.

Fourth photo: Does anyone know what these things are called?

Fifth photo: Cyclist on the Untermainbrücke (Lower Main Bridge).

Update November 2010: Thanks to VT member alza (Lou) for pointing me to an article about the sports equipment shown in the fourth photo.

It turns out that these things the guy has strapped to his feet and legs have numerous names including Adjustable Stilts, Flying Jumpers, Powerisers, Powerskips, Velocity Stilts, Flyjumpers, 7 League Boots, SkyRunner, Pro-Jumps and Powerbocks.

They were invented in the 1990s by a German named Alexander Bock, who has been awarded patents on them both in Europe (2003) and in the United States (2004).

Theme: Biking

Website: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Can-You-Image-Flying-High-On-Velocity-Stilts-/413941

Swimming pool in Frankfurt-Eschersheim

This is one of four outdoor swimming pools in the Nidda Valley in Frankfurt am Main.

It's a large, pleasant place with a selection of sunny and shady areas.

Admission is EUR 3.50 for adults, but that goes down to EUR 1.70 after six o'clock (evening price). They close at eight.

Update: The Eschersheim outdoor swimming pool re-opened in the spring of 2010 after being closed for a year and rebuilt from scratch because the old pool had been losing too much water. The new pool looks really nice. New photos to follow shortly.

Address: Im Uhrig, Frankfurt am Main (Eschersheim)

Directions: To get here, take the U1, U2 or U3 to Heddernheim, go out the back of the station and walk over to the Nidda.

Phone: (0 69) 21 23 21 53

Theme: Other