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Some beautiful and remarkably ornate buildings survived the devastation of the war. The tower at left has a brilliant seventeenth (I think) century clock...

Germany

Hank Shiffman
2003-11-26 17:54:38

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museum. In evidence of that I present a pane of stained glass from a very nice restaurant where we had lunch. Forbidding, isn't she? And what exactly is that thing she's clutching in her right hand? Looks like one old German won't be giving anyone any more trouble! (How do you say Bobbit in German?)

Frankfurt

After two visits to Frankfurt (not counting the times I've used it as a transit point to Poland and Israel) I still don't have a sense of the city. There are lots of modern office blocks, with more on the way. And the kind of mass transit that Europeans take for granted but Americans can only envy. But what is it about Frankfurt that makes it unique? Why would anyone come here who didn't have to? I imagine there's a good answer to this question. I'd love to know what it could be.

Hand a Marketing expert a less than sizzling product and watch real creativity in action. If we have a not-very-picturesque city (I guess they don't know what's special about Frankfurt either), how can we make it seem that much more attractive and interesting? Simple, really. Pile everyone into a colorfully decorated streetcar, hand out cups and bottles of applewine and include an enthusiastic accordianist with a wide repertoire. It's amazing how much more interesting your surroundings become when you add a little alcohol.

In case you doubt the existence of a German sense of humor, I submit the following ad from a drugstore window. (Some of us were under the weather after our visit to Israel. Might have been the lamb brains.) The product is a hemorrhoid treatment; the image is a peach. Or is it?

Wiesbaden

If I haven't found Frankfurt all that inspiring, Wiesbaden makes up for it. Less than an hour on the S-bahn from the main train station, it's a spa town full of handsome buildings on tree lined streets. Like Newbury Street in Boston, many of the ground floor residences have been turned into businesses; the leftmost building in the picture on the left is occupied by a bank. It's a place that looks good even in the rain, although I wouldn't have minded not finding that out.
(Manipulating both a camera and an umbrella can be a bit of a challenge; I hope you appreciate the trouble I go to for you.)

I found the center of town particularly pleasant, with its crisscross of pedestrian-only streets. On this particular day there was a farmer's market in residence in the main square. Despite the rain the streets were pretty crowded and the merchants seemed to be doing good business. I guess Germans are just hardier than wimpy Americans; to me, it just didn't seem like a good day for grocery shopping al fresco.