Dreaming of a White Christmas - Day 19

A Tale of 4 Bridges

It was 0 degrees in Frankfurt when we set out this morning, Wallsy and I opting to do our own exploring for the day. Number one on the list was to walk across the very interesting suspension pedestrian bridge, known as Holbeinsteg, which spans the Main River near our hotel.

Having crossed this one, we aimed for the Iron Footbridge (Eiserner Steg)  which is also known as the Love Lock Bridge, for reasons which are obvious, although they have a long way to go to catch up to the Cologne Bridge. This bridge was blown up by the Germans in the final days of World War II but rebuilt in 1946.

Next, we spotted Alte Brucke an interesting brick arch bridge, which is apparently the oldest bridge over the river. It also had an interesting building, called a Portikus, off to the side, which is currently a gallery, but wasn’t open when we crossed. Underneath, this bridge also houses a rowing club as it passes over a small island in the river.

The final bridge which caught our attention, was known as Flosserbrucke, a road bridge which led us back across the river and through parkland in the direction of the Frankfurt Zoo. 

Turning off before we reached the zoo, we redirected our steps in the direction of the river and soon found ourselves in a large pedestrian shopping mall. Here, we found a likely place for lunch and enjoyed a delicious chicken Caesar salad. I sampled the hot applewine, which Frankfurt is famous for (apparently), and Stephen had his last German Gluhwein.

We walked back to the River then, through the Weihnachtsmarkt am Romer (the Christmas Market), and back over the Iron Bridge to the Communications Museum which we had spotted this morning. Despite not accepting credit cards, we paid our way in using cash, cloaked our coats and warm layers and worked our way through the extensive and comprehensive museum, detailing everything from Mesopotamian writing tablets to contemporary electronic media.

Once we had completed a thorough inspection of this, including the prototype and inventions level (well, Wallsy did this, while I sat and rested), we decided it was getting colder out and it would probably be timely to return to the hotel and begin the sorting and packing process as we have an early pick up for the airport tomorrow.

The clock has wound down and our holiday is reduced to a matter of hours now.

What a wonderful adventure it has been; yes, there have been some unexpected and unplanned twists, frustrations, unfortunate and unwanted illness, and challenges, but overall it has been a trip full of magical new experiences and destinations, full of the spirit and joy of the festive season.