Shreyas, my husband joined me in a trip to Frankfurt in January this year. Here are some highlights from this memorable outing of ours.

Never too old

To preserve the past is to save the future.

– Nanette L. Avery

Old towns and museums are the templates of every German city. Frankfurt was built around the same template too. A bunch of famous museums starting from the Goethe Museum are found along the river in the main city. The old town has a typical town hall, fountain and town square that invites performers and crowd of tourists each day.

The old and the new Opera stand alongside the skyscrapers in this city. German and English musical performances adorn these Opera. I had the fortune of attending one such performance at the New Opera. The voices and the music simply transported us to the space where the story came alive in front of our eyes.

Occasions to Unite

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.

-Edna Ferber

One of the biggest Christmas markets in Germany is setup in Frankfurt. We were pleasantly surprised to find it still open for visits in January. The bonus was the church street festival that we came across in the old town. Lot of costumes, music and celebration surrounded us even on a Sunday.

Whether it is a festive season or not, Frankfurt finds a reason to celebrate. The jewish quarters are full of pubs worth exploring. And for the ones looking for erotic experiences, there are sex shops and strip clubs just around the Bahnhof.

Bring your wallet

Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity.

-Jonathan Safran Foer

Our biggest expense in Frankfurt was on food. We went nuts eating at the Indian joints there. Our second favorite was the Kabul restaurant. May be because Afghani food tasted a lot like food back home. There were also very nice Japanese, Chinese, French and of course German eateries to explore.

If food is not your weakness, shopping might still entice you in Frankfurt. From high end shopping street near the Stock market to the second hand stores in the jewish side, from the malls to the flea markets, Frankfurt had the best of all.

Though the sky scrapers in Frankfurt are definitely a highlight, it is important to mention that they were not the only contributors to Frankfurt’s identity. Just cross the iron bridge near this business area and you enter a whole another side of Frankfurt.

Share your experience in the comments.