Frankfurt: A City Less Traveled

We’re back in Germany!

We were also back in Frankfurt at a familiar hotel (from our trip in the fall) the Westin Grand and were lucky enough to get upgraded to a large suite! This is always a fun bonus when it happens and a nice break from a one room living situation. We hit the ground walking to one of our favorite restaurants, Zu den 12 Aposteln for lunch. It was even better than I remembered! The chicken schnitzel and house rolled sausage were amazing along with the atmosphere of the outdoor bier garten! As is true of a long trip, laundry day keeps coming back. While I did laundry, the rest of the family rested. I went to a laundromat I had been to before but I must’ve had too many loads as I left one behind on accident. Luckily it was still there when I went back for it. We hit another favored restaurant for supper, Paulaner am dom and had delicious turkey schnitzel with chanterelles. After we got kids to bed, we organized the place (with laundry drying everywhere) as it’s nice to settle in when you’ll be there for the week. It was a full day even if we didn’t do any sightseeing.

We waked up Tuesday and the kids enjoyed a morning to play with their toys in the open space we had. Our mission today was to order a birthday cake for Teddy so we set out to a couple grocery stores. However, I thought more about it and knew we didn’t have plates or utensils in our room so I changed gears and just purchased balloons instead. We met Cory for a quick lunch then hit the Drachenburg Spielplatz (playground); it was a super cute, wooden playground…with lots of sand! I had to dump sand from their shoes (again) before nap time. Cory found a Bier Garten on the river for supper with an amazing view overlooking the Eisener Steg (Europe’s oldest suspension bridge). There were colorful flower boxes all around the boat which I love!

On Wednesday, June 21, Teddy turned 3!!! We had balloons waiting on him when he waked as well as a lion figurine and lion mask. Before we could hit the zoo to see the animals (always his request), we rode the train to pick up my momma and aunt at the airport. They joined us for the last two weeks of our trip! We didn’t waste any time tossing their suitcases in the hotel room and heading to the zoo. We especially enjoyed seeing the lioness and watching all the monkeys. When we got back to the hotel for naps, we found a surprise dessert plate with Happy Birthday written on it and a note! We also celebrated with party hats! Who doesn’t love a good party hat! We went back to one of our favorite restaurants Atschel for supper.

We learned the sweet ladies from the executive lounge had arranged the surprise birthday dessert and they hadn’t even known I was looking for one. It was so very thoughtful! We taxied to Palmengarten for the morning and it was so lush! Beautiful, colorful flowers were everywhere. With my momma and aunt to tell the different kinds (since all signs were in German), it was even more enjoyable! Of course, we found a train to ride and playground which suited the kids! We hit our favorite Frankfurt restaurant again for lunch with Cory. Tonight, we walked to Frankfurt au Main via the Cathedral and a wooden toy shop to hear the bells of Alte Nikolaikirche. We patronized another favorited restaurant Paulaner Dom for supper. When you find good food, it’s hard to not go back again and again. Frankfurt is such an unassuming city.

Next stop, Venice!

Overlooking Eisener Steg then standing on it