Frankfurt Germany

 On our way to the mission field we had a layover in Frankfurt.  That was our only time being in Germany and because it is where the Europe Area Offices for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are located we decided to make Frankfurt our last stop before flying home.  The area welfare director and a senior couple that oversee humanitarian work in Europe reside in Frankfurt.  During our mission we spent a lot of time on the phone and Zoom calls with our directors there and wanted to meet them in person.

We took the train from Vienna to Frankfurt.  It was a pleasant journey and we arrived safely.  I took some random pictures on the train as we passed through Germany.

Frankfurt is the business and financial center of Germany; also a major European financial hub that's home to the European Central Bank.  Like much of Germany, the city was greatly damaged during WWII and had to be rebuilt.  Except for the Romerberg section (will explain in a moment) the city is mostly high rise office buildings.

Frankfurt sky line

On the hop-on hop-off bus all the guide talked about was how many skyscrapers Frankfurt has and what impressive businesses made their home in Frankfurt.  He proudly pointed out the huge cranes on new construction.  Not a word about the city's history or heritage, just the big buildings.  We were rather disappointed.

Frankfurt Haupfbahnhof

The Haupfbahnhof is the main or central train station where we came into Frankfurt.  It was huge, more like an airport except with trains lined up instead of planes.

The River Main

Frankfurt is located on the banks of the River Main.  It is a tributary of the Rhine River and the longest river lying entirely within Germany.  There are several bridges crossing the river and a nice walkway along the banks.  We walked by the river to a bridge, crossed over and walked the other side until the next bridge.

Romerberg Square

City Hall

Romerberg is an historic market square that was rebuilt to the original plans in 1986.  It represents a classic example of the traditional half-timbered architectural style of old times.  Each house has its own name.  City Hall is located in the square.  There was a wedding party in progress while we were wandering.  We were told that the actual wedding is conducted inside the city hall offices, then they come outside to party with family and friends.

Musicians working the square

A short walk from the square is the Kaiserdom Frankfurt Cathedral of St Bartholomew.  We kept our eyes on the striking 325 foot tower to find it.  It is one of the only buildings to maintain it's original structure due to immediate reconstruction in the early 1950's.  There is a museum on site and you can climb the 328-step tower for a great view of the city.  We did not!

Inside the cathedral

Cute houses on our walk to the cathedral

On our last evening in Frankfurt one of the senior couples took us to see the Frankfurt Temple.  It was still under renovation so just looked at the outside.  They said after the renovations the temple would double in size.

We had dinner with the area office folks before going back to our hotel to repack for the long journey home.

The Winters, Davises and Gilles Francois, our area office support

Next stop Salt Lake City.