Back to the Beginning - Part 4 - Getting High

Yeah, I went with the cheapest available pun for this one. What are you gonna do about it???

May 3rd, 2023

Unlike the previous day, I have literally nothing on my agenda for the day. No must-see sights or museums, or indeed anything else. My feet are adamant about taking it easier this time around, so a bit of retail therapy seems to be the order of the day, with my first choice being Skyline Plaza, a new mall that didn’t even exist when I left Frankfurt. However, despite being framed by the high-rises of the “Messeviertel”, the shopping centre itself is distinctly underwhelming. I get that it forms a vital part of Infrastructure for the new “Europaviertel”, a new district that has been taking shape on the site of the former central goods railway station for the last decade and a half, but you’d have thought that given this importance, there’d be a bit more attention to the stores taking up retail units in that centre. Instead, the selection seems to ape the options in the omnipresent shopping centres that have sprung up on the periphery of every major German city over the last decades. The only thing special here is the Skyline Garden, a rooftop garden on top of the uppermost level of the shopping centre. This is not only an unexpected and welcome surprise, but also a welcome respite from the bustle of the streets below.

The approach to the Skyline Plaza makes you question the country that you're in.

This might look like a simple allotment or community garden, but we're on top of a six story shopping centre & car park here.

I do like the views though.

Nearly everything you see here was built after I left Germany.

I'd nearly forgotten the sheer verticality of the city.

However, the view of the surrounding high-rises from the Skyline Garden has given me another idea. Given that Frankfurt is the only German city with such a well-developed skyline, why not take advantage of that? I know from back in the days that the Main Tower, a two-hundred-meter office building in the financial district, has a viewing platform on its top floor, so after a quick coffee to check the website for opening hours, the hunt to find the entrance is on. This turns out to be more of a challenge than I had expected, given the narrow streets and ongoing construction in that particular part of the city. Eventually, I find it and after getting my ticket and passing through an airport style security checkpoint, I make my way up the stairs to the elevator. There’s apparently an accessible entrance as well, but I’m just not able to find it. This story repeats itself at the top, as the elevator ends one level below the viewing platform. Needless to say, my knee is NOT impressed. However, all of that quickly becomes trivial once I set a foot on the viewing deck. What! A! View!

Talk about a view!

The panorama stretches from the Vogelsberg, an ancient shield volcano, in the east, via the Melibocus, a peak way south of Darmstadt, all the way to the Taunus mountains in the west, with the Feldberg, the highest peak in that range, being remarkably clear despite the distance. Only the direct southwest is blocked by the Commerzbank Tower and another new high-rise being built next door. However, some people seem to be using the viewing deck as their personal studio, with two young women being particularly memorable, as their poses make me question whether they’re creating content for Instagram or OnlyFans. Neither of which is problematic for me per se, were it not for the fact that they’re blocking off the section of the deck with the best view, namely west towards Mainzer Landstraße and Frankfurt Central Station. However, this type of social-media diversion soon ceases and even this section of the terrace becomes easily accessible gain. Now, I could waffle on for hours about the breath-taking nature of the views, but instead I’ll just shut up and let the pictures do the talking.

I forgot how much green there was in the city, at least in Frankfurt's West End. Oh, that peak in the middle is the Feldberg, by the way.

The scale of Frankfurt Central Station only becomes obvious from above.

The snaking street in the centre of this image is the "Zeil", Frankfurt's main shopping street. It is also the final resting place for a lot of my disposable income from my Frankfurt days...

Honestly, I can't get enough of these views! That's the Old Opera just left of the centre there, by the way.

Two hundred meters is a long way up!

That stepped mountain just right of the image centre? That's Melibocus, and it's over 60 kilometres away from where I'm standing!

I’d have loved to stay on that viewing deck for hours, just taking in the panorama. However, a combination of the approaching lunch time and the merciless sun, which is a lot warmer than I’d have expected for early May, make me beat a hasty retreat to begin the hunt for something edible. This turns out to be an exercise in frustration as the entire financial district, being the natural habitat of the pin-striped office viper, is filled with pseudo high-end eateries with the prices to match. After a quick detour via MyZeil, I end up at Frankfurt Central Station, which is a lucky coincidence given that I still need some pictures of the station anyway.

This is the "Taunusanlage", one of a series of parks on the site of Frankfurt's former city walls. And yes, that's the Deutsche Bank headquarters in the background.

These are the types of shops where even window shopping will force the average citizen to declare bankruptcy!

I do love the Cities: Skylines like appearance, even though gentrification is definitely running amok here!

Why can't we in Cork get buildings like this one at the corner of Fressgass and Goethestraße?

With my tummy filled, I head out again to check out the last bit of Frankfurt that I hadn’t been able to see, or rather get pictures of, the “Römer”. Although this term technically only refers to the middle of the three buildings that make up the historic complex, it is generally used to refer to the entirety of Frankfurt’s city hall and the large square in front of it. This square has traditionally been used for all kinds of rallies, demonstrations, celebrations, lamentations and other similar activities. I’ll be perfectly honest with you: I can’t really stand the Römer. I’ve never been a fan of this type of late-medieval architecture, it’s overly pointed gables, narrow houses and narrower streets. It all just oozes booze-riddled kitsch and small-minded provinciality for me. To make things even worse, the square, unlike the disneyfied “old town” right next door, does not even offer any shade on this absolute scorcher of a day. As such, I quickly make my way back to my hotel room after getting the pictures I needed for my blog post. 

For a lot of people, this is the prevailing picture they have of Germany. For me, this just reeks of provinciality!

Even the Römer itself, the three buildings on the left, doesn't do it for me.

That view of Frankfurt cathedral is pretty nice though, I have to admit.

The evening once again ends in the “Bahnhofsviertel”, one of Frankfurt’s most derided, yet also most alive districts. Once again, I meet up with an old friend of mine from my olden days here in the city this time to watch the DFB Cup semi-final match between the local team, Eintracht Frankfurt, and VfB Stuttgart. Whilst we watch it in a pub, we don’t really need to, as every goal for the local team elicits a chorus of jubilant screams from a large number of open windows in the surrounding buildings. Following a few heart-attack moments early on, the game quickly turns in Frankfurt’s favour, whilst our conversation ranges far and wide. It really is a good feeling to just chill out and relax like this again.