Back to the Beginning - Part 5 - Terra Incognita

May 4th, 2023

This last day is reserved for intense retail therapy, one of the primary reasons for my trip in the first place, in addition to visiting my parents' grave. This had almost turned into a complete disaster the previous day, as a last-minute trip to get some extra t-shirts (I’d packed way too many warm clothes!) had revealed that fashion retailer C&A, traditionally one of my primary sources of plus size clothes had stopped stocking plus-size clothes in their retail stores, offering them only online. And guess what? They don’t deliver to Ireland! Now, I was able to find another store that stocked clothes in my size, but this experience has left a bit of a bitter aftertaste. 

There's no denying it. I've been fascinated by MyZeil's architecture ever since the shopping centre opened back in 2009.

Whether it's the glass funnels...

...or the arched walkways, the whole thing has something that other modern shopping centres just lack.

This aftertaste continues on my second retail stop. I’ve already mentioned the MyZeil shopping centre. Following its opening in 2009, this quickly became one of my primary shopping destinations in Frankfurt, not least because of its unusual façade and interior design. It didn’t hurt that the centre also houses one of the largest Saturn electrical stores in Germany, the type of store that gadgets hounds like me are invariably attracted to. From gaming peripherals via the associated games, keyboards, mice, all the way to coffee machines and even the washing machine in my first apartment, I spent a lot of money in that store alone. I’d already noticed on my first visit after coming back from Speyer that the shopping centre had changed, and not to its advantage in my eyes.  This impression is only reinforced on my second visit. Black and dark brown are the dominating colours, and the retail units seem to be shying away from having too much glass frontage. Even Saturn, the aforementioned electronics retailer, is affected by this. Upon opening, the top floor had been much larger, stretching all the way to the curved glass façade of the shopping centre. However, this section of the store has since been walled off, shutting out any daylight and giving the store an almost bunker-like appearance. It doesn’t help that a lot of the shelves are strangely barren. However, at the end of the day, it’s the lack of need that keeps me from spending any more money here. Spending money here is one thing when you only live a forty-five-minute train ride away, but a completely different thing when you live over a thousand kilometres away and only have limited space in your suitcase.

After a quick lunch and an equally quick stopover in my hotel to drop off the morning’s purchases, it is time for one final semi-touristy item on my list. This is the area around the new headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt’s East End. This is an entirely new area of the city for me, as by the time I left for Cork in 2012, this area was still an industrial wasteland awaiting regeneration. It is also an area steeped in history of the darker kind. The current ECB headquarters encompasses the former “Großmarkthalle”, an enormous former wholesale market hall used to supply Frankfurt and the surroundings with fresh produce of all types. During the dark years of the Third Reich, it was also used as a transit camp for Jewish citizens who were corralled into the basement of the market to await their deportation to the death camps of the NS regime. Since the market is incorporated into the ECB headquarters, it is not accessible for the general public. However, as you walk towards the river from the tram stop, you’ll see quotes from survivors and witnesses engraved into the concrete of the walkways of the surrounding park as well as into the walls of the old signal box integrated into the pillars of the railway bridge that bisects the entire area and is still in use. The ramp down into the market’s basement has been reworked into a memorial for the victims of the Nazi regime’s racist madness.

This narrow path into the catacombs of the "Großmarkthalle" spelled the beginning of the end for thousands of innocent victims of the nazis' genocidal madness. It is only fitting that it was turned into a memorial.

The entire regeneration area is split in half by the Deutschherrnbrücke, a railway bridge that also crosses the river Main.

No matter which side of the bridge you're on though, the ECB headquarters dominates the entire area.

Despite its considerable age, the Deutschherrnbrücke forms an important part of Germany's railway network to this day.

The park surrounding the ECB headquarters stretches from Frankfurt’s Osthafen, a riverine port that is still in use all the way around the bank’s buildings, connecting to a riverside green belt that runs along much of the northern bank of the river Main. A large part of the park’s area had originally been built in the first years of the 20th century as a coal loading and transhipment facility, ensuring a steady supply of coal for the heavy industry downriver from Frankfurt in the Ruhrgebiet, Germany’s industrial heartland. With the decline of the mining industry in Germany, eventually the coal docks fell into disuse, before spending the last few decades of the 20th century as a scrapyard, something that the area, with its large overhead crane bridges and extensive railway siding was surprisingly well suited for. Eventually, this too passed and from the beginning of the 21st century into the 2010s, the entire area lay abandoned, before regeneration began in the last years of the 2010s.

This regeneration has, as far as I’m concerned, been a major success, with one major caveat. The entire park seriously lacks any type of shade. I’m dressed far more appropriately for the weather than I was on the previous day, but the sun still burns down mercilessly. Despite being slowly roasted, I still can’t help how well the site’s history has been incorporated into the current park. Some of the overhead crane bridges have been kept, as have parts of the railway sidings and even some old freight cars. The presence of “skywriting” aircraft overhead is more of a surprise, although I do appreciate some of the messages it leaves.

A number of preserved sidings, overhead crane gantries and freight cars remain as a reminder of this area's past as a major freight interchange.

It also allows for some interesting perspectives.

Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to try out the restaurant that the crane is integrated in.

I'll be honest. This part of Frankfurt was a complete terra incognita for me.

"Finally Spring" - Now that's a message I can get behind!

Eventually though, the time comes to make my way back to the hotel, with a stopover for a coffee thrown into the mix to sort through my notes and photos. Further retail adventures are cut short by a quick check of my bank account and so, I make my way back to my room to remove all the packaging from my recent purchases and figure out a way to pack them in the most efficient way. Why do clothes always take up more space on the return journey than on the way out? Anyway, with this little multidimensional riddle sorted, I make my way down to the One Lounge for a final few drinks before my flight back. I really like the style in that place.

Time for a light snack...

In it to gin it... I'll miss this place.