Frankfurt, the Euro Sign

Wonderful husband wanted our photo with the Euro sign. We could see it down the street, but the way was blocked. So, we decided to walk around so we could get closer to it.

This wasn't as close as we were expecting. There were barricades set up and many police guarding the area. There wasn't a crowd or anything seemingly wrong, so we decided to ask if we could take a photo with them.

Only one agreed, the rest had to stay vigilant with their posts. We also ask why they were there. The next day they were expecting large protests on the bank because of the troubled Euro. They had closed down subway stations, blocked off the streets, etc.

This was the first time my kids had ever seen a tank in person. The protests did remain peaceful the next day and this didn't have to be used.

Walking away we figured we were out of the "danger" area when we noticed there were finally cars in the streets. Then we noticed they were all police cars - police vans and mini vans technically. We had to walk past 3 subway entrances before we found one that was open to take back to our hotel. We actually ended up on a commuter train rather than the subway so there were fewer stops. I like when it all works out in the end.

Playground in Frankfurt

After seeing the sights, we walked past a park. Unlike the parks in Poland where we had cousins to play with and the parks in Italy where there were other kids, this park was empty. There was a light rain and we thought that was what was keeping everyone away.

The park was divided into 4-5 different sections. Rather than being divided by age, as in the US, they seemed to be divided by theme.

The kids favorite part was the boat. In the background you can see an area that was for water play. We figured since we were already wet, we could skip that part.

A bucket and a pulley entertained him for a lot of time. They would take turns filling the bucket with sand and rocks and transporting them on and off the boat.

There were many different toys to ride on, but she didn't weigh enough to make it move by herself. I was happy to have an excuse to play.

They weren't quite big enough to reach from one wooden board to the other, so they had to walk on the ropes as well. That made this moving bridge much more challenging.

  

She was driving to Italy, or so she told us.

On Monday, I will post the real reason the park was empty. It involves riot police and a tank.

Walking Around Frankfurt

We had one day to spend in Frankfurt and wanted to  make the most of it. So, we started by taking the train to the city center and walking around with no real plan.

Our hotel was attached to the airport and the train station. There were a ton of places to eat and it made it exceptionally easy to get around.

Most people probably wouldn't just set out to walk around and see everything, but we aren't most people.

This was the end of our two weeks in Europe and getting around cities where we don't speak or read the language was becoming even easier.

We loved the contrasting architecture in Frankfurt. One area would be these more traditional buildings and the next street over would be completely modern. 

It was easy to get around by just picking a building we thought looked interesting and heading toward it.

We were able to see many of the iconic sights in the city and the rain made the temperature perfect.

The very light rain also made many people hide inside so it wasn't crowded anywhere we went.

 We would see a city marker sign telling us about something important (in this case the bridge) and just walk across it.

Though the kids didn't seem nearly as impressed by this bridge as the ones in Venice. 

For more about Frankfurt, check back tomorrow.