Sunday May 19th - Frankfurt

Frankfurt is very quiet on Sunday mornings. I was up and about by 8.10 and took the tram in to the point where it became an underground station, where I changed to the U-bahn line 6 and went out to the Natural History Museum in the West End. This is a big old building which was part of a private estate bequeathed to the city by the researcher who set it up. Aside from the museum itself there are several buildings which are now part of the Goethe University. (Goethe is big news in Frankfurt, having been born and brought up here. To me he's one of those national characters that people from other cultures don't quite 'get'.) There are a couple of life-sized dinosaur statues outside along with other monumental models and exhibits.

Inside it's a little old and dusty. The newer exhibits have English signage as well as German, but the older ones don't. But the collection is excellent--lots of stuffed birds, somewhat fewer mammals and reptiles, and a first-rate fossil collection including an original archaeopteryx fossil, found in Bavaria. Probably the single most imprssive exhibit is the calf bone of a Titanosaurus, absolutely phenomenal in size. I moved from room to room trying to keep out of earshot of a screaming infant, but it wasn't easy; she managed to fill the entire building with her shrieks.

Next stop was the Palmengarten, which used to be in the Natural History Museum but were moved when it got too big. The main problem here was finding the entrance, which seemed to recede further away the closer I got to it. But I reached it eventually and wandered around the perimeter for a bit till I found a coffee kiosk. The gardens are probably about the same size as our own Botanic Gardens, but being German they have three restaurants and a couple of kiosks in them.

It was here that I saw something quite new, on a lily pond outside one of the kiosks. The entire male frog population of the pond was climbing out on to the pads, chirrupping noisily and trying to attract females. Any female unwise enough to emerge from the water was immediately mounted. It made a tremendous noise, and while they weren't actually fighting, they were certainly behaving aggressively. All this in the middle of the pond, separated from human spectators by three or four metres of water. You could see their little cheeks puffing out as they croaked. 

It went on for five or ten minutes after I got there and then seemed to peter out. How often it occurs I have no idea, but it was a new one on me. I took a photo, but a green 4cm frog four metres away on a green lily pad is unlikely to be very photogenic.

They have a big public greenhouse with lots of tropical plants and a small closed one specifically for plants from Tasmania, for some reason; presumably an enthusiastic collector brought them back. Some nice water features, including an artificial mountain, and a boating lake.

Then it was time for lunch, which turned out to be harder to find than I thought. I found a tram and used my free pass to get to the East Station at the end of the line, but the only cafe open there was occupied by noisy workmen smoking at tables on the pavement-- which is still legal here -- so I walked back towards the city, and had to go quite a distance before I found a pleasant-looking beer cafe. I had a sausage with mustard and rye bread, and tried two of their beers, which were both excellent. The second was a stronger one, so I walked on to my destination at the historical museum in a pleasant alcoholic haze. 

Before I got there, though, there was a protest parade along the street beside the river. It was led by a contingent of bored-looking police, who were presumably there for security reasons. Then there was some farm machinery, driven by men with sheepish expressions, and then the pedestrian masses with banners. What exactly they were on about I have no idea; the usual things, I suppose.

The Historical Museum was excellent, once I found it all; they're not very good here at providing comprehensive directions. Some bits were down an alley and round a corner, including the basement of a medieval tower. Here there was a lot about the history of Frankfurt, including the terrible bombing it suffered in World War II, and the subsequent reconstruction. And a large and unapologetic display celebrating commerce, in honour of Frankfurt's position as a major financial centre.

Back inside I had a look at the nearby Dom (Cathedral) which was badly damaged in the bombing. The stained glass still hasn't been replaced but there are some nice windows and sculptures. German cathedrals tend to be less elaborate than Italian or Spanish ones.

Caught the tram home, had dinner and read. The plan for today is to take a train into the mountains and walk around a bit.