Tuesday May 21st - Hochst and Frankfurt Zoo

For my walk along the river Main I thought I should head west, so I got the S-bahn a couple of stops out and walked to the river from there. I was on the north side, on a bike path, and it was pleasant enough although the sky was grey and there was occasional drizzle. No barges here, and I soon discovered why; there's a massive weir here to control water levels, and the barges go along a canal on the other side. I could have crossed over via the weir, but I opted to stay on this side, and ended up trudging along a major road through an industrial area in the rain. Oddly enough this is where the car-carrying trucks bound for Frankfurt pull off on the bike path, apparently for the drivers to have a chat; perhaps they're comparing notes about where the inspectors are lurking. There were two when I got there, and another pulled off while I was walking past.

Over another bridge and into a much more pleasant area of open countryside. This is the Dune Walk, which gets a high recommendation on the internet, and it certainly feels remote. There's a little road in which goes past high-fenced allotments with some tiny buildings on; whether these are full-time residences or simply weekend cottages, I don't know. Then you're out in the open with nothing but a few buildings on the horizon, looking at a dune where they used to mine sand. Not that you can see much of the dune, but the soil is sandy and the vegetation is a bit sparse. I was able to add a pheasant and another squirrel to my wildlife list, and looking towards the centre of the dune I spotted the ears and head of a deer, about 40 metres away. No people, though -- at least, not till I found a spot to relieve myself, and then one of them popped up out of nowhere, as they always do.

There's a trail around the perimeter of the dune and a boardwalk following the path of the old sand mine railway. I came out on another main road and decided to head for Hochst, where there was a station. This involved crossing yet another bridge, but Hochst, when I got there, was quite pleasant. There was an Old Town, which was medieval, and a New Town, which was merely mid-Victorian, with a sunken garden around the Schloss which was open to the public. I wandered around a bit and got a coffee before heading to the station, where I had nearly half-an-hour to wait before getting the train back to Frankfurt.

It was still only eleven AM when the train got in, so I decided to go and see the Museum of Caricatures near the Cathedral. But unfortunately this was closed for maintenance -- and they hadn't told Google -- so I thought I would continue my walk along the other side of the river. This took me through some interesting country, but after an hour I was happy to turn inland and locate a tram, which took me on a new route through the southern part of town, and eventually back to the station. I had been planning a trip to the Zoo, and I discovered it was open till seven, so off I went.

Frankfurt Zoo has an international reputation, but I found it a bit disappointing. Many of the exhibits simply weren't visible at all, and the layout and enclosures were very old-fashioned (some of them display their date of construction -- usually in the 1950s). But some things stood out. There was an indoor enclosure with an okapi and two huge giraffes, a few excellent birds, and a very good nocturnal house. Like Amsterdam, they have a (small) aquarium/insect/reptile house, which was pretty good of its kind. The monkeys were either missing or uninspired, but the antelopes were pretty good. After two hours, though, I had seen it all. 

Walked back to the U5 tram line, which was further than I thought, and so to home. Cooked mittwurst for dinner, which is an odd kind of skinless sausage that comes wrapped in plastic. I have bought way too much food again, and will probably have to leave some of it behind.

Love to all,

Jon.