Frankfurt am Main - now and 20 years ago

Frankfurt am Main - now and 20 years ago. An Italian restaurant in Westend Süd. A Weinschorle in Café Fahrtor. Swimming in the Waldsee outside of the city. What can we tell you this time? Is this visit also a highlight during this 9-days trip? Let us read!

After Prague, our trip continued towards Germany again. Our destination this time was Frankfurt am Main.

As an author and owner of this magazine, I have decided to write a reportage about visiting this city as a part of our 9-days family trip in 2025.

Why Frankfurt am Main? Well, there is something magic in that city. I was there two times before this time. The first time with my mother and my cousin. The second time alone. It was a business trip. 20 years ago I worked in Munich and I was asked to deliver something to another company in Frankfurt am Main. And the city offered me a perfect view this time just like before.

Is there any difference between this city 20 years ago and now? Is there any visible change? First of all, I must admit that my family did not like the city. I will try to give an explanation, little bit later in this article though. But first of all, I still like the city and I find it interesting as I did 20 years ago. There might be some visible changes because things are different than before. It is so in the whole world. Just look at this wonderful view from above. There we can see the Deutsche Bank Filiale towers and Westend Süd in the background.

The last night in Frankfurt am Main we spent in the part of the city called Westend Süd. We spontaneously visited an Italian restaurant called L’UNICO and we enjoyed a very good meal there. Everything looked great and fresh in this part of the city with many nice white houses.

The city with its own harmony and rhythm

The first day, or the afternoon, we spent walking around in the city. The Main Tower was the most prioritized goal. We were on the top of this high skyscraper and had a perfect view all around us. Like in Prague, we walked on the river bank and finally took a break at Café Fahrtor. There, a Weinschorle was a perfect refreshment while sitting and enjoying the view toward the Main, the river flowing through the city. Actually the name of this city means: Frankfurt on the Main.

This city is not like the old cities Warsaw and Prague, but it has its own properties. We were walking around just like in those other cities and we found interesting details such as statue of Dirk Nowitzki.

Not this professional basketball player only, but we also found a smaller, red statue of Overcoming Boundaries. In German: Grenze überwinden.

Now, let us go to the explanation about why my family did not like this city. It is about a part of the city which is not that far away from the statue of Dirk Nowitzki and the statue of Grenze überwinden.

Bahnhofsviertel

Somehow, without knowing all details about the city, we went through a street close to the central station. It was a street with people using drugs. They simple used needles, while sitting on the pavement. How is that possible? On the image below you can see the central station and just outside of its entrance, there is Bahnhofsviertel. Translated in English, it is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main close to the central station. There are different restaurants, smaller shops but also streets with people consuming drugs and the red light district.

However, in this magazine I am not going to write whether this quarter is bad or not. It is just an interesting part of our trip. But, what can we find only one kilometer from that place? It is exactly what we mentioned earlier in the article. The city has created its own harmony and keeps living with it.

The financial hub

As we can see, the central part of the city is easy to find. The skyscrapers like the building on the image above are visible and the majority of them are close to the Main Tower with the perfect view, but also close to the Bahnhofsviertel. The city of Frankfurt is the most important financial hub in continental Europe. Therefore you can find something special in the business part on the city.

The Euro Sculpture on Frankfurt (Main) Willy-Brandt-Platz is a 14-meter-tall sculpture of the Euro currency symbol surrounded by twelve yellow stars. It was created by artist Ottmar Hörl and it was inaugurated in 2001/2002. Before we leave the central part of the city, we have to mention the Hammering Man as one of Frankfurt´s most recognizable city symbols.

The Hammering Man has a motor-driven right arm. The sculpture hammers rhythmically on an imaginary anvil. Comparing to all other sculptures we have seen, this one is the only living one. That is how we can experience it.

Strandbad Langener Waldsee

The second day, the day before we visited the Italian restaurant in Westend Süd, we spent at the lake called Waldsee.

The light blue color and the water temperature were very attractive in this lake. We were swimming and jumping in the deep blue water. Jumping was possible from a floating dock where the water was around six meters deep. Some people living in that area said that the water was unusually warm and that was probably because it was not raining in three weeks.

This image was taken on the beach. Sunshining and enjoying a perfect summer weather together with some geese was different, but interesting.

From the car parking this place looks as a very attractive one. You can play beach volleyball and you can stay some days for camping. The nature is wonderful and great for resting from the city.

Some last words from this city?

Let us think. What have we seen in Frankfurt am Main. Did we experience anything new this time comparing to the summer 20 years ago? Well, every trip has something special. Binz and Prora, Warsaw and Prague have been perfect destinations this time. Frankfurt am Main must also get some great points. We have chosen to give it a high point because it is a little bit different comparing to the earlier adventures. It has an own rhythm and we want to end this article with 4 more pictures for you.