I’ve been through Frankfurt a few times in the past 10+ years. I’ve had connections, stopovers and even originates a return from Europe there once and yet I’d never really had a chance to explore the city. With a meeting scheduled for Monday morning and not much desire to arrive in an hour beforehand I decided to fly over on Saturday night instead and actually check out the city a bit. Sure, it was only a few hours on a quiet Sunday afternoon, but I did get to actually see a few things.
So shortly after arrival I checked into my hotel, took a shower and then headed to the train station and into town to see what I could see. Turns out I managed to cover quite a bit in those few hours. The train into town from the airport is a quick 15-20 minutes and only €3,80, not bad at all. Plus it has the advantage of arriving in the rather reasonable Hauptbahnhof relatively centrally located in town. I do love exploring European train stations for some reason. Alas, not a ton of time so only a cursory walk-through of the train station as I headed out the doors and into the adventure.
Having no particular destination in mind and a very loose sense of what was available in town I really had no particular path to follow. A couple turns on random streets later I found myself on the bank of the Main River which cuts through the center of town. There are a number of bridges that cross the river, a few of which are pedestrian only and quite nice.
On a Sunday afternoon the river was also a prime destination for folks just out enjoying the day. Whether couples strolling along the banks or families out for a picnic, there were plenty of people out and about, taking advantage of what the river offers. 
Okay…enough of this wandering, I need some food. So I headed just off the river towards what appeared to be a reasonably large crowd of people. A couple minutes later I was smack in the middle of a square bustling with activity. There was one vendor selling pretzels and other breads off a cart and several restaurtants surrounding the square, all of them busy with what I guessed were mostly tourists, but, well I was one of those, too. Not quite willing to commit to a sit-down lunch I picked the stall that had large barrels set up out front as standing-only tables and placed an order. Well, really I just pointed at the plate of the guy who was being served as I walked up and nodded, suggesting that I wanted the same. And a bier. Definitely a bier. 
Rindwurst and beer for brunch? You betcha.
After I was sated with wurst and bier it was on to the Dom, the Cathedral just around the corner from the square. It still has the classic look that most Cathedrals seem to have. The interior, however, is a much different experience. It is beautiful inside and certainly is of the same classic style, but the construction quality screams of modern recreation. I’m guessing that has to do with the fact that it was damaged during the wars but it was a bit strange to see it that way.
A tour through the main cathedral in town? It wouldn’t be a visit to a European city without that.
At this point it was back out to the airport for a meeting. Yeah, I let work get in the way of the fun, but given that it was actually a work trip and that’s what paid for the ticket, it wasn’t so bad. And then back downtown, this time with a friend along, for dinner. Yeah, the place was relatively touristy, but the schnitzel was pretty good and the bier was served in 1L mugs. Really nothing at all wrong with that. 
Schnitzel for dinner. More or less a trifecta for a German city visit.
Hopping on a train back out of town.
Frankfurt was certainly quiet on this particular Sunday but overall a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Really rather pleasant.
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