Words of Interest

This weekend, I travelled over to Frankfurt to spend some time with Blujay in a trip that had been planned for some time. I left after work, snaffling the new delicious Philly Cheese Steak Burger from McDonald's which is surprisingly good. They forgot my salt and shake fries though, which was a little frustrating. Still, it turned up on time and I managed to get my way to the station pretty speedily. The four-hour journey was generally fine, although we did get into Frankfurt about half an hour late as a technician was called to mend the train just outside Wolfsburg. This meant that by the time I hit Frankfurt, it was already 11:15pm, and very few bars in the city were open. Still, we did manage to squeeze in a couple of pints at craft beer bar naiv, where we managed to sit inside and have a nice catch-up. Now that the Brewdog has closed, it's amazing to think there are only really two craft beer bars in the whole city, but there you go. I had a pretty stunning 7.8% Estonian porter as my second beer, while my first IPA wasn't too bad either. These were my third and fourth beers of the evening as I had drunk two on the train. I started drinking a little later than intended as I didn't want to offend the rather prim woman with five kids sat next to me.

We went back to Blujay's shortly after this as there were few other options. His local bar used to stay open until 3am but it has now been rebranded and shuts at midnight, meaning there was little prospect of staying out much later. Still, with an early-ish start planned for the next day, going back now was probably for the best. When we got back, we chatted a little more and looked out wistfully at a Mercure Hotel that has been closed down for about four years. The next night, we decided to do a little urban exploring and it was odd to see the furnishings inside all still largely intact. The car park has been taken over by a local car dealership, but it was still a little creepy walking around the exterior, even if we couldn't venture beyond the locked double doors.

We woke up around 10:30am on Saturday and after a tasty breakfast of Brotchen with Ja! Gouda and Salami, we made our way out at around 11:45am. The traditional Saturday market had already packed up as everything in Germany seemingly has to happen early, but at least we managed to catch our train, which was fortunately stationed on the platform nearest us. This meant we no longer had to yomp over the bridge in order to catch it, making the experience far less stressful. Once we changed at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, we had a little walk around to spot the exits where all the people take drugs. One was closed for engineering works, but there was a smashed green bottle over the escalator. There must have been some sort of Caribbean, or maybe Ethiopian, festival going on too as there were loads of people wearing bright red, yellow and green. We never did get to the bottom of it. Once we arrived in Mainz though, having taken a rather crowded RB service from the exciting far platform 24, we did bump into a cosplayer cat who was heading to the anime convention in nearby Mannheim. I hope she didn't get on the seats.

The first thing that struck me about Mainz was the range of good-looking restaurants. It seemed like a relaxed city, although there was a drunk man hugging a bottle of vodka as we traversed the main bus station. Once past him, we saw a few interesting sights including the Fastnachtsbrunnen, a bronze fountain bedecked with more than 200 whimsical bronze figures. This was on Schillerplatz, which on its southern end was the impressive Osteiner Hof, in front of which was a blood donation van. As we walked along, we were delighted to see the Mainzelmännchen Ampel, which like the Berlin equivalent, seem to be a unique character associated to the city. These little podgy men with glasses feature on most of the traffic lights and add a little whimsy to proceedings.

Our first port of call was the Mainzer Weinfrühstück, wine stalls that are set up on three of the main squares every Saturday. Running from March through November, these wine stands sell glasses of local wine from 9am to 3pm. It does feel frightfully early, but there were loads of people enjoying the sun in Tritonplatz, which was the most convenient destination for us. We grabbed a glass of wine - I had a 200ml Chardonnay and Blujay a 100ml Sparking Rose - and hung around the square as all of the tables were busy. The wine was local and delicious, I can certainly see why the locals are proud. We were having such a good time that we decided to grab a second glass, after which we perched on a circular concrete wall and ate a fried chicken sandwich to try and sober up. I would have liked to stay a little longer, but there were sights to see and the stand was closing up soon. It was great just chatting and chilling in such good ambience though and it was hard to think of something similar happening in the UK.

Our next stop was the Gutenberg Museum Moved. Gutenberg was born and died in Mainz, which was also where he invented the printing press that bears his name. The museum was twinned with the Natural History Museum for some reason and the ticket was a combined one. We checked out the Gutenberg Museum first, which was a little superficial in a way, with most of the main points being reiterated and reiterated. The ground floor discussed the media in general, spotlighting the importance of the printing press and how it changed society. We were given a white piece of card that triggered a slide show when you placed it under a special optical device. The highlight though was the two original Gutenberg Bibles from 1454. It was a pleasure to see these 42-line Bibles, with each one coloured in a slightly different way as it was only the black text that was printed. There were spaces left for later colouration, with those who bought the Bibles able to get it as ornately as they would like. On the first floor, we got a live demonstration of the printing press, while we also got to watch a movie about it too. This was in English as this was the decision of the majority of the people in the cinema, although I was happy to do it in German too. The Gutenberg Museum then led on to an exhibition about insects, which then evolved into one about wolves when we moved downstairs again. There were two stuffed wolves here along with some boards detailing basic knowledge about the wolf. At one point, there was a game where you could stick the head and tail of a wolf together depending on whether it was being aggressive, submissive or the like, so I stuck two heads together like a cat-dog monstrosity. This was fun for a short while, as was the huge elephant in the foyer. This part of the museum detailed paleontology, geology and the like and while I am sure it was interesting, I did study this at university so thought it best to leave.

We spent much of the next hour walking around the city centre, spotting things like the green skip with the word 'Christ' on it - he died for your bins. We walked up to the austere red-bricked Landtag of Rheinland-Pfalz and took in the River Rhein, walking along its banks and through a beach-based bar which looked expensive and a little tacky. We saw the Eisenmann underneath a concrete car park and took in the wonderful Marktplatz with its wonderful ornate fountain and Heunensaule. This has been standing in the market place since 1975, but the 16-ton stone column is believed to be over one thousand years old. Very near to this is the Mainz Cathedral, built between 975 and 1009. Six monarchs were crowned in this cathedral, so it was a very important building. We were fortunate to be able to see it 15 minutes before closing, but we did have to run around it somewhat. We checked out the vaults and just about were able to sneak into the courtyard before the man shut us out. We made it by a matter of seconds. The Late Gothic cloisters are among the highlights, adding a real sense of space and atmosphere to the building, while the massive tombs of archbishops were particularly wondrous.

Outside and round the corner is the Nagelsaule, which was erected during the First World War as part of the "war nailing" fundraiser campaign. In exchange for a donation, you were allowed to hammer one nail into an oak column. There are three pillars around this column, representing Bravery, Unity and Charity. After this, we headed over to the Altstadt at Kirschgarten. This is a tiny square very near the cathedral and it was hard to believe that this was once the very centre of the city. Dating from the 15th century, it's red and white timber buildings are splendid, and it feels like a different world even though it's so close to the modern shopping streets. There were some interesting boutique shops down here too.

After this, we were feeling quite hungry, so we headed back to the station looking for some food. As we did, we walked past the theatre and the statue of Gutenberg standing across from it. Interestingly, we don't know what Gutenberg looked like, so the old man ideal could be very far from the truth. Outside here there was a pro-Palestine demonstration, which looked like it had been there for some time. 

We were headed to a Mexican place called El Burro, which seemed to have tremendous reviews on both Trip Advisor and Google. It was quite a big place and certainly busy, but we managed to snag a place outside. We both had chimichangas with local beer and they were delicious. I had the barbacoa and the beef was tender and cooked to perfection. It was served with a side salad and three dips, including a spicy chipotle one. The cool sour cream took the heat off it and there was a honey mustard one too, that went great with the lettuce. I can see why this was a top choice and the German to Spanish translations over the speakers in the bathroom certainly added an interesting touch. We had read about a craft beer called Schwarze Rose Tap-Up near the station, so after food, we decided to check this out. Alas, when we got there, it seemed to be a nail studio. Undeterred, we headed back to the main railway station via Eulchen Brauerei, which seemed to be set into some fortress-like walls. This was obviously a cellar of some kind, but Blujay fancied heading back to Frankfurt and this worked for me. This place looked like a good wine cellar too, so definitely one to check out should we come back to Mainz again. 

The train back to Frankfurt was uneventful, but the evening became a little fragmented after this. Blujay wanted to try some of the gay bars, so we headed up to Lucky's, which we discovered was in a shopping mall with limited access. We eventually found it and grabbed a drink, having been given a plastic card upon which our tab was stored. This turned out to be a bear bar and the atmosphere was rather pleasant, with smooth pop hits and a lot of neon lighting. After this, we were going to check out Central, but it seemed incredibly busy. Walking past Pink, we saw it was all boarded up and were worried what kind of establishment it was, so we ended up back in naiv again. However, they only had outside tables this time and it had started to rain. The waitress came quickly for our beer and we weren't ready to decide. Then, she didn't really come back and we must have waited for about a quarter of an hour. After this, we decided to give up the ghost and head back to Central. Upon walking in, we were hit by a deluge of smoke and no possibility of getting a seat so we decided to cut our losses and head back to Blujay's place. We could have gone to a place called the Birmingham Pub, which was selling kebabs for €4.99 (the only place I have ever seen in Germany selling anything the British way with €0.99) but it did look a little grim. In the end, we called off at the convenience store at Blujay's station to grab some crisps and watched videos for the rest of the evening. I demolished nearly all of the crisps, because I'm fat.

I was aiming to get up at around the same time on Sunday, but Saturday had been an intense day so we slept another hour. This meant we couldn't go to the flea market near Blujay's house but after another hearty breakfast and a shower, we were headed back into Frankfurt, destination Hanau. My train back to Spandau was due to call off here so I thought I'd just pick it up from there, opting to get an additional reservation to ensure I had a place to sit (I did have a reservation from Frankfurt, but they cancel if you don't claim them within 15 minutes of the journey starting). Rewboss describes Hanau as a 'difficult city to love' and that's fair - the place was pretty much decimated in World War Two. Still, the centre does have a big market area and a pleasant town hall. It is dominated by the statue of the Brothers Grimm, who were both born in Hanau. Statues dedicated to their fairy tales are dotted throughout and I was glad to discover the Little Red Riding Hood one outside the Walloon-Dutch church. Interestingly, this was split into two sections, one for worshipers who spoke French and one for worshipers who spoke Dutch. Only the smaller, Dutch speaking one, survives and is still in use while the French side is an open-air ruin.

Only seven of the city's original buildings survive, but the old street plans can be seen. This is split into the Neustadt with its linear perpendicular streets and the Altstadt, which is more higgledy-piggledy. Where the old city wall is marked and if you go into a narrow side street, you can see a little bit of this wall remaining. The Altstadt has definitely been more faithfully restored - the Neustadt is largely soulless buildings built in the 1950s, including a shopping centre that features in a Rewboss video as it was the old Galeria Kaufhof. This closed down and there has been a huge debate with what to do with the building. The city ended up buying it themselves for €25million and have converted it into a place for performances and pop-up shops. As it was Sunday, it wasn't open of course, but it was only protected by three pieces of wood laid across the door handles. Breaking in would be easy, which suggests there's little in there. Going back to the Altstadt, we did see the red and white gabled Old Town Hall, which is now the Goldsmiths' House. There are quite a few narrow little lanes to get lost down here, which then open up into a modern conference centre and the Stadthalle. Once here, I realised time was running out to get my train, so we waited for a #2 bus, hoping it would be on time. Fortunately it was, and after a frustrating five minutes waiting for the driver to have a cigarette, I got to Hanau Hauptbahnhof with about 20 minutes to spare. Blujay headed off, I caught my train, and it was a rather uneventful four-hour journey back.

The only other thing to mention was what we did when we arrived in Hanau. Getting off at Hanau West, we saw a nice red waterwheel sculpture and went to Subway as we were hungry. The Philly Cheese Steak Panini was surprisingly good, if a mite spendy, but we were satiated as we embarked on a 20-minute walk to Schloss Philippsruhe. This is on the outskirts of the city and sits on the river. It looks rather palatial as the golden gates loom up in front of you. We sat outside on the grass for a bit, but it started to cloud over, so we headed inside the modest museum. I wasn't allowed to take my bag in, so I had to try and fit it into one of their tight lockers. Alas, it was too big, so I had to decant my valuables into Blujay's locker and just leave my bag unattended. Even though Hanau has quite a high murder rate, I thought it would be okay here. The ground floor was an interesting look at the history of the town from various perspectives, while some of the rooms upstairs were exquisite and resplendent. Alas, the second floor was being renovated so we couldn't see the paper theatre (Kleine Buhnen, Grosse Welt) while the room dedicated to the Grimms contained a few personal artifacts and information you could read on Wikipedia. There was a kids' fairy tale room advertised by a weird looking unicorn fursuiter with a horn too big for its body but exquisite golden hooves, but I thought it would be odd if I gatecrashed that party. So, with time pressing and the need to get to the train, we left the museum after about 50 minutes to catch the #10 bus into the city centre. It was here we began the aforementioned tour, realising pretty quickly, that there wasn't too much to see.

It has certainly been a great weekend and although tiring, travelling is definitely what I live for. Last week was a typical week aside from this, although there does seem to be many demands for my time right now. It was disappointing from the writing front, having two of my best stories rejected by different anthologies, and I am pondering whether I should take a short break from writing. However, with the relentless march of AI and my staunch opposition to it, I fear the days of writers could be numbered and I want to make the most of the time I have left. I guess we'll see how I feel about things in the coming days and weeks.