It's a little surreal to think that I've started on a two month trek across Europe. I've been planning and dreaming of this for so long, that I know it will just fly by. It feels like I'm still in planning mode, even though the first city has already come and gone! Since I've been terrible at sharing lately, and still haven't finished posting about my Australia trip, I figured I'd try to record what I do in Europe as I wrap up each city. So, for the first one, Frankfurt!

Frankfurt was the perfect city to kickstart this adventure. Not too big, not too small, it gave me the time to adjust to the time difference, not speaking the language (although virtually everyone speaks English in Germany), and getting into the mindset of exploring. My first day in Frankfurt I only had a few hours since I was staying at a hostel in the Red Light District and didn't want to return after dark since I didn't know what it'd be like. I later learned it was no big deal, I had absolutely no issues staying in the area. But, my first day, I walked down to the river and alongside it until I hit Römerberg, the heart of the Old Town in Frankfurt. This pedestrian-only square held the City Hall and Paul's Church, along with numerous shops and cafes.

It was easily my favorite part of the city, it had such cute charm that I expected to see in Europe. All three days I started my day in Römerberg, and explored the rest of the city from there.

From Römerberg it was easy to walk into what could be considered the new part of town, with its numerous shops and restaurants. Making my way north, I would hit My Zeil, a large mall at the center of another pedestrian-only street, lined with stores. As many of the bloggers I follow are European, I'd heard of a few of the stores I was now seeing, so my first stop was Primark! A small backpack and round sunglasses later, I was exploring the rest of the street. It was such an interesting blend of old and new. Looking up Große Eschenheimer Street, which intersects with the pedestrian-only shopping street, I could see the side entrances into Galeria Kaufhof, a gigantic, 7 story department store, and an old watch tower (Eschenheimer Turm), built in 1428!!! The tower was built as a gate into the city, when a wall had been erected around all of what was then Frankfurt. This is just one of the fun facts one learns when taking part in a walking tour. But it was such a strange site to see, especially after learning that the tower was in fact original.

I spent my last two days walking around the city, on both sides of the river, being a total tourist, complete with a selfie stick. At the Frankfurt Cathedral (St Bartholomew's), I climbed 398 steps (29 floors!!), and then sat for 10 minutes to allow my heart to slow down. The view was unlike anything else though.

I rode an escalator from the first floor directly to the fifth. It was terrifyingly long and high up. It's inside the My Zeil mall, which has some very unique architecture in general.

And because at the end of the day, I really am a mild shopaholic, I found a store that has basically translated my personality and love for colors and useless things into products. Check out www.pylones.com. They're actually from Paris, so I will certainly be paying a visit to the main store when I get there.

And come on, I stayed at the Red Light District. That was an adventure in and of itself.

And a few more fun facts I learned during the walking tour:

There is a difference between apple wine, which Frankfurt is known for, and hard apple cider. Since I'm such a connoisseur, I obviously had no idea. Apple wine is made with 100% apples while hard apple cider is made with only 25% apples. What's the rest? Kiwis. Ya, I totally guessed that.........

A lot of the "old" buildings we see are fake. Because more than half of Frankfurt was destroyed in WWII, a lot of the buildings have been either completely rebuilt or heavily reconstructed since the 1950s. I've listed the real ones in the caption of each photo.

Spider-Man. Anyone notice the Spider-Man hanging from one of the brothels? There are 7 Spider-Man statues all over Frankfurt. Due to its skyline resemblance to Manhattan, Frankfurt is sometimes referred to as Main-hattan. So an artist believed that it should also get its fair share of comic book characters, building Spider-Man statues and setting them up around the city.

Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany. At the end of WWII, the Americans wanted to make Frankfurt the new capital, as they had established numerous strongholds in the city already. However, it was later agreed that there would be a provisional capital, Bonn, which lasted from 1949 to 1990, when Berlin has been sufficiently rebuilt to become the capital once again. The result was that all the banks and trading remained in Frankfurt, while the political life eventually moved back to Berlin.

At the end of three days, I'd understood the draw that Frankfurt has for so many people. It easily mixes in the old with the new, allowing tourists to experience old Germany with today's modern expectations. But now it's on to the next city of this adventure, Berlin!

Starting Off an Adventure in Frankfurt, Germany

Natalia Persegani

Starting Off an Adventure in Frankfurt, Germany

Visiting Berlin, Germany: Part 1

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Natalia Persegani