The best time to see German cities of the south west is on weekends. For nothing will get in your way...cars are nowhere, businesses aren't open, joggers are just enough to say 'morgen' to (though joggers seem a particularly unresponsive bunch!) After a respectable hour, though, you can wander into a Kaffee Haus and drink wonderful coffee along with Apfelstrudel, or whatever else in the bakery/cake line takes your fancy.
Frankfurt is a wonderful place. You are immediately struck by the architecture. Much of it is old in style, or rebuilt in such a fashion, but even many of the contemporary buildings are quite stylish. Sorry to prattle on about buildings, but they are really lovely, and what else is there to do on a weekend in Frankfurt but look at buildings? Well...you could go to one of the many art galleries and museums...they, at least, are open. Or take a boat cruise down the River Main. Or, best of all, of course, you could sit yourself down at a table in a Cafe, and look for an old lady to speak to. Why an old lady? Well, they like talking...and in German, and slowly, so that you have a decent chance of keeping abreast of the conversation.
Frankfurt certainly has the history and Platzen and classic Germanic style houses. But it is Freiburg down the track a bit south that really takes die Kueche. An amazing large town with all mod cons and buildings that look as though they were built hundreds of years ago...but which have probably been erected since the war, since the town was flattened in 1945. 'Alles war kaput', as they say.
Bicycles are everywhere. I was convinced they had one of those clever schemes going where you can borrow a bike at one bike station, ride it to where you want to to, and leave it for someone else. Someone told me that this was not the case, but this is one occasion when I am going to trust my own first impressions. The only problem with Freiburg, lovely city that it is, is trying to find a place that sells German food! Being so close to the borders, it is heavily influenced by its surroundings which must explain why every second shop is a pizza joint of some description!
Freiburg has a very nice feel to it, which might explain that nearly everyone you speak to was born there and has never moved!
