Frankfurt + daytrips in Germany and elsewhere

[yubnub]

The high point of Mainz is it's historic romanesque cathedral. The exterior was partially covered in scaffolding

For some reasons medieval Germans decided to do things differently than the rest of Europe and put the entrances of their cathedral's on the side rather than on the west front. The main west front of most German romanesque cathedral's usually have bulging towers or apses where in France or Britain you would find large doors!!!
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Mainz cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

Godrays coming into the crossing space
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Mainz cathedral interior by barnyz, on Flickr

The nave, a little simple in decoration compared to romanesque cathedral's in Britain or France but no less grand and impressive
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Mainz cathedral interior by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Mainz, St Peter's. Again the exterior was clad in scaffolding but the interior was stunning and un-expected (and the rococco decorations in total contrast to the cathedral which I had left a few minutes before). There were a few other amazing baroque churches in Mainz that were also either shut of covered in scaffolding. Well I will surely have to go back

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Mainz St Peter interior by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

My next day trip was to Wiesbaden which is just across the Rhine and very near to Mainz. The town is home to many Americans according to wiki as it has a large US army base but I didn't hear or see any sign of them. It seemed totally German to me and also a really suprising and wonderful place. As a spa town it's not really that old compared to Mainz but it's hard to tell

The historic skyline is quite impressive (huge version on flickr)
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Wiesbaden, skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

The combination of townhall and neo-gothic church is stunning imo
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Wiesbaden Rathaus by barnyz, on Flickr

The townhall or Rathaus as they call it (correct me if im wrong, there always seem to be more than one town hall in every place i visit)
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Wiesbaden Rathaus by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

The neo-gothic Marktchurch

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Wiesbaden Marktkirche by barnyz, on Flickr

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Wiesbaden, Marktkirche interior by barnyz, on Flickr

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Wiesbaden, Marktkirche by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

The impressive looking Kurhaus now a casino> I dont gamble so I didn't go inside
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Wiesbaden Kurhaus panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Wiesbaden Kurhaus by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Two other interesting churches:

Another neo-gothic church St Bonifatius, the large piazza outside seemed to be where all the drunks hang out and felt a little uncomfortable being there
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Wiesbaden, St. Bonifatius by barnyz, on Flickr

The Russian Orthodox church of Saint Elizabeth. Having never been to Russia Ive not seen many Russian orthodox churches. This one is on a hill on the edge of Wiesbaden and a bit of walk to get too but well worth it. There was a traditional looking Russian wedding taking place so I couldn't go insde
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Wiesbaden, Saint Elizabeth by barnyz, on Flickr

[openlyJane]

What an exciting new adventure. What takes you to Frankfurt?

[yubnub]

One thing Ive noticed as ive been researching where to go next is that Germany is full of palaces, they're everywhere, in particular there are many astounding baroque palaces. As the baroque never really took off in the UK I always find it especially interesting. Wiesbaden has its own impressive baroque palace on the southen edge of the town sitting on the banks of the Rhine. It is currently a conference center and was closed to visitors but it did have a really nice cafe

The facade that faces the River Rhine and also where the cafe is located
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Wiesbaden, Biebrich Palace by barnyz, on Flickr

The garden facing facade, there is a huge landscaped garden complete with ponds and mock castles
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Wiesbaden, Biebrich Palace by barnyz, on Flickr

Another panorama just to give an idea of the size of it
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Wiesbaden, Biebrich Palace panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by openlyJane

What an exciting new adventure. What takes you to Frankfurt?

I got lucky and got a job here with an English speaking company. I realised a few years ago that I was never going to be rich enough or have enough free time to visit everywhere I wanted to go so I had the idea of working abroad to kind of kill two birds with one stone (if that makes sense).

Frankfurt is really ideal as its so well connected you can really go anywhere. Most of western Germany is doable as a day trip on the trains and a few other countries are easy to reach as well (Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxumbourg and Holland are all within a few hours on the train).

[yubnub]

Würzburg is about 2.5 hours from Frankfurt and is somewhere I have wanted to visit for many years mainly because it is home to many buildings by the famous German baroque architect Balthasar Neumann including the UNESCO world heritage site of the Würzburg Residence

some panorama's of Würzburg Residence. Photography is not allowed inside but it is worth going in as it has one of finest staircases ever built anywhere in the world

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Würzburg Residence panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg Residence panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg Residence panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg Residence panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Würzburg is situated in a deep valley and has a fine historic skyline and plenty of excellent historic buildings making it ideal for panorama shots . It was heavily bombed in WW2 but the residents have dont a great job at rebuilding as it's really hard to tell

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Würzburg skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg skyline panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Würzburg, some more normal shots. I had always looked forward to visiting Würzburg but when I got there it was a little bit disappointing. For starters there was a huge car park right in front of the Residenz which somewhat spoiled the splendor of it and there also seemed to be car parks everywhere else such as at the back of the cathedral. In general the city seemed a little choked with cars. Also every church was either shut or had a wedding going on so I didn't get to see some of the interiors I was looking forward to so I will certainly have to go back next year once they re-open the cathedral

The cathedral looks magnificent but was shut for renovation
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Würzburg Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

The Neumünster had some event going on with lots of people in interesting uniforms
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Würzburg Neumünster by barnyz, on Flickr

The Käppele is on a hill on the outskirts of the city, you have to walk up many steps to get there but you get a nice view from the top. There was a wedding in progress so I didn't get to go inside.
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Würzburg Käppele by barnyz, on Flickr

A view toward the Käppele from the fortress
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Würzburg view by barnyz, on Flickr

Fortress Marienberg, much bigger than I expected but well worth the hike up for some stunning views over the city
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Würzburg, Fortress Marienberg by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Würzburg, a few more shots of the amazing views over the city
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Würzburg skyline by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg skyline by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Würzburg, a couple more shots of Balthasar Neumann's stunning palace
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Würzburg Residenz by barnyz, on Flickr

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Würzburg Residenz by barnyz, on Flickr

[the man from k-town]

beautiful photos! i also wanna visit mainz and wiesbaden soon for my first time .

[Discu]

Thank you for the great pics and your comments about them. I always enjoy it when posters tell little stories around their photos.

Originally Posted by yubnub

The Neumünster had some event going on with lots of people in interesting uniforms

They are students from a Studentenverbindung.

[Mannesmann]

Thank you for these photos, I think that Germany should be more present over here, is such an underrated country.

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by the man from k-town

beautiful photos! i also wanna visit mainz and wiesbaden soon for my first time .

Thanks, I really recommend both places. They are very near to each other and you could maybe do both in one day if you got up very early. Also they are in the same travel zone so you can buy a ticket from Frankfurt that you can use in both places. I look forward to seeing some more pictures of these places in a future thread

Originally Posted by Discu

Thank you for the great pics and your comments about them. I always enjoy it when posters tell little stories around their photos.



They are students from a Studentenverbindung.

thanks for the link, that explains it. The variety of costumes was really fascinating and seeing people dressed like that in Würzburg added to the historical interest of the place. It was a little strange to see them all and a little unexpected as Germany always appears to be such a modern forward thinking place that sometimes when you encounter tradition and history it seems bizarre!

Originally Posted by Mannesmann

Thank you for these photos, I think that Germany should be more present over here, is such an underrated country.

I totally agree, i think Germany is really under-rated as a tourist destination in general. It's history of being many seperate countries in the past has left it with a great legacy of interesting palaces and castles everywhere that few other countries can match. Even the more sombre history of WW2 also adds to its interest as it is very interesting to see how wonderfully the country has recovered from such devastation. One thing i have found is that every time i visit one place i always end up finding another 3-4 places nearby that I had never heard of before that suddenly I realise I must visit. My list of place to go is getting much bigger!!!

[Tiaren]

You are right, really underrated.
So may I bring this Fairy Tale Germany-thread here on Skyscrapercity to your attention, which sadly is almost completely overlooked...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1535102

Maybe you find yourself some new destinations in Germany, yubnub!

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by Tiaren

You are right, really underrated.
So may I bring this Fairy Tale Germany-thread here on Skyscrapercity to your attention, which sadly is almost completely overlooked...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1535102

Maybe you find yourself some new destinations in Germany, yubnub!

thanks for the link to an excellent thread, actually I never once before entered that sub section of the forum otherwise I would certainly have looked in it before. Great pictures, this creates more places to put on my list! I might need another life time to visit even half of the places on my list