Silent night in Frankfurt

It’s a cold night in Frankfurt. We were walking along silent streets where Christmas displays in the shop windows are providing a bit of light and comfort. As I walked by, I looked up towards the facade of the house where Goethe was born in 1749. But due to the cold, we chose to enter a chocolate shop across the street.

Goethe house.

The Römerberg square was almost deserted. The beautiful Altes Rathaus somehow looked smaller when there is not a crowd of people in front of it. There wasn’t even a line of people squeezing the fish handle on the small Minerva well.

Römerberg square.

We enter the solemn Alte Nikolaikirche in the end of the square. It’s the day before Luther’s birthday, so he was the obvious poster boy in there.

We walked east along the pillars of Bendergasse to arrive at the imposing cathedral, the red exterior beautifully lit with the Domturm shining brightly into the night as the eye of Sauron. I tried in vain to find the skullcap of St. Bartholomew in the chapel, but grew restless and continued north along small alleys filled with Christmas decorations.

Cathedral interior.

Arrived at the Hauptwache square just as the bells of Katharinenkirche starts to ring. I rested my weary feet next to the weird statue where David sits on the head of Goliat, and gazed at the square.

Old meets new at Hauptwache.

The old bricks of the church as well as the baroque Guard House stands in stark contrast to the shining skyscrapers behind them. A combination of old and new, as things should be.