A Dedication To Frankfurt

Home is where the heart is

The bags were packed, the move has taken place, and in the space of a morning I am no longer a Frankfurt dweller. Residing in the apparently rival area of Offenbach for now, while I'm excited for what the future will bring in our eventual move to Stuttgart, my return to studies and some extensive travel in Australia and France in February, it was a little sad saying goodbye to the city I came to as a stop-gap but very quickly realised was the perfect home.

I'm going to miss so many things about Frankfurt; I'll miss Sachsenhausen and all the bars within it offering 1 euro shots, karaoke, strange Pop and Balkan parties and endless hens and bucks nights and stumbling home from it all in the early hours of the morning. I'll miss the cafes and restaurants in Bornheim that served me countless currywursts, schnitzels, chocolate ice creams and cocktails. I'll miss the Apfelwein in all of it's wonder, hot and comforting in the winter and cold and refreshing in the summer. I'll miss the fantastic skyline that the locals take such pride in and surround with buildings of historical significance to make a wonderful contrast. I'll miss the festivals every weekend for different countries that were in fact the same every time (Croatian festival! Want a wurst? American festival! Want a wurst? And so on...).

I'll miss the convenient day trips that took me to Heidelberg, Wiesbaden, Cologne and Nurnberg to see some of Germany's most beautiful sites within a few hours. I'll miss being able to walk from my house on one side of the city to the other, with the love locks slowly popping up on the bridge in the middle. I'll miss the forests that surround the city so closely and provided us with lovely summer days filled with space and relaxation (and which re-introduced me to cycling). I'll miss the trains that took me straight to Prague in 5 hours, Bruges in 5, Paris in 4, Amsterdam in 4 and Basel in 3. And most of all I'll miss the people I met who had such interesting stories and inspired me and taught me how important genuine friends are.

The famous skyline

It has been such a fantastic nine months and that time was responsible for turning what was once a feeling that I would like to live in Germany some day to the knowledge that this will be my long-term home. For that Frankfurt will always have a place my heart and should the opportunity ever arise to move back here those bags will be re-packed within seconds. While it wasn't specific to Frankfurt, this was the place that taught me about German culture, introduced me to their language and while I continue to discover new things about the country almost daily this city will always be the place I learnt it all first.

To those considering a move to Frankfurt, I couldn't recommend it enough. It gives you a brilliant taste of German life in a city small enough to work your way around quickly but big enough to give you entertainment, activities and restaurants that will make every weekend feel like you're discovering something new. And along with all of this you have the rest of Europe right on your doorstep, something I hope never to take for granted.

Bis bald Frankfurt!

xx