Possible trip to Frankfurt (or Antwerp)

Crowthorne

Crowthorne

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It's been a while since I last travelled overseas (2018 to be precise), but would like to have another go. As much as I want to revisit Koln and Duisburg, it's probably also good to visit somewhere new, so am looking at Frankfurt, both for the zoo and the Senckenberg museum, possibly the Palmengarten if there is time. My main draws are the Grzimek House at the zoo and the Messel fossils at the museum. The trip is only in very early stages, but if all works out, could be in October this year or early next year.

I've only been to Germany once before (for Koln and Duisburg), and did find that area easy enough to get around and be understood (my German is very basic but enough not to starve!). Frankfurt is a new area to me, so was wondering if any locals or other visitors could give some pointers on what it's like to visit the Frankfurt area?

I can't drive, so will be dependent on public transport, is this easy to navigate in this region? This will likely just be for travel to/from the airport, unless the zoo and museum are far out from the city centre?

Will language be a barrier? Koln seemed to be pretty touristy, so when my poor German failed, generally everyone could easily switch to English, but is this different in Frankfurt?

As a lone female traveller, is the region safe?

Also food, very important! Am assuming the zoo and museum have cafes/restaurants

Is there anything not to miss at the zoo and the museum? I have a tendency to somehow miss bits of zoos on first visits, no matter how large or small, so it might be good to know if there are any animals or areas to make sure to find! Is the Grzimek House open/are there better times of day to visit?

Are there any hotels that can be recommended at all?

Thanks in advance all :)
 
Crowthorne said:
I can't drive, so will be dependent on public transport, is this easy to navigate in this region? This will likely just be for travel to/from the airport, unless the zoo and museum are far out from the city centre?
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Public transport is easy, even if you prefer walking, taking the Underground in Frankfurt saves a considerable amount of time ;)

Crowthorne said:
Will language be a barrier? Koln seemed to be pretty touristy, so when my poor German failed, generally everyone could easily switch to English, but is this different in Frankfurt?
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Frankfurt is Germany's financial capital with plenty of expats, so most of the people will speak (some) English.

Crowthorne said:
As a lone female traveller, is the region safe?
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Generally yes, but the direct vicinity of the main station is to be avoided (Bahnhofviertel). The main station is safe, though there is always a chance of pick pockets as in any major city.

Crowthorne said:
Also food, very important! Am assuming the zoo and museum have cafes/restaurants
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The Zoo currently does not have a proper restaurant, just some smaller stands. But do not despair, there is plenty of good food around in the city. German bakeries offer a lot of good stuff. The local chain of Huck bakeries is one I would certainly recommend, but you can't really go wrong (especially compared to the standard British fare :p). For eating in general the Leipziger Strasse (around the corner from Senckenberg) is filled with good (international) restaurants, I always recommend the Tibetan restaurant there ;). The area around Bornholm also has plenty of food options.

I can't help you much with hotels, I always stayed in Airbnb's when I worked in Frankfurt,

Crowthorne said:
Is there anything not to miss at the zoo and the museum? I have a tendency to somehow miss bits of zoos on first visits, no matter how large or small, so it might be good to know if there are any animals or areas to make sure to find! Is the Grzimek House open/are there better times of day to visit?
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The Grzimek only opens at 10:00, one hour after the rest of the zoo. The lights might still be on at 10:00, so it is good to be there then. In general most species aren't particularly hard to find in the building, you just need patience and let your eyes adapt to the dark.
 
thanks for the initial thoughts all! Sounds like Frankfurt has a bit of a reputation :eek: Could it be any worse than some areas of London though? I commute into the capital a few times a week, so am somewhat used to big cities and their touristy/non touristy areas.

Other places I would like to get to sometime in Germany are Weltvogelpark Walsrode, Berlin (though that would have to be a longer trip), and maybe Wuppertal. If any of those are also doable by public transport as a long weekend from the UK then they could also be possibilities for another trip. (not to mention some of the other historic European zoos, like Antwerp, Vienna etc)
 
While the area around the train station isn’t amazing, Frankfurt is perfectly fine and safe basically 2 streets on, so you could very easily come from the airport with public transport, change at the main station (perfectly safe inside) and get to the zoo on the U-bahn (tube).
 
Crowthorne said:
New thanks for the initial thoughts all! Sounds like Frankfurt has a bit of a reputation :eek: Could it be any worse than some areas of London though? I commute into the capital a few times a week, so am somewhat used to big cities and their touristy/non touristy areas.
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I wouldn't think it is much different. Reading on Zoochat you get the impression that Frankfurt is a shadier part of Nairobi or Bogota :p. While I worked there I have never felt unsafe. We even had a colleague who used to stay in the Bahnhofsviertel and while he complained about how rundown it was and about the amount of drug abuse, I don't think he ever had any kind of incident.

Crowthorne said:
Other places I would like to get to sometime in Germany are Weltvogelpark Walsrode, Berlin (though that would have to be a longer trip), and maybe Wuppertal. If any of those are also doable by public transport as a long weekend from the UK then they could also be possibilities for another trip. (not to mention some of the other historic European zoos!)
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You should check the Eurostar, the direct connection to Antwerp/Rotterdam/Amsterdam is pretty good. You can visit Antwerp, Burgers' Zoo and a Dutch collection of your choice easily in a long weekend ;)
 
Crowthorne said:
thanks for the initial thoughts all! Sounds like Frankfurt has a bit of a reputation :eek: Could it be any worse than some areas of London though? I commute into the capital a few times a week, so am somewhat used to big cities and their touristy/non touristy areas.

Other places I would like to get to sometime in Germany are Weltvogelpark Walsrode, Berlin (though that would have to be a longer trip), and maybe Wuppertal. If any of those are also doable by public transport as a long weekend from the UK then they could also be possibilities for another trip. (not to mention some of the other historic European zoos, like Antwerp, Vienna etc)
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While Walsrode is a bit more difficult, Wuppertal, Berlin, Vienna and Antwerpen are perfectly doable as a weekend trip from the UK. Antwerpen Zoo is right next to Antwerpen station, which is about an hour from Brussels, so you could even take the Eurostar to get there on a normal weekend (I’ve done that in conjunction with Pairi Daiza over the May bank holiday)
 
The advantage of Antwerp is that it's close and can be done by train (I can and will fly, but much prefer to stay on the ground when possible!). It might even be a good way to ease into overseas travel, especially as I haven't even really UK travelled solo since before the pandemic.

Burger's is an interesting one, though I haven't really looked into Dutch zoos so much, Germany seems to be where many of the zoos are (and I did really enjoy my visits to Koln and Duisburg!)

I'll move this thread to Europe General as the scope could shift more :)
 
Interrail:
Regarding public transport, I have a Europe trip myself booked for next summer using solely Interrail as a means of transport. I have heard lots of good of good things from ZooChatters and friends alike about this mode of transport though you will have to reserve a seat for the Eurostar going into/ out of the country.

Antwerp, Wuppertal & Frankfurt:
Antwerp is my second stop next year (after Pairi) and I'm using Brussels as a base due to the direct train from London St Pancras. Cologne is around two hours from Antwerp so you could catch the train after your zoo visit for your nights in Cologne.

Using Cologne as a central hub for both Frankfurt & Wuppertal might be a good option as it's only under an hour between the Cologne & Frankfurt and half an hour for Wuppertal. It also be safer than staying in the likes of the Frankfurt.

Walsrode:
I think for the trip your planning personally, Walsrode is a little out of the way so it would be a bit of a stretch to make it work.

I hope at least some of this is of some use as I've only picked up this information in the last six months or so whilst planning myself.
 
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