Our enthusiasm for Singapore Airlines has been considerably dampened by our experience in Premium Economy. The seats are narrow and, although they do recline further than those in steerage, that advantage is countered by the leg rest, which comes up just enough to cut off circulation in the calf. We also had pleasant memories of the food service, but the dinner this time was virtually inedible. The service is still the best we’ve experienced, but the rest was a letdown.
That is not to say that I didn’t sleep: I did. But I can sleep hanging by my toes from the ceiling of a New York subway car. Sue couldn’t get comfortable and dozed and slept a bit. For reasons best known to the crew, they woke us a full 2 1/2 hours before landing to give us an inedible ham sandwich and a bit of water. Who knows what happened to Singapore Air?
If you don’t mind trudging a mile and a half through depressing corridors, Frankfurt Airport is the place for you. In fairness, though, everything went smoothly and we were soon on the S-Bahn toward the middle of town. The train passes through the Frankfurt town forest, one of the largest tracts of woodland left in Germany (which, admittedly, isn’t saying much), and right by the Waldstadion where the Eintracht football side play.
We are very pleased with our hotel. The JW Marriott is newish–and very large! Here it is rising over the nearby rooftops.
Although the interior design is sometimes a bit garish…
the whole place is very comfortable. They gave us a big corner room with two walls of glass looking out over the city from the 18th floor.
After the mandatory–and surprisingly difficult–search for a prepaid SIM card, we had a good and at least partially restorative siesta.
The hotel is located just off one of the main pedestrian shopping arteries, the Zeil, and next to a splashy new shopping mall called, for reasons best known to the developers, MyZeil. Here’s the facade. I suppose this is a representation of capitalism sucking the consumer into its vortex.
We took a long, orienting stroll through the middle of town, and were struck by many things. First, as always, by the sheer wealth evident in the major German cities, but also by how multicultural Frankfurt is. Far more than Munich, and not far behind Berlin–although the non-turkish Middle Eastern presence is even more pronounced here.
Frankfurt was essentially leveled by British bombing raids in 1943 and 1944. An effort to restore or reconstruct some of the historic old city commenced in the late 1940s. The centerpiece of that reconstruction, called the Römerberg, is a large square completely made up of half-timbered houses.
Just east of the Römerberg is Frankfurt’s gothic cathedral. Although bombs knocked out its roof and burned out much of the interior, the exterior miraculously survived.
We had a marvelous dinner at Lohninger, an Austrian restaurant.
Sue had Austrian cheese ravioli to start; I had one of the best dishes in a long time, mackerel sashimi with foil gras in a sauce with pickled vegetables, horseradish (Kren), and wasabi. Sue had an outstanding Wiener schnitzel, while I had Zwiebelrostbraten (a very modern take on a traditional beef dish) with whipped potatoes and asparagus. All of this was washed down with a terrific wine: a 2020 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling. Deep, persistent, complex, and with the lively acid we like.
Although we shouldn’t have, I couldn’t resist ordering Kaiserscharrn for dessert. Here, too, the traditional dish was modified a bit, with the pancakes more souffléd and less caramelized. A terrific end to a great meal!