Frankfurt and Hesse: A Full Immersion in Christmas

Frankfurt

We leave in the morning fairly early to reach Linate airport. First though we leave our car at the Parkingo car park in Linate and, quickly, the shuttle takes us to the very nearby terminal. Our Lufthansa flight departs with German punctuality. On arrival in Frankfurt, we quickly deal with the paperwork at the very efficient Hertz desk and, soon enough, we are in the car (Seat Altea), with our sat nav brought from home, looking for our hotel in the centre of Frankfurt. We discover, however, that the hotel, Hotel Neue Krame (booked through Venere) is in a very convenient central area. This is at the same time an advantage and a disadvantage: an advantage because we are right in the historic centre; a disadvantage because we are in a pedestrian area and there is no parking.

The public car park recommended by the establishment, at that time of the afternoon is completely occupied by the cars of the numerous visitors to the Christmas markets. Luckily we find another car park not far away though we have to drag our suitcases for a few hundred metres. Under the windows of our hotel, there are the wooden stalls of the markets. All we have to do is go down and find ourselves immersed in the Christmas market. And so we do, right after having left our suitcases in the room. The hotel is not very nice. Its only merit is the central location. The room and the bathroom are very cramped. Not to mention the extra bed for my daughter: a real dog bed. In the end, my daughter will sleep in the big bed with us (shame that she is 14 and, therefore, no longer so little).

We discover that Frankfurt, despite being one of the largest cities in Germany, preserves a characteristic and beautiful historic centre. The main square, called Romemberg is truly a jewel: a perfect setting for the Christmas market. Moreover, as true experts on Christmas markets, we can say that the Frankfurt market is one of the largest and best stocked in Germany. A shame that, towards the late afternoon, it becomes very crowded and you can hardly walk: here, the locals, after work usually meet at the market to sip in company a cup of Gluwein (mulled wine) or to eat something tasty. We therefore visit the market thoroughly; We eat a long wurstel for lunch and make the first purchases including a very good chocolate Bretzel. We know the classic savoury Bretzel very well but, covered in chocolate (your choice, milk, dark or white chocolate), we had never found them.

Here, instead, we did. In the late afternoon we return to the very nearby hotel for a nap and then go out for dinner. Unfortunately we make the mistake of not having booked a table. So, the characteristic German tavern that we have chosen as the location for dinner, is full. We find space in a second typical German restaurant (sharing the table with other people). We eat a mixed grill with 5 types of sausages. After dinner, we take a few captivating night photos with the thousand lights of the markets and then off to bed early because we are exhausted.

Kassel

Contrary to expectations, breakfast in our hotel is not that bad after all. Let's say medium quality. After breakfast we leave the hotel and continue our schedule. We get back in our car and set off for destination Fritzlar. It is a small German town, with a beautiful square with typical half-timbered houses. Unfortunately there is no market here and so we stay only a little, just the time to take a few photos. We then go towards Kassel where we will spend the night. First though we decide to go to Wilhelmshohe castle, on the outskirts of the city. The castle stands within a large park, in a beautiful green area. We discover however that, the interior of the castle is used exclusively as a Museum with various art collections, which could interest us little. So, no apartments to visit (as we like). For this reason we skip it and decide not to enter.

We head then towards our hotel in Kassel. Unfortunately we realise that Kassel is a modern city as it was entirely bombed during the Second World War and then rebuilt. No historic building has survived. The charm of the most characteristic Germany, the one we like, is therefore missing. And to think that our reliable Mondadori Guide spoke very well of the city, dedicating a couple of pages to it. This time it got it completely wrong. Our hotel in Kassel, Hotel Excelsior (don't be fooled by the sumptuous name) is better than the one in Frankfurt, besides being very cheap (euro 94.00 for the triple room, breakfast included). However the same is located a bit far from the market and, to be precise, near the station.

So in the afternoon we walk the route on foot to visit the market and the centre of Kassel; however, in the evening, we don't feel like doing the whole way on foot again (only Max will go to take the night photos). So, for dinner, we have to make do with the Burger King at the station (near the hotel there is nothing else decent). It doesn't matter: that's fine at least we save a little. The Kassel market, however, is not bad. Unfortunately the squares where it is placed (Konig Platz) are not very beautiful, for the reasons I have already talked about. However the stalls are not few and we make purchases here too. Indeed: here the prices seem lower than in the other markets (maybe because the city is ugly and not much targeted by tourists?). After dinner, we are tired this evening too and so we go straight back to the hotel.

Fulda

Breakfast at the Kassel hotel is a pleasant surprise; nothing to complain about. There is a beautiful buffet where almost nothing is missing (both sweet and savoury). We reach our car, conveniently parked in the private car park at the back of the hotel and set off for Rotenburg on Fulda (not to be confused with Rothenburg ob de Tauber). Rotenburg is truly a charming village, overlooking the river Fulda. The centre is very fairy-tale (there is even Rapunzel's house) with picturesque houses. The area overlooking the river is also very beautiful and we take many photos because the place deserves it. The Christmas market however is very small and then, at that time of the morning, it is still closed (it only opens in the afternoon). But it doesn't matter: here the beauty of the place is provided by the beautiful historic centre. It is really worth making a trip there.

Indeed, we advise everyone to avoid staying overnight in Kassel (ugly) but to book a hotel here in Rotenburg on Fulda (a decidedly more romantic place) which is located 50 km away from Kassel. We then visit another village full of charm, recommended by our Mondadori guide: Alsfeld. Here, the Christmas atmosphere is even more charged. The historic centre is small but very characteristic. Here Clarissa drinks yet another hot chocolate (a bit watered down) in the traditional Alsfeld market cup, more than anything to keep the cup itself as a souvenir. After Alsfeld, we go to the baroque city of Fulda where we will spend the night. our Hotel, Hotel Zum Ritter, is definitely the best of the trip. It is a historic building in a fairly central area.

The hotel has all the necessary comforts: convenient private parking, very large and well-furnished rooms, beautiful period-style rooms in the restaurant. First of all we decide to visit the very nearby castle of Fulda: Stadtschloss (city castle). The visit is free (not guided) so it requires little time. Also because, of the very large complex, only a minimal part is visited. The castle is also surrounded by a large park. After the castle, we visit the Dom (cathedral) which is right in front of the castle. Let's say it is not very beautiful; or rather, not very interesting. After these two cultural visits, we begin the tour of the city centre, through the streets and squares of the markets. Fulda does not disappoint us: the building of the old Rathaus (old town hall) attracts our attention. For dinner we would like to dine in an Italian restaurant, right on the central square.

However, this evening too, we have not booked and we are politely turned away. They recommend however another Italian restaurant "Bondì" and, even though full, the Italian waitress as soon as she understood that we are Italian, seats us at a table though with other people. Oh well... we have to eat. But you should always book in the afternoon. Don't do like us. That way it is possible to choose the best places.

Bad Homburg and return

Breakfast at our Hotel Ritter is truly exceptional and then it is a pleasure to eat in such beautiful rooms. The buffet is impressive and there is everything (mixed cold cuts, bacon, wurstel, omelette, selection of German cheeses and even smoked salmon). We stuff ourselves so much that, until 20.30 in the evening (the time of our return home in Italy) we do not touch food (or almost). Last stop of our short trip is Bad Homburg where we want to visit the castle of Frederick II Von Hessen-Homburg. As soon as we arrive on the spot we realise that in the courtyard of the castle the Christmas market is pleasantly set up So we visit the beautiful surroundings of the castle and the Christmas market itself, while waiting for our guided tour of the castle to start. Guided tour so to speak as the guide is exclusively in German (and we only know English and French).

However we are fine with it as we only want to visit the furnished rooms of the castle, even if we get a bit bored during 45 minutes of visit with a long-winded guide (of which we don't understand a word). We advise against visiting the interior of the castle because it is really not very interesting, in particular for those who, like us, have visited in the past far more sumptuous palaces and castles. We recommend instead visiting the splendid Abbey (Dom), adjacent to the castle gardens. It is truly a beautiful sight with its frescoes, the beautiful stained glass windows and a majestic pipe organ. Towards 13.00 we reluctantly head towards Frankfurt airport to return the excellent car to the Hertz car park and, right after, we check in at the automatic kiosks.

At the time of check-in we realise that the plane is very crowded and we cannot even find 3 seats together (evidently everyone has checked in online grabbing the best seats). So we are all 3 scattered around the plane. Luckily the journey is very short