Near the Rmer is the birthplace of Germany’s most beloved poet and philosopher, Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The master was born in Frankfurt in 1749, and he wrote some of his best-known works there, including The Sorrows of Young Werther. The icon’s birthplace, a typical 18th-century home for a showy, well-to-do family, was one of the first buildings to be reconstructed after the war and refurnished with the family’s original belongings that had been spared, and many of which Goethe junior (the famous one) hated. The house is on Grob er Hirschgraben 23-25.
Frankfurt is perhaps most famous for the word it lends to the English language: Frankfurter. And, not surprisingly, the best dogs can be had in Frankfurt, in the restaurants of a district called Sachsenhausen. The long wooden tables of Zum Gemalten Haus (Schweizerstr. 67) have seated locals and tourists alike for years to offer them W?rst, Kraut, and home-brewed ?pfelwein (a bitter sparkling version of apple cider). By the end of lunch hour, the restaurant and its jolly, rowdy patrons create a village-like atmosphere that is quite sobering (excuse the pun!) in a fast-paced, business-oriented city. In Sachsenhausen years ago, the many pubs and restaurants only brewed ?pfelwein and refused to serve beer. They often competed with each other fiercely for customers and for the neighborhood vote of best ?pfelwein brewer.
After such a satisfying meal, the Museumsufer awaits nearby, a mile-long stretch of museums along the southern bank of the Main, each more eye-catching than the next. Some are housed in opulent 19th-century mansions while others are in modern buildings designed by contemporary architects from all over. On Wednesdays, all the museums are free. Of particular interest are the Museum f?r Kunsthandwerk (Schaumainkai 17), containing crafts made in Europe, the Near East and the Far East from many time periods, and the Deutsches Filmmuseum (Schaumankai 41), which exhibits the history of filmmaking in an entertaining style.
