After living at Saalburgstrasse 46 in Bornheim-Mitte, Frankfurt, for 23 days now, it’s time to wave goodbye. While there’s a chance Caroline and I will be in the area again someday for one reason or another, it is time to move on now. I might even have a thing or two to finish up here tomorrow, some minor cleaning maybe, but tonight, I’ll be staying in Heddenheim north of here. While I have this romantic notion of still coming to the bakery I’ve been visiting every day, the journey over here requires three trains or at least one train and about 2 miles of walking. If I listen to my own advice, it’s probably healthier to discover another place and let this one go.
The one thing that was missing in the apartment was a refrigerator and stove that would have allowed me to cook my own food in order to afford me a bit more immersion, though I don’t know where I would have discovered the time to do that. Going out to eat every day has been okay as by having so much bread and potatoes, I’ve been more aware of my need to walk that stuff off, but I’ve also indulged in a crazy amount of Grüne Sosse and a good amount of Döner, so there is that upside. All the same, I would have enjoyed buying some fresh food (beyond some fruit and a couple of bratwursts) from the open-air Wednesday market to prepare myself.
Two hours after sitting down to breakfast, writing the above, and laboring over what I wrote the day before, it’s time to finish my coffee, take advantage of the free toilet, and figure out what my next steps are. I know, I’m going to get on a train to Oberursel for a walk in the Taunus mountains. Okay, maybe not exactly that; I’ll go check out the train schedule and possibilities before I fix this idea.
Well, that idea was scratched for a minute as with the heat coming up today, I thought that seeing Jutta earlier and taking a short walk to the river would be the better idea and so that’s what I did. Our visit was only long enough for her to read a few paragraphs from yesterday’s blog post that pertained to her and then our brief visit to sit next to the Main River. I had to get her back to Lebenshaus as they were serving lunch outside in the garden, and I wasn’t going to be able to take her with me, so by 11:45, I was once again on my way.
Like the animal crossing signs in America where nobody ever sees a moose, elk, deer, donkey, or tortoise, I had thought this rail crossing sign was a relic from a time when maybe there was a scenic slow-moving train that made its way up and down the bank next to the Main River, but then we heard the train whistle. I had to grab the camera and jump in order to catch this rare sight, well, at least for me, as I’d never seen a train here on this track. The composition isn’t great, but when you have a split second to capture the rare mountain lion crossing the road, you don’t ask it to pose; you just get a photo in the hopes you might prove that such a creature was witnessed by your own eyes. This is proof that the train track running along the river in Frankfurt is still operational.
When I arrived at Hauptwache and checked the train schedule, it turned out that the U3 to Oberursel / Hohemark was a good bet. With 10 minutes to spare, I even had time to have my first Frikadelle on Brötchen of this trip before heading downstairs to jump on the train.
A dozen or so stops later, I was at the trailhead into the Taunus mountains just across the street from the train. For accuracy, I should point out that Waldlust is not where I got off the train; it is the stop just before. I took this photo from the train because it said Waldlust. Well, I had to smile as, in my brain, this translates to “intense desire or passion for the forest” or “Forest Desire.”
I asked for a walk that would take about two hours, and that’s just what I was directed to. The Heidetränk-Oppidum Celtic Circular Trail was perfect, but as nice as it was, it was the fact that I only passed one other person on the trail that made it special. When I lived in Germany and even before coming over for this trip, Caroline warned me that the Taunus trails can be incredibly busy as people flock here to breathe the fresh air of Frankfurt’s “green lung.”
But today, on a day that the population was grumbling about the sudden turn to exceedingly hot weather (88 degrees or 31c while in Phoenix, where we live, Caroline has to contend with 100 degrees or 38c at midnight), I guess that going into nature is too much to ask so everyone stops what they are doing so they can survive “Frankfurt Mega-Heat Wave 2021 – Global Warming Edition”
Me on the other hand, I am like the moss. I have no choice but to be out in the elements.
Foxglove, ladyglove, or digitalis purpurea, whatever it’s called, this brightly colored plant was everywhere in open areas of the forest.
There’s something hidden in plain view here that would have been unmissable about 2,100 years ago. It’s why this trail is called the Heidetränk-Oppidum.
It’s a hazy, hot day in the Frankfurt area, and the grand view of the skyline of the city in the distance on the right is diminished because of the weather, but that’s okay, as this walk took me far away from any crowds.
But enough of that, time for a history lesson as much as I can craft one from Wikipedia, where the information I’m finding is rather thin. What is known is that this site is one of the older Celtic sites in the area (the largest in the state of Hessen) and once had a 10km (6 miles) wall around it. Oppidum is the Latin word for “town” or “settlement,” and Heidetränk refers to the specific location.
Signs of the wall can still be seen, though they are so eroded that they are bumps on the landscape like you might be able to see here. The walk itself is 4.3km (2.7 miles), which takes you past just some of what remains. Sixteen interpretive signs are scattered along the trail, but to gain a better understanding of what was here, a visit to the Vortaunus Museum in Oberursel is probably in order. Hey Caroline, do you know of any good books about the Celtic culture of early Europe? We need to add it to our reading list.
There are no ruins remaining here in the forest; due to erosion, theft, and vandalism, the area hardly retains the features that just 150 years ago were still visible. This opens up another distraction in the curiosity of John going about the world. I can see visiting a number of Celtic sites, such as I recently did with Boris down in Heidelberg, and going to museums to see the artifacts of what they created and left behind so that I might paint a better picture of who these early Europeans were. My knowledge of the history of Germany is pretty limited; first, about a long time ago, there were Neanderthals, they were replaced by Barbarians, then came the scientists and philosophers, followed by Nazis, and finally, BMWs and Techno. Stephanie informs me that there was a period with Romans; who knew?
Back off the mountains, I needed to make up for not taking a bottle of water with me. Just behind the info center is a small restaurant, so I had my first bottle of Taunusquelle Medium Mineral Water. The train awaits my arrival, or maybe it doesn’t, and the next one will just leave, and I have to wait for up to 15 minutes for the next one.
In the city, I had to return to Bornheim-Mitte once more as I worked to finish my goodbye to the area. Jutta’s apartment is in the final stages of being emptied before getting a fresh paint job. I dragged out as much furniture as I could by myself as Klaus and Stephanie made their way across town to help with some of the remaining things, like the kitchen sink and medicine cabinet in the bathroom You see, in Germany, the fixtures and appliances (other than the radiator heating system, toilet, and shower) all leave when a resident moves out. There are no closets because those are not built into dwellings; you bring your own. With the heavy stuff moved over to the street side for the scheduled pickup of heavy household things set for Thursday, it was time for the three of us to get dinner.
Based on my recommendation, we visited Zum Blauen Bock German restaurant just a short walk from Jutta’s apartment. No, I did not have Grüne Sosse. After nearly three hours at dinner, we finally drove over to Heddernheim, my new home away from home. Tired as hell, what did I do? Stephanie and I stayed up until 2:00 chatting; that’s what I did.