Day 0b. Frankfurt, Germany (St. Bartholomew's Cathedral)

St. Bartholomew's Church - From a Distance

To the right of the well-trod Zeil market loomed an imposing ancient structure interrupting the skyline of the city of Frankfurt. 

The ancient architecture from the 14th and 15th century marked an underlined contrast between the plain buildings before it.

As the five of us navigated our way through the meandering streets of Germany, I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of this casual portion of town: 

Color-coded glass recycle bins!	Close-up of German railings	Sushi in Germany!!  :)
A Singer sewing machine store!	Collectible German steins	A typical Frankfurt street

Sights, sounds and interesting shops aside, we came closer to the base of the ancient monument.

As intended by its designers St. Bartholomew's Cathedral stood as a towering reminder of the once-strong Holy Roman Empire.

This is a shot just below the front doors. (Check out the detail that the Nikon 5100 captured!)

From Wikipedia:
St. Bartholomew's Cathedral has been recognized as symbol for the national unity of Germany, especially during the 19th century. Although it has never been a bishop's seat, its was it was the largest church in Frankfurt and its role in imperial politics made the church one of the most important buildings of Imperial history and justified the use of the term (imperial) cathedral for the church since the 18th century.

Here's a few shots from the exterior of the church:

The Crucifixion

Archway (View from our approach)

Archway (Full view)

As we entered into the inner chambers of the building, you could almost feel the reverence exuded by the place, interspersed slightly with the sounds of other tourists quietly and respectfully taking photographs of the settings. (NOTE: All pictures on this blog are clickable to be seen full-screen)

Check out these candles! This shot turned out perfect!	The crucifixion, depicted above the candles
A mural in a language I do not yet understand	Another mural
An inner room	From another angle
The Transfiguration and Manna from Heaven	The burial of Jesus? (I don't remember a coffin)
The inner sanctuary	The inner sanctuary from the front

Our tour of the interior done, we left to look for souvenirs of Frankfurt, and I caught a few other scenes of interest:

The partially excavated courtyard	A German tram that had blocked the view of the next photo...
A Gem of Frankfurt: The Reconstructed Römerburg houses that were destroyed in WWII
Subway in Germany & the Tudor Detective Services	Subs on special! (2,49€)

Some cities, like Montreal, have office towers. Frankfurt seems to have turrets. Here's two more:

Turret in the middle of the city

New office building. Anyone know what this is

Final impressive archway. Not sure what this was either... an apartment complex?

So, after a long, but interesting tour of Frankfurt, Germany, the five of us headed back to the metro to go back to the airport.

Ricardo, me, Stuart, Jaëlle and Marvin

I was hungry, and with the delayed plane voucher I was able to scrounge the restaurants in the airports for food that would match the 10,00€ amount. :) Meanwhile, some slept, and others spent their time journaling their thoughts of the day...

This is what 9,99€ gave me!

Ricardo, Chris and Stuart chronicling their experiences

So far, our trip had gotten off to an interesting start! We were a little tired, but also excited at what would come our way!

Next stop: Cairo, Egypt.