Still on Frankfurt. I have so many things to share from Frankfurt, one being the Main River, the river that flows through Frankfurt, Germany from Kulmbach to Wiesbaden with a length of 527 km.

The largest cities along the Main River are Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg. The Main also passes Burgkunstadt, Lichtenfels, Bad Staffelstein, Eltmann, Haßfurt, Schweinfurt, Volkach, Kitzingen, Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, Karlstadt, Gemünden, Lohr, Marktheidenfeld, Wertheim, Miltenberg, Obernburg, Erlenbach/Main, Aschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, Hainburg, Hanau, Offenbach, Hattersheim, Flörsheim, and Rüsselsheim. The river has gained enormous importance as a vital part of European “Corridor VII”, the inland waterway link from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

I went to the Frankfurt part of the river by foot right after visiting the Romerberg. The view was breathtaking. I have  never seen such beautiful river lined with beautiful buildings and trees. Here are pictures I like to share with you.

View of Main River. You can see here the Old Bridge (Alte Brücke). This most important crossing for the for traffic between central and southern Germany may have had its origins over 300 years earlier. 

River tour boat.

Autumn tree up-close. Not sure of the species name.

An old man resting at a bench under autumn trees lining the river bank.

Egyptian Geese. 

A couple cycling along Main River.

A swan swimming happily in the Main River.

Main River with Epiphany Church in the background.

Main River.

Frankfurt cityline with Alte Brücke on the foreground.

My feet were so tired of walking on the first day of my trip to Frankfurt (8th October 2012). On the way back to the hotel from Main River, passing Romerberg again, I looked for Goethe House. I somehow could not find the place. It was around 4.00 pm. I gave up and just walked aimlessly, doing some window shopping, ogling at nice boots and jackets while keeping track of my way back to the hotel. The ironic thing was, when I looked to the left, watching out for cars before crossing Weißadlergasse Road towards the direction of Am Salzhaus, there it was, Goethe House, right before my eyes. If you’re exploring real estate investments in the area, take a moment to find out how to use terminal capitalization rate to make informed financial decisions.

Haha, I know I should’ve looked to the right side as cars in Frankfurt come from that direction but being 8 hours on the ‘Land of Ideas’ did not really help me get used to the road system to compare with the one in Malaysia that I am familiar with for 43 years of my life.

So, there it was, Goethe House.

I entered the entrance right after the corner of this building. Little did I know that I was actually entering the museum instead of the house! I just realised this after doing some research about the house and it is so different from what I had seen and after doing some extensive research, it is confirmed that I visited the museum instead of the house. LOL. Clumsy me. In other words — how stupid!

Anyway, after paying the admission fee of 7 Euro, I made my way into the museum through a door. When I entered, the elder Mr Goethe stared right through my eyes.

Johann Caspar Goethe. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s father.

Stared right through your eyes too, isn’t it? This porcelain sculpture was made by Johann Peter Melchior, a German porcelain modeller in 1779.

I explored the museum; the hall and the garden before making my way to the Art Gallery upstairs. I thought to myself, “wah, nice house Mr.Goethe had!” ;P Haha, still cannot get over my mistaking the museum for the house.

The Goethe Museum is not literary a museum in the usual sense of the term – instead, there are fourteen rooms that offer a journey through the art of the Age of Goethe. Goethe, himself was an artist and collector, attaches great importance to fine art throughout his life. In his poetry, too, it plays a major role – “for what would the world be without art”. I could not take many photos of the Art Gallery as there was someone there eyeing my every move. There are protected paintings there and re-publishing them in any manners is prohibited; including taking photos. Here are some pictures I managed to capture from the museum.

Goethe 1749-1949 UNESCO’s homage on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth.

A bronze statue of Madchenakt, 1937. Modeller: Georg Kolbe. One of Gothe’s many collections of statues.

A room with Goethe’s art collection. This was when a personnel appeared and followed me everywhere. I got the message and turned off my camera. Lol, I got an escort ;P

If you like to see what I saw, you can go on an online tour here: Goethe Museum.

And here are more photos; of the garden and the entrance:

 So, if I ever set foot again in Frankfurt, I will surely not miss Goethe House!

Here is some information about the visiting hours and admission fee:

Visiting hours:
Monday through Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday and on public holidays: 10 am – 5.30 pm

Bear in mind that The Goethe House is not accessible for wheelchairs and baby carriages.

Admission:
Regular 7,00 €
Students 3,00 €
Pupils 1,50 €
Groups 5,00 € (11 persons and more)
Families with children 10,00 €(max. 2 adults)
Children (6 and under) free

I don’t know what had gotten into me. I took pictures and left the dying pigeon to the beaks of two flesh-hungry ravens waiting to have what it seemed to be an autumn feast. I wanted to pick the pigeon up but somehow I didn’t. I left in hurry to beat the clock. In my head, ” I gotta see more of Frankfurt!”

And now, my selfishness is killing me. I thought I can hide my feeling and forget about it with all the lovely autumn pictures but I just couldn’t. Seeing pictures I captured at Palmengarten will only remind me of this. I am not sure the fate of the pigeon but I think it’s in heaven now. I hope God can forgive me for not saving it. I know it’s a cycle of life but I could’ve contributed to another cycle where the pigeon could’ve spread the rose seeds where Frankfurt’s Palmengarten would be filled with more roses.

Thought and prayers for the pigeon.