Frankfurt

This week, I'm touring a couple of cities in Europe, to meet with some of the top game developers in this region.  My first stop is Frankfurt, Germany.  Meetings here were spread over two days.  When I arrived on my flight from Salt Lake City - traveling over 16 hours with layover - I was informed that my luggage hadn't even left Utah.  The airline said that it should arrive the next day, on the very same flight.  I haven't had my luggage lost on an international flight in a very long time.  Considering how many times I fly - I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.  This was one of the few times that I actually checked my luggage, as I had a 4-hour layover in Chicago.  I've learned my lesson and won't do that again ; )

With only my briefcase in-hand, I headed for the center of Frankfurt, to spend an hour looking at the wonderful buildings and shops that you can find there.  I only had my less-than-stellar cel phone camera to take pictures, so my apologies for the quality.

With little time, I went straight to Römer Square.  This is my favorite spot in Frankfurt, as it has about a dozen historical churches within walking distance of each other.  First up was Alte Nikolaikirche, a Protestant church that was built in the middle of the 12th century.  While much of the church (like the others) had restoration work done right after WWII, they're still amazing to see.  Several are pretty decent examples of early Gothic architecture.  Today, this church is also known as St. Paul's:

Alte Nikolaikirche

Stained glass inside Alte Nikolaikirche

Next, I went to Dom St. Bartholomäus, a Roman Catholic church built in 1356.  This was also used as the "coronation church" for German Emperors for several hundred years:

Some seriously Gothic architecture

Inside Römer Square, you can find a variety of bakeries - my favorite items are always the fantastic pretzels that you can find, freshly baked:

I love the old European building facades, particularly in the Germanic region.  I have great memories of walking through the cobblestone streets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Looking around Römer Square

On the other side of Römer Square, you'll find the City Hall - this started when the Römer family bought the three buildings (below), and donated them to the city about 600 years ago:

Outside of the Square, you'll run right into the Main River (that's actually it's name), which offered a wonderfully peaceful scene, during the middle of the day.  Pictured below is the famous Iron Bridge (Eiserner Steg), which is about 100 years old.  The cel phone camera doesn't do justice to the beauty of this scene, particularly with the blue skies overhead:

Crossing the bridge, you'll find the Dreikönig, a Protestant church the was built in 1881.  This one looks Gothic to me, but the official pamphlet lists it as "neogothic".  I can't tell the difference ; )

Dreikönig

The following day, we spent almost eight hours talking with a game developer, letting them know what technology was coming to market over the next 4-5 years.  It was a good conversation.  Unfortunately, my suitcase never arrived.  I had a very serious conversation with the airline representative, letting them know that I would be leaving their dear country the next day.  I was assured that the bag would be at my hotel in time.

I ran across the street from the hotel and bought a shirt, so I would at least have something to wear.  I had to wash some undergarments in the sink, which was a really fun experience.  I used the hotel's hair dryer to try and dry off the clothing ; )

The next day, we held another marathon session with another game developer.  We flew two engineers in from Kiev, Ukraine - so that we didn't have to take our entire team there.  The good news is that - one hour before I left for the airport - my suitcase arrived.  It had been four days since I last saw the bag.  Our reunion was a joyous occasion ; )

The joy was short-lived.  However, you'll have to find out why in my next post.  Coming up...Stockholm and the Swedish Snopocalypse of 2011.