The anticipation of visiting Germany as part of the AFM 344, formerly known as AFM 415, International Study Trip was finally over when we arrived in Frankfurt and stumbled upon two cultural festivals. The festivals included Thai and Japanese dancers performing traditional dances in the city squares, which only further proved how diverse Germany really is. Not only are the people diverse in Germany, but so is the food as we ate NINE different types of sausages.
After the delicious sausages, we arrived at Romerberg, the old town square of Frankfurt with centuries-old-looking coloured houses and bars. We also visited the Frankfurt Cathedral, constructed in 1550(!), which is the home of the clock tower that looms over the historic district.
In the evening, we enjoyed a tasty traditional German meal, which included pork knuckles and schnitzels. To finish the day we visited a pub that was hosting karaoke night, which was incredibly fun and embarrassing.
The attitude around beer was something that was very interesting to me. As I expected, drinking is a big part of the culture in Germany. Public drinking isn’t just legal but it is encouraged since beer is often cheaper than distilled water. The encouragement of beer wasn’t even the most shocking thing to me, it was the fact that beer was a common drink to have for breakfast in Germany. You would never see that in Canada.
I was also very impressed with the public transportation in Germany. The subways included free Wi-Fi, which was great for all of us phone addicts, and they came without the metallic screeching that TTC commuters put up with daily.
Overall, it was an informative, historic, interesting and enjoyable day in Frankfurt and I look forward to one day coming back!
Learn more about SAF International Study Trip