Brats, Brot, & Beratung

I’ve been in Frankfurt for 5 days now and had a chance to explore the city, meet friendly people, struggle with the language, and of course do some extensive personal research on the local cuisine.

I arrived last weekend and had a few days to explore the city on my own. It’s a fairly small city (then again, everything seems small compared to NYC) so it was easy to walk around to a few of the main areas. I explored Sachsenhausen on my first day which is full of the traditional bier gartens, serving brats and apfelwein, then my second day walked into the main area of the city which felt a little more like NYC (more people, more cars, more tall buildings).

Frankfurt even named their financial district Mainhattan, after the Big Apple and the Main River (pronounced “mine”), which flows right through the middle of the city, and provides some great views:

My first day at the Havas Media Frankfurt office was Tuesday (Monday was a national Holiday) and I quickly learned that everyone is welcoming, friendly, outgoing, smart, and hard-working — the same exact attributes I see in NY every day. It’s great to see that the Havas culture I know and love extends all the way across the Atlantic!

5th floor reception at Hedderichstrasse 49

I am working with the Havas Media International team, who work across several Global accounts such as Hugo Boss, Israel Tourism, Chiquita, and more. Say hi to my office mates!

To sum up my first few days, here are a few things I’ve learned so far:

1. Germans are very friendly people. Everyone I’ve encountered so far has been welcoming, patient with my lack of knowledge of the German language, and willing to be my free personal tour guide while I am in Frankfurt (a waiter one day was telling me places to visit and said to come back any time I had questions about the city or where to go).
2. Brats & Brot. Everywhere. All the time. Germans here in Frankfurt love their food (as do I), and there is a lot of it. There are many different cuisines to indulge in here, since Frankfurt is such an international city, but the classic German cuisine consisting of meat, bread, potatoes, beer…sounds heavy, doesn’t it? It is. A plate of bratwurst, sauerkraut, potatoes, and brot (it means bread) will only run you about 7–8 euros in many places, which is a dangerous thing because of how filling it is…but it’s delicious! Especially the green sauce!
3. Apfelwein and Currywurst might take a little time to get used to... Apfelwein is the local drink that Frankfurt is famous for. To my unrefined palate, it tastes like apple juice, just less sweet. Currywurst is a plate of sausage, and french fries, covered in mayo, ketchup, and curry spices. It’s filling (surprise, surprise) but actually was more tasty than I expected. Had to try them both at least once!
4. The beer is delicious. Obviously.

I’m excited to continue this German adventure with my Havas colleagues and learn as much as I can before returning to the States!

So until next time…Auf Wiedersehen! Bis bald! Tschuss!