Same procedure as last year? Same procedure as every year!!
So what to do on New Years Eve?
As the week had progressed everyone seemed to be coming down with various strains of flu or cold but as it was a bright winter's day we decided to head off for a brisk walk - take in a bit of that Germanic country air.
An S-Bahn ride took us to Hoffheim(?), a small orbital town on the outskirts of
Our wanderfuhrer (Rebecca - my sister) has a book of local rambles and the plan was to take a six or seven mile hike which wound up the hill overlooking the town (and back down again obviously).
This being Germany the main point of any walk would be to visit a gasthaus somewhere on the way to stock up on beer and food partway round. This then was the plan - walk up the hill, stop off for dinner and then back to the town.
The flaw in our plan occurred when we reached the first of the two gasthaus on the route. Having trekked up the hill we discovered that it was shut for a private party that day. This private party seemed to be some sort of horse riding club as they were all arriving on horseback or in pony and traps as we approached.
Not to worry we thought, there's another gasthaus a couple of miles further on so we duly continued along our route, traversing the wooded ridge of the hill.
We duly arrived at gasthaus number two only to find that this too was shut - although this time there seemed to be no apparent reason.
This obviously didn't go down too well. We'd walked all this way and there wasn't even a drink and a sit down at the end of it. Damn you horsey folk you swine!!
So there was little choice but to continue along the trail back down to Hoffheim in the hope of finding somewhere to eat and drink there instead.
Another few miles later and we were back in the valley scouring the small village centre for the possibility of sustenance. This is when the full horror of the situation struck:
Nothing was open. No shops. No bars. No cafés. Nothing. Well to be fair one faux American diner was open but when we went in they had stopped serving food and were due to close soon so the best we could get out of them was a swift drink.
Right - onto plan C then: back to
Wrong.
Sure there were a few sandwich shops at Hauptbahnhof open when we pulled into the station but that’s hardly what we had in mind. We duly wandered around for a bit until we found our knight in shining armour. Well our café in sort of brown brick and wood. Café Liebfrauenberg was open! Hurrah.
Now we've eaten in Café Liebfrauenberg plenty of times (see separate review) but as it was the only place for miles serving food today it was rather busy. We generally refer to this place as the biddie café due to the proliferation of pensioners who hang out here. Today was no exception as they were out in force battling over tables. Luckily for us we were in a large-ish group and they save the bigger tables by the door for just such a reason and we got ourselves sorted quite quickly - much to the consternation of the others thronging about us.
So that was the daytime activity done with. On to the evening.
Having established that Germany would be shut for the duration it had taken some deal of searching to actually find somewhere that would actually be open. And serving food. And serving drinks.
After much scouring and pre planning we had alighted on an Austrian restaurant called Binding am Goethehaus which was bucking the trend and had a five course set meal on the go that evening - and they were even doing a vegetarian option too. Unfortunately the flu was getting the better of everyone by this point so that put somewhat of a damper on things.
Prior to all this of course I managed to view the 'classic' fun and hilarity that is 'Dinner for One' whilst I was back getting changed at the hotel (see accompanying review). Oh how I laughed until my sides did ache...
Anyway - the meal was OK if a bit fraught and despite the threat of inclement weather we decided to continue on with our plan to walk down to the river for midnight where we had been told that people gathered to let off their fireworks.
This we duly did and were met with the sight of literally tens of thousands of people lining every inch of the river banks and the various bridges. And everyone had come equipped with fireworks of some description. And they were all letting them off in an alarmingly haphazard fashion.
We had indeed brought our own meagre pack of rockets which to be quite frank were a bit rubbish. But that was not a problem as it appears that they only sell rubbish fireworks in Germany. I'm used to buying huge display fireworks from the Chinese factory across the road from my office so this was all a bit lacking for me. When I set off fireworks I expect them to finish and the only sound you can hear over the ringing in your ears is dogs barking and car alarms sounding. But I digress...
Wandering onto the river bank we were actually somewhat fortunate to find ourselves right next to some sort of shop / kiosk. This was very handy as the roof overhung enough to form a small enclave of shelter around the building. Thus we could ensconce ourselves under cover, open our champagne and even had the use of window ledges to balance our cups and stuff on. Truly we were the kings of all we surveyed.
The rain had generally held off to this point but we weren't even hit by the fine drizzle that started to fall as the clocks ticked towards midnight. The fireworks became more frenzied (and more dangerous) and we never really knew when midnight was as everyone was going by their own watches.
Despite it not being an organised display there is something rather fabulous in seeing that many fireworks being released at the same time for such a sustained period (even if they were all a bit poxy on a one to one basis).
The only downside was some German kid who recognised the English accents and enquired if we were from Manchester? Grrr. And then when put right he asked if I supported Sheffield Pigsday??? GRRR!!!
Anyway - as the fireworks finally began to wind down and people started to be so drunk they didn't know if it was New York or New Year we decided to turn in. Lucky we did really as by the time we got off the tram it was fair belting it down with rain and we got soaked to the skin walking the five minutes from the tramstop.
As I felt the evening was still young there was time to lie in bed finishing off some wine and watching some bizarre TV showcasing the best of 70s cheesy disco...
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a) Germany is shut: This may sound odd but when I was there in 2006 virtually every shop, restaurant, bar, café and attraction shut down for two days on the 31st Dec and 1st Jan. This may have been influenced by New Years Eve being on a Sunday this year but even so, it did seem a bit weird. Obviously if you look hard enough there were a few of the big, trendy bars open in the centre of Frankfurt and the odd restaurant here and there but that was about it. Compare that to England where even the smallest bar is thronging until the early hours taking in more money over the bar in one night than they probably do in the whole of January. You’re missing a business opportunity there Germany...
b) Dinner for One: Instead of going out on New Years Eve it seems that everyone in Germany has house parties and sits around watching a bizarre music hall sketch called 'Der 90 Geburtstag' or 'Dinner for One'. This comprises of a black and white film about an old woman who celebrates her ninetieth birthday with her seemingly even older butler. As Miss Sophie's four best friends are now long since dead the butler is forced to drink all their drinks and make their toasts through each course of the meal. He gradually gets drunk and stumbles about doing comedy trips over a stuffed tigers head carpet.
And that's it. It's about 20 minutes long, in black and white and in the original English.
And the Germans apparently love it. It's on every year on virtual constant rotation on New Years Eve and people get together to have parties where they watch it, laugh hysterically and drink the same drinks along with the actors as it goes through. (I know this as I saw a documentary about it prior to one of it’s showings.)
"Same procedure as last year Miss Sophie?"
"Same procedure as every year please"
c) Fireworks: The traditional way to celebrate New Year is to let off fireworks at midnight. Unlike the UK however this isn't a case of an organised display or you and your mates letting a few off in your garden. No - this involves everyone congregating in certain part of the town e.g. in the town square, on the river bank etc) with their own box of fireworks and setting them off together. And there doesn't seem to be any idea of the firework code - no keeping them in biscuit tins, lighting them at arms length and retiring to a safe distance for these fellas. Oh no. Everyone simply lugs them around in rucksacks and plastic bags and just sets them off in the crowd. Firing rockets parallel to the ground and chucking lit fireworks over peoples heads seems a particular favourite. The Green Cross Code man would have a fit - I know he was crossing roads but I'm sure he'd take a dim view of this type of firework malarkey as well...
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As this is a bit of an old fashioned custom the cafés that specialise in it are generally on the traditional side and tend to be full of pensioners.
Don't let that put you off however - Café Liebfrauenberg is one such place but is actually one of the best places in Frankfurt to get breakfast, a daytime snack, a quick drink or even a decent sized meal.
They have a vast, very reasonably priced menu, stuffed with snacks to suit all tastes, much of it very helpfully translated into English for the non German speakers. No German café is complete without a range of wines and beers to go along with your food plus they also have a separate menu just for ice cream which is almost as extensive as its counterparts.
Inside it's richly decorated and has an air of being out of time - like something from the 1930s. The big selling point in the summer however has to be the large outside seating area which takes up most of the square in which it’s situated. Here you can sit and watch the world go by as you tuck into their delicious offerings.
Café Liebfrau's obvious qualities mean that it's always pretty busy (but not so much that you can't get a table) but this gives it a bustling atmosphere.
Oh - and if cakes are your thing then you won’t be disappointed - you can choose from the vast array on display at the cake counter and receive a plate piled high with your choice.
