Frankly, this was a roundabout way to have fun

BUSINESS VIEW:

SAY what you like, but there’s a big kid lurking in each and everyone of us.

So when I was offered the chance of a ride on a giant roundabout, I literally jumped at the chance.

The gargantuan roundabout in question is in Frankfurt, in the thriving, bustling, beery, gluhwein-fuelled main square of this beautiful German city.

And yes, I had sampled the gluhwein, laced with amaretto, somewhat copiously, but I would still have got on the ride had I been stone-cold sober, which I nearly was . . . ish.

For I am an intrepid journo and the three-day trip was criss-crossed with challenges for an assiduous scribe such as your business and wannabe travel correspondent. I had already scaled the heights of the city’s only skyscraper building with a viewing platform open to the public, bravely getting into the express lift and stepping out on to the snowy rooftop oblivious to my own safety in the cause of research for you, my readers.
Well, I know my sister Gillian reads this.

The view from the Main Tower is breathtaking, taking in the Main River which flows into the near-by Rhine, which splits this curious mixture of a city.

The birthplace of Goethe, Germany’s most famous writer, Frankfurt is a city of contrasts — described locally as the country’s most modern, but with a long history of traditions. Many of which are on display to the casual observer but we were lucky to have the services of a tour guide courtesy of the city’s tourist office and Lufthansa, the German carrier who hosted eight journalists and their partners on a magical weekend in Frankfurt and the adjacent city of Wiesbaden. Our tour of the Christmas market was enticingly entitled “Stories, Sweets and Savouries”. Dating back to 1393, the Christmas market is quite obviously one of the oldest and is also the largest in Germany.

And, of course, the roundabout is the largest, built specifically for Frankfurt with its city scenes painted into the decor.

The tour culminated in a rather curious river cruise which was enjoyable with its free gluhwein bar and food. The choccy biscuits you get in Lidl really are like that back in the motherland. There are 10 churches which flank the Main River and only four times a year the combined 50 bells chime in unison.

We enjoyed the sound of the bells on this momentous occasion while “cruising” the river, well, actually, circling between two giant bridges which literally trapped the boat in a relatively short span of water.

This in no way detracted from the enjoyment of the occasion but was certainly quirky — as was our next stop, at the Lorsbacher Restaurant.

Earlier we had enjoyed a reindeer stew for lunch, washed down with local riesling wine. For the evening we were promised apple wine, described to us as the locals’ beverage of choice.

Frankfurt is the only city in Germany to serve apple wine.

Now I know why.