All sliced up and nowhere to go.
October 3, 2006 6:11 AM Subscribe
Does anyone know what’s within walking distance of Krankenhaus Sachsenhausen (Frankfurt)?
Surgery in Atlanta, GA: $38,000. Surgery in Frankfurt, Germany: $13,000. Guess where we’re going next week? (Hint: our health insurance stinks.)
The procedure requires us to stay in Frankfurt for eight days – five of those in the hospital, and the last three in a hotel within walking distance. Walking short distances will be slow but possible, and if we can we'd like to explore just a little. We can’t stray far from the hospital, and we know no German. Is there anything we want to stagger out of our room to see, or should we start packing a bag of books and magazines?
Surgery in Atlanta, GA: $38,000. Surgery in Frankfurt, Germany: $13,000. Guess where we’re going next week? (Hint: our health insurance stinks.)
The procedure requires us to stay in Frankfurt for eight days – five of those in the hospital, and the last three in a hotel within walking distance. Walking short distances will be slow but possible, and if we can we'd like to explore just a little. We can’t stray far from the hospital, and we know no German. Is there anything we want to stagger out of our room to see, or should we start packing a bag of books and magazines?
Krankenhaus Sachsenhausen looks to be not far from the center of Frankfurt. If you cross the Main river on the Eiserner Steg, you'll find yourself not far from the Römer and other sights. Take a look at the virtual city tour - the hospital is just south of the Eiserner Steg (4 Iron Bridge), and many other sights are close by.
Sachsenhausen itself (located south of the Main river) is also worth a stroll. There's a picturesque area with old houses and lots of pubs serving Apfelwein (cider), which Frankfurt is famous for. Sorry I can't provide the names of the streets, but the staff at your hotel should be able to point you in the right direction.
According to this page, almost one in three Frankfurters is foreign and it should be no problem to find people who speak English. However, I've only been to Frankfurt once, so I can't confirm this.
posted by amf at 7:52 AM on October 3, 2006
Sachsenhausen itself (located south of the Main river) is also worth a stroll. There's a picturesque area with old houses and lots of pubs serving Apfelwein (cider), which Frankfurt is famous for. Sorry I can't provide the names of the streets, but the staff at your hotel should be able to point you in the right direction.
According to this page, almost one in three Frankfurters is foreign and it should be no problem to find people who speak English. However, I've only been to Frankfurt once, so I can't confirm this.
posted by amf at 7:52 AM on October 3, 2006
amf is correct, you should not have any trouble finding people who speak english, though they'll all have funny accents. germans are required to take at least five years of english in school, a sizeable chunk take eight or nine years. I know a few people though who are somewhat embarrassed of how bad their english is and thus won't be likely to converse in it...
posted by krautland at 11:05 AM on October 3, 2006
posted by krautland at 11:05 AM on October 3, 2006
I lived in that area for a couple of months a couple of years ago, about two blocks southeast of the Südbahnhof. Downtown Frankfurt is across the river, and you can buy a day's worth of public transit (subway, bus, streetcar, S-Bahn) within the downtown Frankfurt zone for €4.90 (at the ticket machines, select Tageskarte and zone 50). Make sure you have a valid ticket with you at all times; they do random spot checks.
The nearest U-Bahn (subway) station appears to be Schweizer Platz (accessible to wheelchairs with some assistance from another person). There are some restaurants around Schweizer Platz that look interesting. Barring that, you might want to take the U1/U2/U3 to Hauptwache and go along Zeil, Frankfurt's main shopping street.
I was going to suggest going up in the observation deck of MainTower, and while I think the building itself is barrier-free, the nearest S-Bahn station isn't (and is kind of sketchy-looking to boot).
I also recommend going to the museums on the southern bank of the Main—I didn't do enough of that when I was there. I'm not sure whether the Eiserner Steg is doable—I can't remember whether there's an elevator, and otherwise, it's a lot of steps for someone with limited mobility.
If one of you can walk unencumbered, you should be able to go to the train stations and buy newspapers and magazines. The bookstores do have English-language books, and there are generally some English-language publications at the newspaper/magazine kiosks, even if it's only yesterday's International Herald Tribune.
If it is not prohibited by your doctors as part of your recovery, you should also try the Äpfelwein. And bring me some.
posted by oaf at 11:58 PM on October 3, 2006
The nearest U-Bahn (subway) station appears to be Schweizer Platz (accessible to wheelchairs with some assistance from another person). There are some restaurants around Schweizer Platz that look interesting. Barring that, you might want to take the U1/U2/U3 to Hauptwache and go along Zeil, Frankfurt's main shopping street.
I was going to suggest going up in the observation deck of MainTower, and while I think the building itself is barrier-free, the nearest S-Bahn station isn't (and is kind of sketchy-looking to boot).
I also recommend going to the museums on the southern bank of the Main—I didn't do enough of that when I was there. I'm not sure whether the Eiserner Steg is doable—I can't remember whether there's an elevator, and otherwise, it's a lot of steps for someone with limited mobility.
If one of you can walk unencumbered, you should be able to go to the train stations and buy newspapers and magazines. The bookstores do have English-language books, and there are generally some English-language publications at the newspaper/magazine kiosks, even if it's only yesterday's International Herald Tribune.
If it is not prohibited by your doctors as part of your recovery, you should also try the Äpfelwein. And bring me some.
posted by oaf at 11:58 PM on October 3, 2006
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my apologies if that offends anyone. it's just a subjective impression of someone who has experienced both.
posted by krautland at 6:16 AM on October 3, 2006