Day in Frankfurt with Leo
On Tuesday we took Leo for sightseeing in Frankfurt. We did the usual Hauptwache/ Römer/ Dom sights, but for a change, we went into the Goethe-Haus, the house where Goethe was born.
In the train we read about the "wundersame Uhr," the astronomical clock that Goethe had admired as a child. It was designed by his tutor, a lawyer whose hobbies were astronomy, math, and mechanics. Clocks in those days (ca. 1750) were only beginning to show the correct time. Hüsgen's clock is amazing even for today's standards and shows the zodiac sign, the date, and the phase of the moon, as well as the time.
Only the first four stairs are from the original Goethe house; the rest of the house was destroyed during the War. It's interesting though because Germans have the expression that if people are very rich, they are "steinreich" (stone rich), and that is because only the very rich could afford stone stairs in the home; the rest had wooden staircases. All in all, it was a very interesting hour we spent in the house/museum of Germany's famous poet. Nick has to read his "Faust" for next semester.
After our cultural visit together, Nick and Patrick went shopping, while Leo, Michael, and I walked along the Main. On our way back to meet Nick and Patrick, we walked through the cathedral, where the Holy Roman Emperors were elected during the Middle Ages. Then we rushed back to Eppstein to get Nick to the oral surgeon, so his stitches could be removed!
On Tuesday we took Leo for sightseeing in Frankfurt. We did the usual Hauptwache/ Römer/ Dom sights, but for a change, we went into the Goethe-Haus, the house where Goethe was born.
In the train we read about the "wundersame Uhr," the astronomical clock that Goethe had admired as a child. It was designed by his tutor, a lawyer whose hobbies were astronomy, math, and mechanics. Clocks in those days (ca. 1750) were only beginning to show the correct time. Hüsgen's clock is amazing even for today's standards and shows the zodiac sign, the date, and the phase of the moon, as well as the time. 
Only the first four stairs are from the original Goethe house; the rest of the house was destroyed during the War. It's interesting though because Germans have the expression that if people are very rich, they are "steinreich" (stone rich), and that is because only the very rich could afford stone stairs in the home; the rest had wooden staircases. All in all, it was a very interesting hour we spent in the house/museum of Germany's famous poet. Nick has to read his "Faust" for next semester.
After our cultural visit together, Nick and Patrick went shopping, while Leo, Michael, and I walked along the Main. On our way back to meet Nick and Patrick, we walked through the cathedral, where the Holy Roman Emperors were elected during the Middle Ages. Then we rushed back to Eppstein to get Nick to the oral surgeon, so his stitches could be removed!
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