In my hood: Out and About in Sachsenhausen, Frankfurt

When you get off the underground at Südbahnhof, you immediately notice the many elegant Art Nouveau and Wilhelminian style buildings in Sachsenhausen. This is the neighbourhood where I grew up. If you want to experience the "real" Frankfurt, this is the place to go.   

One example is the Hessen Shop (1). It sells Frankfurt classics like the children's book "Der Struwwelpeter" or Gin Sieben, which contains the same herbs as the famous Frankfurt Green Sauce. You can try it close by in the traditional restaurant Zum Gemalten Haus (2) with schnitzel and fried potatoes.   

At Schweizer Straße, not far from here, the flair is incredibly international. Japanese, Vietnamese and many other international restaurants line the street. Freshly rolled sushi is available at Sushiko (3) and delicious pizza at A Tavola! (4), an Italian restaurant where you feel like you're sitting in an old Italian lady's living room. 

For me, the culinary diversity of the neighbourhood reflects the colourful and cosmopolitan Frankfurt that I like so much. The heart of the neighbourhood is Schweizer Platz (5) with its flower shops, butchers and the Konditorei und Confiserie Georg Jamin (6). This is where my parents used to buy my birthday cakes. Until today the small family business still makes the best chocolates in town.  

Further along Schweizer Straße, you can see the Frankfurt skyline glittering in the distance. If you walk towards it, you'll get to the Museumsufer am Main (7), where many different museums are located in old patrician houses. My favourites are the Deutsche Filminstitut & Filmmuseum (8) and the Städel Museum (9) which shows artworks from the last 700 years.

From here, it's not far to Alt-Sachsenhausen (10) with its small cobbled streets. Here I like to call it a day with friends in one of the many pubs, a glass of Apfelwein – the local cider – in hand. 

Philip Bierig has been working as a flight attendant at Lufthansa since 2017. He grew up in Sachsenhausen in Frankfurt and has travelled all over the world for Lufthansa. His tip to combat jet lag: get some fresh air, soak up the sun and drink plenty of fluids.