AWe had to make a trip to Frankfurt to visit the US Consulate there. This meant flying out of Heathrow T4 on British Airways and staying two nights in a Premier Inn near Frankfurt station. I did take a camera as well as my iPhone and here are the eclectic images that I remember our time there by.
5th June 2025: To Frankfurt
Airside we bought breakfast at Starbucks waiting for our flight to be called. At the gate all passengers in Group 5 with carry-on bags were asked to check if their bag could be placed in the hold. I find it ironic that BA would have charged us extra for bringing cases to go into the hold! One carry-on was taken BUT we were moved to the front of the boarding and were the first on the full plane – result!
Our flight went off without a hitch and after a kerfuffle we managed to catch a train from the airport to the main station. A very friendly man tried to explain to us that we were buying the wrong tickets (so we learnt later) and my lack of German meant we didn’t that sadly we didn’t take his advice. This meant paying 3-4 times the price on the Metro!
The walk from the station to our hotel was through what could best be described as a dodgy part of the city. The folks at the hotel assured us that our rooms would be on the same floor and that they could store our luggage until the rooms were ready.
Further along the Mainzer Landstraase we were directed to a shopping mall which we were assured would have places to eat (and we’d be comfortable to visit.), the Skyline Plaza.
In the food hall I went for a curry and it was delicious. All around us were office workers having their lunch. This outlet was behind where I was sat.
We met friends at the hotel and after a few hours (!) of catching up we walked to the railway station.
We were shown how to buy group tickets on the Metro that last the day and this is when we realised our mistake back at the airport.
After our ride on the Metro they took us to an Italian restaurant, off the pedestrian precinct Zeil, which was on Gt Friedburger Str.
The meal was excellent especially as we shared this bottle of wine!
Back at the hotel we resumed our catching up. Outside things were kicking off with three Police vans and lots of police with people lined up against the wall being searched. Our friends assured us that as tourists we’d be OK…
I was able to tap their local knowledge which confirmed that taking multiple Metro lines wasn’t the best option to get to the consulate. Instead order a taxi.
6th June 2025: Visit to the US Consulate
Rather than have breakfast in the hotel we walked along the Mainzer Landstraase to a small cafe and had coffees and pastries. Our taxi ride was perhaps more exciting than we’d have wanted as our driver seemed to believe that getting there was urgent. I did grab this shot through the window
Frankfurt’s US Consulate
The consulate is on Geissener Str and is apparently the largest in the world. Luckily for us it was very obvious where we had to go and wait. There were two covered walkways. One for visa applications and one for American citizens. Both had a row of benches and customer windows on the walls of the building. A German Diplomatic guard was at the top of the American citizen walkway. He wasn’t in a good mood as we soon found out – maybe it was the rain?
The visa queue was made up of students waiting to be interviewed for visas to go to school in the USA. Parents were not allowed to accompany their offspring and quite a few were not happy at this. But if their kids were going to be going to school thoud=sands of miles away a solo visit to the consulate shouldn’t be too bad. Except of course everyone is now conscious of the new attitudes to overseas visitors to the USA.
When the rain eased we walked to a McDonalds that the diplomatic guard had been directing anxious parents.
After coffees we made our way back to the consulate. Our concerns about getting back were eased when we saw a row of taxis in the layby opposite the entrance. While we waited a furore erupted with an American being refused entry as he didn’t have an appointment. He was clearly very upset and he clearly had sustained injuries in the past. He stood and ranted shouting that after multiple tours in Iraq he had moved to Mexico and now wanted to renounce his citizenship because of the way he had been forgotten and treated by the “Feds”.
Shopping along Zeil
Our taxi ride back to hotel was much less frenetic. With a free afternoon we decided to catch the Metro to Hauptwacke station and look at the shops along Zeil. Armed with our new knowledge we had a bargain group travel ticket.
And it was still raining !
I was not tempted by these guys selling food. Instead we went to a large glass enclosed restaurant and for the first time in two days felt that we could relax.
Frankfurt City Premier Inn City
Perhaps I should have mentioned earlier that the hotel staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. Check-in was in full swing when we arrived back there. Rather than head back to our rooms we sat in the small lobby and had another drink and watched the world outside.
Frankfurt Police vans arrived again outside the hotel and this time took several men away. The hotel’s underground car park entrance on Ludwigstrasse had decorative plants at each side of the doors. These received a thorough search as part of the police’s sweep.
7th June 2025
Our flight was in the afternoon and after a lazy start to the day we made our way to Frankfurt Main station. Again armed with our new knowledge we purchased group travel for the Metro to the airport. The Metro train travelled on parallel lines to the other trains to the airport.
We caught a people mover train to get to our terminal rather than the bus on our first day. This terminal at Frankfurt was not the one I had travelled through when using Lufthansa. Once we were airside the choice of somewhere to eat was severely limited. Compared to other airports this lack of choice for an international airport was frankly surprising. We had to hunt around to find somewhere to sit after having our desultory lunch.
At Frankfurt airport passengers are NOT searched when you go airside. Not the sort of secure that I’d expect to be airside. Instead searching takes place when passengers go to the their gate. This is when my visit to Frankfurt took a distinctly unpleasant turn for the worse.
We noticed that security was empty and despite being quite early for our boarding time we decided to go through in the hope of finding somewhere to sit and relax.
Hassled at security
As I passed through the metal detector the alarm sounded. I knew that I didn’t have keys, belt or phone as these were all with my Foldie bag on the conveyor belt. I walked forward to be searched confident that I would have no difficulty with the search spreading my arms as I walked. My first mistake, the guard wanted to search my neck. He managed to pinch my neck as his hand caught on my chain. I reached in and pulled out out my neck chain to make the search easier. This was when things took an ugly turn and I was shouted at (accompanied with spittle) closely to my face asking why I did that?
I am partially deaf due to my tinnitus and do try and lip read in noisy places and I stepped back.
Arms out I was then body searched and at my waist he tried to check around my belt. I reached down and freed my shirt and jumper. Now I was threatened with a strip search again shouted at. I apologised and said I was only trying to help and please help me as I can’t properly understand his directions due to my hearing.
My passport was taken away by a second guard which only caused more anxiety as I tried to see what he was doing with it at at terminal. Attention was soon back to my body as I had my genitals squeezed – yes that’s right – this was the most intimate search I have ever had in 40 years of airport searches.
My travelling companions could easily hear the shouting even though they were 10 yards or more away. It was with lots of relief when I had my passport thrust at me and told to move on.
Waiting for our plane
We walked to the gate for the BA plane and sat down in the large array of seats there. Within a few minutes we were on the receiving end of orders, again shouted, to move out. Walking back past the other gates we past the closed dutu free /cafe shop that was supposed to be available and found EIGHT seats by the toilets. This area had even less available seating than the other part of terminal. We read and I reflected on how I might have avoided the hassles at security.
Ironically when I went back to the duty free shop for some chocolate (needed for nerves!) I watched passengers coming through security. The private guards now had armed police watching the process. In the minutes I watched 100% of the bags were opened and everyone was being body searched. So maybe this how security rolls in this terminal.
I noticed that the seating by the gate was now occupied by lots of passengers so we moved back away from the toilets and picked up our reading. When the BA ground staff arrived everyone had to get up and move out of the area. Then form a queue to go through the gate and have passports and tickets checked. This was another full flight and Group 5 passengers again lost their carry-on bags to the hold. This time though we didn’t get moved to the front of boarding as everyone just piled through once boarding started.
Seeing London below was a relief.