Travel By Jury

If you find yourself in Frankfurt, with an extra day to travel, head to Mainz. The capitol of Rheinland-Pfalz, Mainz is not a small city, definitely not as metropolitan as Frankfurt or Berlin. In particular, it lacks the overwhelming feeling of being a tourist city.

With that said, it still has many museums and sights to see. First is the Gutenberg Museum. The father of the printing press called Mainz home, and therefore they rewarded him (albeit hundreds of years later) with a really cool museum which includes some original prints, replicas, and pieces of printed arts from each century. Across the market place (where you can get great deals on seasonal fruit, vegetables, and wine) from the Museum is the Mainzer Dom, which comes also highly recommended. The inner garden of the cathedral is absolutely peaceful and a nice escape from the rest of the city. As for other attractions, there are literally hundreds of Roman remnants and ruins to see throughout the city. Romerpassage, a shopping center, was built atop a Roman village, and underneath the shopping center you can see the artifacts and findings from the archeological dig. And, if tourist sites aren’t your thing, you can stroll along the Rhein River or take a day cruise on the Rhein and see the area vineyards, smaller towns, and villages.

Overall, Mainz is a quaint little city with lots to see and the people are friendly. Although many Mainzer (people who live in Mainz) speak English, I would suggest bringing a dictionary along and a couple of useful German phrases. It’s always better to at least try to speak the language before resorting to the “Sprechen Sie Deutsch” question. They’ll usually appreciate that you’ve tried to speak German and, as a reward for your bravery, switch to English.

And, as a side note: One thing that nobody traveling through Germany should pass up is the Turkish food. As one of the largest immigrant groups in Germany, since the 1970s the Turkish people have made the Döner and Kebab an adopted German food. And, if you’re into spicy food, you can ask for it “scharf.”

Juror #24

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