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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: randycarter on 19 October 2017, 01:20:55 PM
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Hi everybody,
I hope that's the right place for such kind of tread: in a couple of weeks I will be in Frankfurt for tourism. Anyone can tell me if there are some big or interesting miniature shops or interesting places for a wargamer (museums or so)? I think there are and I don't want to miss the opprtunity (for tourist shopping too!) :)
I will be there with my wife, so no clubs, I fear ::)
Thank you in advance.
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I only ever heard of Spectaculum but I've never been there and I don't even know if they still exist.
Spectaculum, Frankfurt am Main
STOLTZESTR. 11
60311 Frankfurt am Mai
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The Spectaculum is long dead and gone. Great shame.
As far as I know there's nothing else than a Games Workshop store and one or two venues where you may find (mainstream) wargaming supplies among the dominant assortment of card games and comics. Rents are through the roof, so little space for a dedicated miniatures shop.
Visit some museums instead. If you're into (classic and modern) art don't miss the Städel. Also the Liebighaus is well worth a visit for their collection of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sculpture. The Historisches Museum (for urban history) moved last year or so, haven't been there yet. Special recommendation for the Museum Judengasse (Jewish history) and the Archäologisches Museum, which focusses on finds from the Roman fort/town of Nida, among them some famous Roman helmets.
Don't expect any major historical sites worth seeing beyond the small circuit of Römer, Dom, and Hauptwache. Frankfurt was levelled by allied airstrikes and had to be rebuilt almost completely after WWII. Best enjoy a long walk along the river Main and from there to the Westend, the Palmengarten (botanical garden) in particular.
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I only ever heard of Spectaculum but I've never been there and I don't even know if they still exist.
Spectaculum, Frankfurt am Main
STOLTZESTR. 11
60311 Frankfurt am Mai
Spectaculum's long gone. There still should be T3 - Terminal Entertainment on Grosse Eschenheimer Strasse 41a, near Hauptwache subway station and just off the Zeil shopping area. That used to be a nice combination of comic book (ground floor) and game store (basement), but I admit it's been some years since I last visited. It's still around, though.
Apart from that not too much left. There's a Games Workshop store near Konstablerwache station, but that was always rather run-of-the-mill.
As for museums, there's a narrow-gauge railway museum (http://www.feldbahn-ffm.de/), but I've never been there myself. The city museum is so-so, the art museums are good, if a bit, well, art-focused; there's also a rather nice museum of mail services and an excellent natural history museum, the Senckenberg.
Outside of Frankfurt, if you have a car and don't mind ca. 30-45 minutes of a drive, there's the Saalburg, a reconstructed Roman auxiliary cohort fort (http://www.saalburgmuseum.de/english/sb_en_home.html). The reconstruction mainly dates back to the early 20th century and is a bit iffy in places, but the exhibition is interesting and scientifically up-to-date. A visit in autumn can be quite interesting for a taste of the Roman frontier.
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Ok, thank you everybody. Jewish and Judengasse museums was in the to do list already, but all other hints are very welcome!
By now, have a good week end.