A large demonstration is taking place in Frankfurt am Main this weekend.  It is expected to last until the early hours of Sunday morning, and 30,000 demonstrators are expected.  Their aim is to shut down the banking area of Frankfurt and stop the employees there from getting to work.

Many shops in the area have been boarded up and some banks have made contingency plans for their employees to work from home.  Others have instructed their staff to avoid formal dress.

The biggest disruption is to the public transport network and anyone travelling to or through Frankfurt this weekend should be aware of the following changes to services:

• S-Bahn trains are not stopping at “Taunusanlage”.  This affects lines S1 to S6, S8 and S9
• U-Bahn trains are not stopping at “Willy-Brandt-Platz”.  This affects lines U1 to U5 and U8
• Trams 11 and 12 will terminate at the Hauptbahnhof in the west of the city and “Börneplatz / Stoltzestraße” in the east.  There is no service through the city centre.
• Bus route 64 will only operate between Ginnheim and Miquel-/Adickesallee.  There is no service to the Hauptbahnhof.
• The night buses n1, n2 and n8 will be routed around the area.
• The Ebbelwoi-Express will not be in Service between Wednesday and Saturday
• The ticket offices at Hauptwache, Konstablerwache and Bornheim Mitte will be closed on Friday and Saturday

The latest travel news in German can be found on Twitter by following @vgf_ffm.  Follow us on @allthingsgerman for updates in English.

Germany has been battered by two storms over the last week.

This film, posted on YouTube, shows planes landing at Düsseldorf airport during the high winds.

Many towns in Germany face the same problem – their station building.  Not on a scale with Stuttgart, but given that many of them were built in the 19th Century, they often suffer similar fates such as underused ticket offices, high running costs due to the old building materials, and general desire from travellers and locals for the buildings to be put to better use and provide more services.

At the same time, they expect them to look good and still retain their 19th Century character, and not get covered in graffiti.  With many of them being listed buildings as well, this is not an easy task.  Another complication is that the buildings are often owned by Deutsche Bahn, reducing the lack of influence that local towns have over how they are used.

Oberursel’s station is one of those that had suffered this fate until recently, but for the past three years things have started to change.  An organisation called SEWO, who were originally created by the town itself to re-develop the Camp King area, were able to buy the property from the railway. (more…)