Arrived without any trouble to my Frankfurt accommodation. I knew when numerous hummers passed by that I’d obviously inadvertently picked the party side of town!
I had arrived early enough to go for a bit of a look of the city. It was Saturday night so the streets were brimming in the mall adjacent to St Katherine’s and the rebuilt 1729 police station.
A walk around again on Sunday highlighted how much of Frankfurt had been destroyed during the war. The facades of the Romer (town hall) in Romerberg gave you a feel of what this area of settlement would have looked like with its half timber half brick buildings. The fountain of justice in the centre a reminder to the city’s representative to treat all citizens fairly.
Nearby was the Cathedral perched high enough to be protected from the flooding of the Main River.
Wish I could have taken a photo of the nun I saw chowing down on her whopper at Burger King!
It was then time for a bit of work; off to the OHS World Congress. A very impressive opening signalling the quality of the three days to follow. I managed to find a consultant from Darwin while chatting with some attendees from Armenia during the opening reception.
There was a wonderful display of traditional dress highlighting the array of attendees from around the world. Another indicator I was in for an interesting few days.
The conference had been great – so much to see, do and learn but I had concluded the Germans had a long way to go in getting a culture of prevention given every second person (and that’s not an exaggeration) smokes.
The drive back to my accom after the ‘German evening’ was eventful – the cab driver nearly ran over a traffic controller who thought it necessary in the rain to wrap himself in a glad bag – unfortunately in the process he had blocked his high viz stripes! A quick stop in the Merc and all tragedy was avoided!
I was very grateful for having had the opportunity to attend the conference and left with a desire to get to the next one in Singapore in 2017. Hoping the closer proximity might see some fellow Brisbane OHS professionals join me!
Next stop Chamonix – now to test if my daily exercises had helped me retain strength before the big hike!
The fifteenth century Eschenheimer Tower, a former city gate
Romer (town hall)
Romerberg
am Main
Thinking of you Jan!
The Cathedral
The rap congress theme song!
Found Martyn from the NT!
Redefining safety boots.
Combining your work and exercise!
Had to have a pretzel before I left!
The former prison
St Katherine’s
St Paul’s
Am I there yet? 
Your comments on the Congress bring back memories of the Safety Congress I attended in Vienna in 2002. It was a great experience and it sounds like you’ve had a memorable conference in Frankfurt. I did a presentation on Enforcement in OHS with Richard Johnstone – do you remember him? Sounds like the smoking rate has remained the same in that part of the world. It was impossible to find a restaurant that didn’t smell like an ashtray 😦