After having to leave my home, I was in a position where I could only get so far...and that was Frankfurt.
Upon arrival I had very little money and spent a few hours in the main airport chatting to two very helpful information desk people. One of whom was
from Australia.
I was enquiring about employment and places to live and emergency help for the meantime.
These guys were a great help. Thumbs up to you two.
They informed me that I had to jump on the next train to Frankfurt city centre (which you jump onto without buying a ticket if you so desire, but if
you see a blue shirted inspector get on, then you gotta get off. Each carriage is a unit in itself so you'll know if an inspector gets on your
carriage. You can't walk the length of the train.) Many people use this method. As much as there are scary messages about fines for not having
tickets, there are very very few ticket inspectors at the stations, platforms or trains...
Once in Frankfurt I had to go to the Bahnhofs mission which is basically an office for the homeless or weary travelers or the needy to pop into and
get help. Here, you can get a free tea or coffee (though restricted on top-ups), sit around or have a chat. It is situated next to platform 1 of the
main train station.
The mission will give you a lot of information, some helpful, some not.
They will provide you with a map and list of helpful locations.
These include;
Weissfrauentreff
Free breakfast; lunch 0.50€
Gutleutstrasse 20
mo, tu, wed, thu 7.30 - 16.00
sun 0.00 - 16.00
Teestube Jona
0.20€ upwards
Pforzheimer strasse 7
Fr, Sa 16.00 - 21.00
Thu 14.00 - 21.00
Lion of Juda
Food for free
Niddastr. 49, 4th floor
Wed, Thu, Fr, Sat 17.00 - 19.00
My time spent in the Teestube Jona cafe was wonderful. I found it amazing as to how many local businesses bring in the excess food/drinks they do not
need any longer. The majority of food brought in was after the days shops were closing and was all really good fresh food that would have been wasted
otherwise. Fresh cakes, breads, pastries, fruit and vegtables were spread over several tables and it was a fre-for-all, but amazingly, you don't see
any greedy swines swiping as much as they can.. very civilized behaviour for some who were there. Most impressive.
It was in here that I just happened to introduce ATS to several people who were basically left dumb struck with the amount of info i passed their
way.
I wish to extend a big thank you to everyone in Teestube. You helped me out big time. I hope everything is still going well for you all.
As for having somewhere to sleep, you have a few options. the list provided by the Bahnhofs mission tells you where these places are. Bahnhofs can
arrange for you to stay at any one of these places. the most common is the one way over at Ostpark.
You're going to need a tram for this place (just jump on it..jump off if you see inspector) Ostpark is a long walk from Bahnhofs mission. You need
tram No.12.
I spent 6 nights on the streets, but was fortunate enough to find a block of flats being built and slept in the underground car park for most nights,
so i was out of the wind and rain. i was also out of the way of any prying eyes (police...not that they were much of a problem anyway.. so much of a
different attitude to which i am accustomed, ie. UK police).
The homeless shelter at Ostpark is paid for by the government, and ultimately, it is the social services who decide if you can continue to stay there
or not. i was there for three nights whilst my claim was going through. It was refused on the basis that i was English and was sent back to hte
Bahnhofs mission to claim a 79€ coach ticket (paid for by the government) to get me back to the UK (15 hour journey). I was not allowed any
financial assistance, work or housing. Kicked out basically.
got a nice sun tan though..