Looks like the Germans have lost their faith in paper currency (again) these days. How else to explain the Gold to Go dispensers in the Frankfurt Airport? The Times UK reports:

After inserting your euros in the slot there is a familiar whirring noise as if the machine is readying itself to spit out a can of lemonade or a bar of chocolate. Instead there is a satisfying clunk as a prettily wrapped bar of the world's favourite precious metal thuds into the dispenser.

"It's better value than the bank," Romy Erhardt of TG-Gold-Super-Markt told The Times, "And it's very convenient — no waiting time — you just put in your cash and a minute later you are an investor in gold."

Passengers can buy passengers one gram, five grams or 10 grams of gold starting at about 30 Euros. While the value is better than the bank, passengers will still pay a bit more than market value. C'mon its a gold vending machine. That's expected.

The company has already installed a similar machine in Frankfurt's main train station and plans to put 500 more of the machines throughout the country as well as in Austria and Switzerland. While passengers at the Frankfurt Airport can also get a Maple Leaf Five Canadian dollar coin and a Kangaroo Fifteen Australian dollar coin, we're still tickled by the idea of a vending machine spitting out a real gold bar placed in a metal case that reads, "My Golden Treasure."

Related Stories:
· Germans flock to gold bars vending machine at Frankfurt airport [Times UK]
· Gold Mining Map [Jaunted]
· Gold Super Markt [Official Site, German]]]> juliana 2009-06-18T17:01:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/10/0515/25735

We drooled over the concept of Lufthansa's new, totally over-the-top first class lounge at Frankfurt last week, but our obsession doesn't stop there: Now we've got pictures.

Thanks to a tell-all, show-all set of Flickr pics from BangaloreAviation we have now seen inside the Lufthansa first class lounge at Frankfurt and the hype was justified. Just look at the bathroom--there really is a bathtub! This set of pics also includes shots with a cute rubber ducky but we don't know if he's a standard Lufthansa fixture or not.

Outside the bathrooms things stay just as swish, with shiny wood bits everywhere and a very sleek bar (because the bar is a very important part of an airport lounge). We really want to get in their ourselves, but as we lamented before you can't buy your way in--it's all a matter of booking exactly the right Lufthansa flights. We'll be trying.

Related Stories:
· Lufthansa Unveils Insane New Lounge for First Class Passengers [Jaunted]
· Lufthansa Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: BangaloreAviation] ]]> amandak 2009-03-10T09:05:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/3/141530/1355

Flying into the Frankfurt airport next week? You could buy und Snickers and splash cold water on your face in the bathroom on landing -- or you could stop in at Lufthansa's brand-new Welcome Lounge, a 12,000-square-foot way to say "Welcome to Germany, complete with breakfast buffet, PCs which are free to use and a generous selection of single-malt whiskey. All you have to do is take a qualifying flight at the right level of service, Rich Uncle Pennybags! ]]> egw 2009-03-03T15:01:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/2/72245/3445

Book geeks, don't be shy: popping over to Frankfurt for the world's biggest annual book fair is nothing to be embarrassed about. Heck, we've done it. And you're not embarrassed to be seen in public with us, right?

If you're brave, here's the lowdown. You need to know that the general public visiting days for the fair are on the weekend of October 18 and 19--we recommend Sunday because last year over 70,000 people showed up on Saturday (and 15,000 less than that the day after).

This year Turkey is the guest of honor so their president's popping over to Germany to kick things off. (Wonder if anyone will ask him about how his country nearly prosecuted Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk for anti-Turkish sentiment!) If you don't join him, you're not the book lover you think you are.

Related Stories:
· Frankfurt Book Fair [Official Site]
· Turkish President to Inaugurate Frankfurt Book Fair [World Bulletin]
· More Than Sausages in Frankfurt [Jaunted]

[Photo: ipa]
]]> amandak 2008-10-02T09:05:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/7/30/153752/106
Book-lovers across the world take note: The 7th and 8th of October, 2006 are dates for your traveling calendar. You might not want to admit that the equivalent of a tourist's library would be your destination of choice, but the thousands of visitors every year to the Frankfurt Book Fair prove that you wouldn't be alone. Frankfurt's not really an exciting tourist destination on its own, it is a key airport in Europe and combining a flight into Europe with a day of ogling millions of new books appeals greatly.

We'll admit to having had a good tour through Frankfurt's conference halls before, when they've been crammed with hot-off-the-press stacks. The travel sections where you can find all the new editions from guidebook publishers and a few tasty travel narratives are naturally a favorite. Each year, a particular country or region is invited as a special guest, and this year India has the honor, with well-known writers like Vikram Seth (famous for A Suitable Boy but also a travel writer) and Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things) featuring. We're hoping this means the free samples will include a few deep-fried Indian delicacies this time 'round.

Our special Jaunted tip: Haunt the cookbook publishers, they're always trying to entice new recipe-book lovers into their stalls with great-smelling snacks.

[Image via dov/Flickr]

Related stories:
Frankfurt: City of Contrasts [German Tourism]]]> amandak 2006-07-31T09:27:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2005/12/8/153459/315 James Gilden, writer of The Los Angeles Times's travel blog The Daily Traveler lightheartedly gripes today of his experience setting off the metal detectors in Frankfurt Airport on his way to Hamburg:

I have never been so thoroughly wanded in my life...The German security agent was professional and thorough and finally waved me on my way. Boy was he thorough. I really think he should have offered to buy me a drink first. Or at least asked for my phone number.

Related Stories
·   Frisky Frisk at Frankfort Airport Security [The Daily Traveler]]]> Jolie 2005-12-08T17:16:17-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/