The Raffles Place of Germany
I realised that this blog has not been published and is part of the drafts. Clearly I had forgotten to do so. And there's another entry as well on Baden-Baden which I have not published.
Anyway, it was ironic that the first stock exchange I visited is not SGX but the Deutsche Börse at Frankfurt Am Main. And the first central bank that I visited was not MAS but the European Central Bank (ECB). Anyway this was part of a field trip organised by the Uni Mannheim for students who enroll in this course called German Financial Market, and the fee to go there was only 5€, so why not?
Börse Frankfurt (Stock Exchange Frankfurt)
Our first stop was at the Börse where we were given an introduction to the history of the stock exchange which was set up in 1585. And then we were introduced to the main operation and trading systems used at the Börse, the Xetra system.
I realised that this blog has not been published and is part of the drafts. Clearly I had forgotten to do so. And there's another entry as well on Baden-Baden which I have not published.
Anyway, it was ironic that the first stock exchange I visited is not SGX but the Deutsche Börse at Frankfurt Am Main. And the first central bank that I visited was not MAS but the European Central Bank (ECB). Anyway this was part of a field trip organised by the Uni Mannheim for students who enroll in this course called German Financial Market, and the fee to go there was only 5€, so why not?
Börse Frankfurt (Stock Exchange Frankfurt)
Our first stop was at the Börse where we were given an introduction to the history of the stock exchange which was set up in 1585. And then we were introduced to the main operation and trading systems used at the Börse, the Xetra system.
That's our lecturer for the German financial market courseIf you'd expected that the stock market is a place bursting with full of people screaming, 1 finger pointing at the screen while the other shoulder trying to clasp the telephone to take the latest quotes and bits and pieces of paper flying around, then you'd be very surprised... for this is what the working environment is really like. And its real, not staged where they get people to put up an act.
Indeed, with everything computerised, there's no need for so many people to stand there pointing fingers. It looks like its a great job to be here, judging from what the 2 guys above are doing!
The Bull and the Bear outside the stock market - representing financial market sentimentsThe European Central Bank (ECB)
Like all central banks in the world, the ECB's primary task is to maintain price stability in the Eurozone and not let inflation escalate. However, judging from the inflation rates of the Eurozone over the past year, it seems that the ECB has not been doing its job well. This was also admitted by the spokesperson who gave us the talk at the ECB.
Unfortuantely we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the building. There's nothing to take anyway. The photo below with the big € sign is the European Central Bank. And they are going to expand into another building, which are at the moment under construction, soon.
The presentation at the ECB mainly focused on the history, evolution of the common currency as well as the role of the ECB. It was highly economic in nature so I think I would not want to bore anyone here into the details.
European Central Bank - in all of the official languages in the Eurozone Frankfurt Altstadt (which isn't very alt actually)
Frankfurt is perhaps most well known as being the financial centre of Germany. But there is one enclave of the city which has a taste of the past, the Altstadt area from the Paulskirche to the Römerplatz. Actually this Altstadt is not very alt because the half timbered houses were actually replicas built about 25 years ago.
the river Main
1 side of the Römerplatz 
the other side of the Römerplatz
Römer, with the Paulskirche on the right (not seen)The Old and New
Walking along the streets of Frankfurt on a working day, we see people dressed up in blazers and ties, the feeling is just like a normal working day in Raffles Place. I draw parallels to what I see here, like the Opera House to perhaps the Victoria Theatre?
Typical street in Frankfurt, just like Shenton way
the oprea house Like most financial cities where big banks try to outdo one another by competing to see who has the tallest skyscraper, as a result of that, Frankfurt am Main has a skyline. And I am very certain that it looks very beautiful at sunset, given all the pictures I have seen online or printed on the postcards there. Unfortunately we made our way back to Mannheim at 6pm where the sun was still shining. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to climb to one of the high towers one day and get a shot of the city as well as find out where the best spot to take a skyline photo is. The point is, while it is true that there is nothing much to see at Frankfurt, many people who arrive in Germany are likely to arrive in Frankfurt first. And I think its good to actually check out the place if you have like an hour or 2 to spare. Especially at night, around the Hauptbahnhofviertel, the quarters just outside the Hauptbahnhof, where the streets are burstling with redlight activities.
Facing the Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof, on the side where the redlight action is.
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