A Visit To The ECB

Our friend Mikko is kind of a fancy-pants and works at the European Central Bank.  The ECB is basically what puts Frankfurt on the map making it the largest financial center in the Eurozone.  Their main objective is to maintain price stability in Europe.  It is the central bank for the euro (that's the currency), it consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world.  The building, which is the ECB headquarters for all of Europe, is 591 feet tall and over 40 floors.  It is well fortified, surrounded by a substantial fence and other barricades to prevent any unwanted intruders and their vehicles from getting too close.  You have to go through a security building to get in, so don't forget your passport.  They don't care if you made a copy of it, they want to see the real thing.  And a driver's license doesn't count as a valid form of ID at the ECB.  I know this from experience.  We saw the outside of the ECB on Monday and Wednesday for this reason.  Oops. 

The ECB is a snazzy place, to say the least, with new-age art inside and outside the building, such as the peculiar tree pictured above. 

The entrance way is really impressive with windows everywhere.  The tower was built in 2013 and is attached to what used to be Frankfurt's Großmarkthalle (wholesale market), a hot spot to buy all your fruits and veggies.

Mikko kindly invited us to join him for lunch.  We felt a little underdressed walking around with him in his crisp and classy suit.  Oh well, I guess we can't all look as good as Mikko. 

After lunch, he took us up to the 27th floor for coffee and a fantastic view of the city.  

Mikko told us that there have been several protest in the streets surrounding the ECB since he started working here, usually in response to the financial crisis.  One time it was bad enough that he was told not to come to work for a few days.  Then when it was safe enough to return, he had to dress in casual clothing so as not to look like an employee.  

Frankfurt was quite pretty from the 27th floor!  It was neat to look out on the city we'd been living in for the past 2 months.  

Thanks for a really cool visit Mikko!  We are going to miss you when we move to Berlin next month!