Many shops in the area have been boarded up and some banks have made contingency plans for their employees to work from home.  Others have instructed their staff to avoid formal dress.

The biggest disruption is to the public transport network and anyone travelling to or through Frankfurt this weekend should be aware of the following changes to services:

• S-Bahn trains are not stopping at “Taunusanlage”.  This affects lines S1 to S6, S8 and S9
• U-Bahn trains are not stopping at “Willy-Brandt-Platz”.  This affects lines U1 to U5 and U8
• Trams 11 and 12 will terminate at the Hauptbahnhof in the west of the city and “Börneplatz / Stoltzestraße” in the east.  There is no service through the city centre.
• Bus route 64 will only operate between Ginnheim and Miquel-/Adickesallee.  There is no service to the Hauptbahnhof.
• The night buses n1, n2 and n8 will be routed around the area.
• The Ebbelwoi-Express will not be in Service between Wednesday and Saturday
• The ticket offices at Hauptwache, Konstablerwache and Bornheim Mitte will be closed on Friday and Saturday

The latest travel news in German can be found on Twitter by following @vgf_ffm.  Follow us on @allthingsgerman for updates in English.

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• When does the last train leave Oberursel during the Hessentag?
• Frankfurt by train
• 10 Things to do in Frankfurt in Winter

Although the school itself borders on the area, the start was actually located some distance away in the woods itself – signs led those like myself who had gone to the school instead from the gates along a trail to get there.

Once at the check-in point, the walk itself took a circuit that was about 1 km long, with the walkers being sponsored on a per-lap basis.  Over 300 people were expected to take part.

The sponsorship money raised will be put to use in a project at the Dassenberg Waldorf School in South Africa who have had a partnership with the school in Oberursel for the past 15 years.  Previous projects have included equipment providing equipment for the playground, laying grass for a sports field, and even putting up buildings for specific subjects like woodwork.  Photos of these projects were on display, so there was plenty of incentive to complete as many laps as possible.

However after the walk it is not a simple case of raising the money here and sending it to South Africa.  The sponsored walk was organised by year 12 pupils who will fly to Dassenberg at half term in the autumn to carry out the project themselves – with each pupil responsible for funding the cost of their own flight.

And the fund raising for the project itself does not end when the last walker returns home.  Donations to the project can be made at any time by using the following bank details:

Schulverein FWS Vordertaunus e.V.
Kontonummer: 16 349 102
BLZ: 430 609 67 (GLS Gemeinschaftsbank e.G.)
Kennwort: “Afrika”

See more photos in our Facebook album

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• First impressions of a Waldorf School
• The Mühlenwanderweg – walking where the mills used to be
• Additional road closures for the Hessentag Marathon

The room has been restyled and redecorated, and yesterday the grand opening took place with a number of the town’s dignitaries in attendance.

And whilst it is just one room that is available for Oberstedten’s teenagers to meet in, that room is not just a big open space.  Following a “beach bar” theme, there are corners where people can sit and chat but also an open space that contains a table-top football game (“Kicker”) and a pool table.  There is also plenty of space outside that can be used in the summer months.

This is, however, just the latest use for this room.  Local residents who were at the opening told me that although it is known as the Altes Rathaus or Old Town Hall, the building was housed the village school and even the public baths.

In his speech, Alderman Fink welcomed the fact that so many generations had come to opening – not just the 12+ age group that will use normally be using the room.  He also welcomed the fact that much of the work has been carried out by volunteers and mentioned the donations that hat been made.

Jutta Niesel-Heinrichs from the Ortsbeirat with Jörg Spreier and Verena Herzberger from the Jugendtreff and Alderman Christof Fink

The club will not only be a place to go, relax and talk, but also where the young people can get advice on things that affect them or that they are concerned about.  Each week they also plan to offer an activity.  Currently planned are Wing Tsun self-defence course, art projects and something called “Integration through Sport and Movement”.  There is also talk of the room being available for other youth organisations to use as well.

One of the things highlighted by the Ortsbeirat (that’s sort of like a parish council, that has a say in how their part of the town is run) is the fact that the club offers somewhere to go without Oberstedten, without the need to travel to Oberursel itself in the evening after a full day at school [sic] and possibly without any means of transport other than the local bus service.

The inaugural football game

The Jugendtreff is open each Tuesday and Wednesday between 5.30pm and 8pm at Kirchstraße 34 in Oberstedten.

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• A sponsored walk to Oberstedten and back
• The new face of Oberursel’s administration
• Electric cars travelled from Stadtallendorf to Oberursel

At the end of the day, no party holds more than a third of the seats, so the only chance for the town’s parliament to move anything forward is to work together.

It is something that is reflected in the new structure of the town’s administration in the Rathaus.  Split into three “Dezernaten” or departments, the three-man team now running the town is made up of the mayor who is a member of the SPD and elected separately, a member of the Green party, and perhaps the biggest surprise: a member of the CDU party.  The new split between them reflects the specialities of those running them.

Christof Fink - Hans-Georg Brum - Thorsten Schorr

The mayor (Hans-Georg Brum, SPD), for example, is responsible for personnel matters, tourism, culture, the press, town planning and local business.  You might call say they are things that belong “at the top”.

Alderman (Erster Stadtrat) Christof Fink from the Green party has – perhaps less surprisingly – taken over responsibility for environment issues, but also for energy, mobility, traffic, and even something called Bauaufsicht – the office that makes sure buildings are built the way they were approved.  The combination of environment, energy and traffic into one department is apparently something quite rare in German town halls and is maybe a sign of the times, and definitely a sign of the fact that one fifth of the town voted for the Green party last year.

The other half of his department will be responsible for child-care provision, the library and social services.  These are not exactly typical “green” topics, but challenging none the less, and especially with the amount of building work going on in the town at the moment demand for them is likely to increase.

Treasurer (Stadtkämmerer) Thorsten Schorr from the CDU party might seem an unlikely candidate for the office given that his party is in opposition, but it is worth considering that the party actually have the largest number of seats in the town’s parliament.  Just not a majority.  And it was a decision by that parliament to leave the party in charge of the town’s finances, something the ex-banker will be looking after along with tax collection, the registry office, Einwohnerbüro, police and fire services.

In a way it’s all very logical, and each seems to have the areas that they have their strengths in.  The greens have energy and the environment, the CDU opposition have finance with law and order, and the mayor is the public face of the town whilst at the same time running the Rathaus.

So everyone’s a winner?  Well, if they can work together like that then it should benefit everyone in the town.

Of course, if they get it wrong then they will be getting exactly those things wrong, that they canvass most strongly on at elections.  So they can’t really afford to, can they?

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• Violence in the Taunus area
• Electric cars travelled from Stadtallendorf to Oberursel
• New playground at the Maasgrundweiher

The Bundestag-Mobil on the Epinayplatz in Oberursel

Inside there is an impressive backlit photo of the glass dome that sits on top of the Reichstag building in Berlin, and a number of terminals to access the Bundestag website.  At one end a monitor shows the current debate in the main parliament chamber.

The guides who accompany the exhibition are there to explain how the Bundestag works to local residents and answer their questions.  They especially take time to explain things in a simplified form for young children and a number of materials are available such as the Politbongo DVD – a series of short stories about a group of aliens that come to the Bundestag to find out how a democracy works.

Dr. Stefan Ruppert talking to local residents

On Saturday morning local MP (MdB) Dr. Stefan Ruppert paid a visit and spent a good two hours talking to local residents and answering their questions.  These dealt with topics such as the European Stability Mechanism, the Schlecker insolvency, the VAT rate for hotels, the minimum wage, Fachkräftemangel and issues at Frankfurt airport.

The exhibition tour is planned to include every constituency in the country between two general elections.

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• A sponsored walk to Oberstedten and back
• The new face of Oberursel’s administration
• Bonjour Provence! move into new premises